91福利在线你懂的

I am pleased to introduce a new regular email that shares updates on recent academic and research initiatives, keeps us connected with their ongoing progress, celebrates success, and invites feedback. Your ideas are welcome鈥攑lease send any comments or suggestions for future topics to the Office of the VPAR, Donna Lawless, at vpar@upei.ca.

Enrolment Updates

The Association of Atlantic Universities recently reported that enrolments of international students across Atlantic universities have declined by nearly 28% (-6,431) year over year. When the federal government (IRCC) announced a 鈥榗ap鈥� on international students in January 2024, its goal was to reduce the total enrolment of international students by 35 per cent. Since imposing this restriction, international student enrolments across Atlantic universities have declined by 36 per cent or 9,425 fewer students.

Like most universities in Canada, UPEI has experienced a decline in enrolment because of the decrease in international students. As of mid-October, year-over-year total international student enrolment is down by 14.1%. On a positive note, total domestic enrolment is up by 2.7%, and considering both, total university enrolment is down by 2.9%.

Compared to other universities, UPEI has done reasonably well. For example, comparing UPEI/Atlantic region: full-time undergraduate and graduate students: -2.3% (total Atlantic region: -4.8%); and international students: -14.2% total (total Atlantic region: -27.7%). We remain concerned when enrolments decline so we are focusing on numerous initiatives currently underway in the strategic enrolment management plan. Special thanks to all who are contributing to these initiatives, particularly the offices of recruitment, admissions, academic support, student culture and community standards.

Roadmap to Student Success - Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM) Plan

As communicated previously, the Steering Committee seeks input from the University community on the draft SEM plan. View the latest draft version of this plan. Feedback and comments were previously invited to be sent to the Chair of the Steering Committee, Dr. Melissa James, at mjames@upei.ca, or to vpar@upei.ca. All feedback will be considered by the committee as it finalizes the SEM plan in coming weeks. Various new initiatives are currently active in the SEM plan to help as we move ahead to address enrolment challenges, such as expanded recruitment, forthcoming new academic advising model, curriculum coherence initiative, and better retention analytics capabilities, among others.

Early Academic Assessment

As one of the initiatives underway to improve student persistence and completion (Goal 1 of the SEM plan), the Academic Planning and Curriculum Committee has proposed early assessment in academic coursework. Early assessment鈥攊nvolving a minimum proportion of graded work by a prescribed date in the semester鈥攊s relevant to student success. Past research studies have shown that timely feedback on academic performance identifies at-risk students early enough to seek advising and other support that helps students navigate their academic challenges. When early feedback is provided, past studies have reported that students can adjust their study strategies before performance gaps become too difficult to overcome. Any feedback on this initiative is welcome鈥攑lease send comments to vpar@upei.ca.

Faculty of Medicine

The first Faculty of Medicine Orientation was held successfully in late August and early September. It served as an introduction for the first incoming class of 20 Island medical learners at Memorial University鈥檚 regional campus, located at UPEI. The orientation provided students with insights into the medical profession, academic resources, and fostering a sense of community among peers. A staff appreciation event was held on October 21 to express gratitude to ITSS, Facilities Management, and the Faculty of Medicine, for their exceptional work in bringing the new building from a vision to life. It has been a pleasure to welcome students in this first medical school class鈥攖he beginning of a new chapter at UPEI and a historic moment for the province of PEI!

Office of Commercialization, Industry and Innovation (OCII)

The OCII office has recently undergone a rebranding exercise with support and assistance from Marketing and Communications. Tentatively it will be changing its name to Research, Partnerships, and Innovation (RPI). The team has reworked the mission, vision, tagline and core values. The new vision is 鈥渢o be the beacon of collaborative research, delivering real-world solutions nurtured locally and impactful globally.鈥� Thank you to the Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr. Marva Sweeney-Nixon, the Director of Marketing and Production, Emi Abou Wafia, and the entire team for their work on this rebranding effort. If there is any feedback on this rebranding, please contact researchservices@upei.ca or eabouwafia@upei.ca.

Greg F. Naterer, PhD, P.Eng. (he/him)
Vice-President, Academic and Research
91福利在线你懂的