LFS Today Oct 3, 2022

News

Course Expense Fund Requests due by Oct. 15

Teaching an undergraduate course in Winter Term 2 (Jan-April 2022)?
Now’s the time to send in your course expense requests.

Email your completed, signed form to virginia.frankian@ubc.ca by October 15^th

Undergraduate Course Expense Fund: If your course expenses are other than photocopying (e.g., laboratory supplies, field trip expenses, etc.), send in a request now if you want to claim reimbursement later. Parking expenses for guest speakers, etc. should be included.

To be reimbursed, expenses must be pre-approved and itemized or your claim will not be processed.

Form and details are available in the LFS Intranet at “Course Expenses Fund (MS Word)” .
Note that students should not be charged course fees for any LFS courses.

** Late requests may not receive funding **

LFS Curriculum Change – Deadline Oct. 10

Time again to submit any Curriculum Change Proposals you are considering.

Proposals can include a variety of changes to an LFS course or program, from changing the title of a course to adding a new program.

The steps listed below are required prior to submitting your proposal.

Forward your Curriculum Change requests to Virginia Frankian, cc Sandra Brown by October 10^th, 2022.

LFS Curriculum Change Process

Create the proposal using the Curriculum Proposal Form (2-Column form). You can find the guidelines here. See especially Appendix E.

Members of the LFS Curriculum Committee representing your disciplinary group can provide guidance and feedback prior to submitting your proposal form to the Committee. See Members list in the LFS Intranet here.

Get approval from your disciplinary group (e.g., applied animal biology, food science, food and resources economics group, etc.) followed by your corresponding Program (APBI, FRE, and FNH etc.). Graduate programs (e.g., SOIL, PLNT, HUNU, etc.) need to approve curriculum changes for their course codes. Cat 1 changes should be circulated and discussed prior to voting, while simpler Cat 2 changes may be decided by e-vote.

Submit the approved forms – following program approval, curriculum change forms should be compiled and submitted as a package to the LFS Curriculum Committee via Virginia Frankian (virginia.frankian@ubc.ca , cc sandra.brown@ubc.ca before the cut-off date. If needed, the Curriculum Committee will return the proposal to the originator for clarification or revision.

Proposals approved by the Committee will be presented to the LFS Faculty Council at its next meeting for approval.

Category 1 changes (e.g., new course and new degree program): a proposal approved by the Faculty Council typically requires external unit and library consultation, and budgetary approval. Subsequently, the proposal will be submitted to the Senate Curriculum Sub-committee, then to the Senate Curriculum Committee and finally to the Senate for approval.

Category 2 changes: a proposal approved by the Faculty Council will be submitted to the relevant Senate Curriculum Sub-Committee for approval.

The Curriculum Proposal review and approval process is a long one, especially for Category 1 changes. Items may be sent back to the originator for corrections at any level. Some Proposals require consultations with parties outside UBC.

For these reasons, it is important to plan and submit your proposal as early as possible.

Events

Today – Indigenous Strategic Initiatives (ISI) Fund Information Session

The Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives (OISI) will discuss information about the Indigenous Strategic Initiatives (ISI) Fund. This information session will discuss Stream 1: Innovative Projects, Stream 2: Transformative Projects and Stream 3: Student-led Projects. The ISI Fund is open to UBC-Vancouver and UBC-Okanagan faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students. To find out more about the ISI Fund in advance of the session, please visit the ISI Fund section on the Indigenous Strategic Plan website. Participants are encouraged to submit their questions ahead of time HERE.

Facilitators:

• Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot, Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Affairs
• Vicki George, Associate Director, Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives
• Jessie Penner, Indigenous Strategic Programming Manager, Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives
• Claire Sarson, Program Coordinator, Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives

There will be more info sessions on:

• Monday, October 31, 2022: 11:00am – 12:00pm
• Tuesday, November 29, 2022: 2:30pm – 3:30pm

To register for October 3 session, please visit:

https://events.ctlt.ubc.ca/events/indigenous-strategic-initiatives-isi-fund-information-session-october-3-2022/

Have an idea and not share where to start? Please contact Judy Chan at judy.chan@ubc.ca

Oct. 6 – Faculty Open House: Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability

After more than two years of isolation, share interdisciplinary conversations with colleagues from other fields and learn what resources are available through units at the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS).

Delicious snacks and refreshments will be provided and some of the hosting units will share a brief introduction to their work.

Thursday, October 6 | 11am – 1pm
BC Hydro Theatre, CIRS

RSVP

Nov. 8 – Have Questions About Your UBC Benefits Plan? Sign up for the webinar

The ever-popular Benefits Webinar is back on for the Fall season. It’s open to all faculty and staff at both campuses on Tuesday, November 8, from 11 am – 12 pm via Zoom to find out about:

• Which benefits you are eligible for
• What your benefits cover and where to find more information
• How to make claims using your benefits
• And much more…

In addition to learning about your benefits, you will also be hearing about your Employee and Family Assistance Plan and taking a close look at Tuition Waivers. Don’t delay, spaces are limited. Sign-up and submit your questions.

Deadlines

Oct. 16 – Job Posting: Indigenous Academic Advisor Position

The Indigenous Academic Advisor is responsible for developing, providing, evaluating and assessing academic advising services, programs and projects for the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS), in order to strengthen the recruitment, admission, academic success, personal development and retention of all undergraduate students in the Faculty, with a focus on Indigenous students. The successful candidate will work directly with students to provide academic advising, to create retention programming, and to provide personal and professional development opportunities for Indigenous students.

This position will be responsible for managing various Indigenous outreach and engagement initiatives on behalf of the Faculty; this includes independent outreach programming for LFS and collaborative management of programs promoting STEM opportunities at UBC. The Indigenous Academic Advisor will directly support the Faculty in achieving its objectives as they related to Indigenous student recruitment and retention issues within the Faculty’s Action Plan, and will ensure that the Faculty meet their objectives connected to the UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan.

The closing date for this job posting (https://ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/ubcstaffjobs/job/UBC-Vancouver-Campus/Indigenous-Academic-Advisor_JR9884) is 11:59pm on Sunday, October 16. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply.

Nov. 3 – Small Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) Innovation projects

Small TLEF Innovation projects support grassroots experimentation with pedagogical approaches to enhance learning. UBC Vancouver faculty, staff and students can apply for grants up to $50,000. The deadline is 3pm on November 17, 2022.

The LFS Internal Deadline is 3 pm on Thursday, November 3. Draft proposals should be emailed to Judy.Chan@ubc.ca. If you have a teaching and learning idea and don’t know where to start, please contact either Judy Chan Judy.Chan@ubc.ca or Cyprien Lomas Cyprien.Lomas@ubc.ca.

Learn more

Nov. 3 – Open Educational Resources (OER) Innovation Grants

The OER Rapid Innovation Grants provide funding for a wide range of activities and events that seek to engage the UBC community in increasing awareness and capacity for supporting and sustaining the adoption, adaption, and creation of OER at UBC V.

The LFS Internal Deadline is 3 pm on Thursday, November 3. Draft proposals should be emailed to Judy.Chan@ubc.ca. If you have a teaching and learning idea and don’t know where to start, please contact either Judy Chan Judy.Chan@ubc.ca or Cyprien Lomas Cyprien.Lomas@ubc.ca.

Learn more

Questions or comments? Please email us at lfs.today@ubc.ca