Academic Plan

New Academic Plan released at Algonquin College

At the June 5, 2023, Board of Governors Meeting, the Board received for information the new Algonquin College Academic Plan. The Academic Plan is he culmination of more than 18-months of collaborative activity, and part of a continuing commitment to academic excellence in alignment with the focus and principles of the recently developed Strategic Plan and Learner-driven Plan. The broader AC community and partners are encouraged to learn more by reviewing the Algonquin College Academic Plan 2023-2029.

Building from past successes, Algonquin College looked to think disruptively to ensure future direction meets the needs of the changing education landscape and the evolving needs of learners and employers. Algonquin College’s Academic Plan is intended to serve as a roadmap for the academic area for the next six years.

There will be significant positive impact on students as a direct result of the implementation of the Academic Plan. This plan will set the framework for academic programming, delivery modalities, personalized learning paths and curricula that provide relevant, agile skills and knowledge that will transfer to employment. In addition, a robust Academic Plan will be a strong recruitment tool for prospective learners.

The Academic Plan will not only further enable the College to achieve its vision to “transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success,” but it will also lay the foundation for futureproofing core operations in an era of significant anticipated disruption for higher education institutions by attempting “to provide a future-focused polytechnic education that embraces and values the diversity of both our learners and our academic teams and fosters a flexible learning environment that will meet their needs and those of an evolving Canadian economy.”

Engagement Process

The Academic Plan engagement process provided the opportunity for a wide variety of voices to be heard and engaged. Members of the Academic Plan Working Group and Academic Plan Consultants worked diligently in over 50 internal and external engagement sessions in addition to the distribution and collection of feedback received in response to learner and employee surveys. This process included the review of existing documents and material that aided in understanding the current post-secondary landscape, including over 2,100 voices that supported the development of topics for inclusion in the plan.

Scope of the Engagement:

  • Information was gathered over a ten-month period;
  • Initial research included local, provincial, national, and International data collection;
  • Engagement included:
  • 34 Internal Partner groups
  • 20 External Partner groups
  • 4 Student Partner groups
  • 4 Indigenous Partner groups
  • Consultations incorporated feedback from all four campuses; and
  • Areas of importance were validated through the use of employee and learner surveys.

On February 16th & 17th, members of the Academic Plan Advisory Council, Algonquin College Leadership Team members and an AC Students’ Association representative met with three senior consultants of Academica Group to review and synthesize data gathered from internal and external engagement reports and survey results. The group was tasked with solidifying the themes and priorities of the Academic Plan. As well, potential success indicators and outcomes associated with the achievement of the plan were developed.

Three priority areas encompassing several key objectives were identified:

  • Learner Driven Flexibility that enables choice
  • Polytechnic College that develops applied skills that lead to employability and community socio-economic growth (what we do)
  • Support faculty and staff to in delivering an exceptional learning experience (who deliver for us)

Over this six-year plan, various initiatives will be launched to meet these objectives. Success indicators will be driven by currently identified measures of success in our Strategic Plan, Business Plan and the key performance indicators (KPIs) outlined in the Strategic Mandate Agreement (SMA3) with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities. Leading metrics will be developed for individual actions and initiatives that will move Algonquin towards the lagging metrics already measured in existing processes.