As Brock begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to prepare for a significant return to campus in the 2021-22 academic year, the University is presented with an opportunity to apply the lessons learned from the last 18 months to chart its future course. While a rebound in ancillary revenue should help the University’s budget in the next fiscal year, there remains a strong need for Brock to improve its enrolment prospects by attracting new student populations, building on retention initiatives, and better aligning academic offerings with industry needs and student demand.

The Academic Initiatives Fund (AIF) was created to offer one-year seed funding for new initiatives that will address Brock’s strategic priorities as outlined in the Institutional Strategic Plan and position the University to face the challenges of recovery from the pandemic. Options were discussed with the Strategic Academic Leadership Team, which includes the Deans, the University Librarian, and academic administrative leaders, for ‘shovel-ready’ projects to receive seed funding. The Provost struck an administrative committee to review proposals and recommend on the allocation of funds.

As a result of this process, the following projects will be supported the AIF during the 2021-22 academic year:

• Faculty of Applied Health Sciences – Enhancing Faculty-based advising to support first-year student success and retention
• Faculty of Applied Health Sciences – Development of a continuing education certificate in AODA Compliance Consulting
• Faculty of Social Sciences – Early-stage program development in the area of Social Work
• Faculty of Graduate Studies – Creation of an Academic Specialist position
• Faculty of Education – Creation of micro-credentials to support student retention and expand experiential education
• Faculty of Math & Science – Early-stage program development in two areas
• Faculty of Humanities – Early-stage program development for Arts & Science program
• Goodman School of Business – Case writing, teaching and learning centre
• Goodman School of Business – Centre for Business Analytics post-graduate work initiative
• Library – Creation of an Access Services staff position
• Library – Creation of a Digital Scholarship Lab Coordinator position
• Student Life and Success – Expansion of BU4U program to support year 1 and 2 students
• Student Wellness and Accessibility Center – Partnership to support the mental health of graduating students
• Brock Sports – Return to learn concussion interventions
• Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement – Partnership to create an Indigenous Curriculum/Educational Developer position and create an Indigenous Plus program
• Registrar’s Office – Creation of a Transitions and Access Programming Specialist position
• Centre for Career and Experiential Education – Career coaching pods: An innovative approach to career coaching for alumni and students
• Brock International – Support for the creation of courses grounded in the UN Sustainable Development Goals