Last year at Alexander College was an adventure!

Summary

The pandemic continued to affect course delivery; we moved into a wonderful new campus for the Fall Term; a record number of students graduated with Associate degrees; we continued our commitment to community engagement; and, in consultation with DQAB, reviewed our college operations in order to move forward in the years ahead.

New Campus

• Our spacious new Burnaby campus opened in September. New classrooms, laboratories, faculty, staff and student spaces, and excellent electronic resources are features of the new campus. We look forward to all of us eventually being together on campus in person.

Course Delivery

• Winter, Spring & Summer terms were delivered online (with both synchronous and asynchronous courses) due to Covid. We continued to focus on active learning with an emphasis on active student engagement in class despite being on-line. Faculty and students were unhappy about not being able to be together in person but succeeded admirably in learning together on-line.
• In the Fall term, we offered limited in-person instruction with continued online delivery for many courses. We implemented safety measures at all campuses with temperature checks on entry and mandatory mask wearing for all students and staff in classrooms and common areas.

• We implemented a student Covid vaccination scholarship contest in order to encourage students to get vaccinated for Fall. Over 500 students submitted proof of vaccination and several won tuition waivers.
• We introduced three new science-oriented associate degree concentrations (Associate of Arts in Mathematics, Associate of Science in Mathematics, and Associate of Science in Computer Science)
• Faculty Professional Development and Support:
  – June 19th faculty pro-d event: First Nations Principles of Learning
  – In August, the new Instructional Support Centre (ISC) began operations
  – November 26th faculty pro-d event: How to Keep Calm and Help Our Students Learn

Convocation

We had two virtual convocation ceremonies in summer and late fall with the largest ever number of graduates. The president’s welcome speech, the valedictorian’s address, faculty teaching awards and student degrees were all presented virtually.

Although students were disappointed not to be there in person or invite their families to be with them, we all managed to have fun with convocation box pickup days and plenty of college photographs and selfies.

Community Engagement

• May – Alexander College donated $300,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to support families in India affected by COVID-19.
• September 10th – Alexander College donated one million dollars to the Burnaby Hospital Foundation for new medical equipment.
• September 30th – AC observed the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation with presentations and activities for faculty, staff, and students.
• In early fall, staff participated in the international Ride for Refuge, a family-friendly cycling and walking fundraiser that supports charities which provide refuge and hope for displaced, vulnerable people.
• Our Student Refugee Program accepted two new refugee students in the fall for a total of five. These students are active in the community and have been touring the Lower Mainland while adjusting to living and studying in Canada.
• On October 1st and 2nd, Alexander College hosted the PDGIA (Private Degree Granting Institutions Association) Conference. The theme–“Exploring Teaching, Learning and Administrative Excellence Beyond the Pandemic”–elicited presentations from staff and faculty from a broad diversity of BC private institutions, including Alexander College.
• On November 5th, we received the Business of the Year Award from the City of Burnaby and the Burnaby Board of Trade at the 22nd Annual Burnaby Business Excellence Awards. AC was also a finalist for the Burnaby Community Spirit Award.

Degree Quality Assurance Board (DQAB) Site Visits

• As required for all private post-secondary institutions, Alexander College engaged in an intensive internal self-study research project in 2020. More than 60 faculty, staff and students looked at all aspects of our college academic and administrative operations over a 5-year period. The results of our research were submitted to DQAB in May in anticipation of site visits from external reviewer panels.
• On November 8, we hosted an expert Program Review panel as part of our renewal application for our Associate of Science degree. The sessions resulted in interesting discussions and helpful recommendations.
  Program Review summary and institutional response [PDF]
• On December 6, we hosted an expert Organization Review panel as part of our degree renewal process that resulted in further useful conversations and recommendations.
  Organization Review summary and institutional response [PDF]