Student Representative of Academic Council
As a follow-up to my survey in January 2023 (WG 1), it was confirmed that the mid-course evaluation will be implemented in all courses being developed/updated. I am glad to see that RRU gives due respect to the student’s feedback and solicits their effort to improve their learning process (WG 4).
You may remember the survey on President Steenkamp’s reappointment last November as noted in my blog on Nov 20, 2022. To follow up (WG 1), I asked RRU through Lily Chong, the elected student representative in the Board of Governors (WG 3), for the progress. I am glad that “the reappointment process is working its way through the appropriate channels and is heading towards the conclusion”. The most impressive part is that “there was a high response rate to the survey with lots of student engagement, and qualitative responses were largely constructive and positive”.
I am sure that all RRU students are very concerned about the future of the University. Let’s look forward to the final result of the reappointment.
Ever since the beginning of my term, a few graduate students kept on telling me that they were annoyed by the teamwork as some members were not doing their job. I have discussed this with the RRU administration previously both in writing (Nov 28, 2022) and in our conversation (Jan 4, 2023). Today, I am glad to see that RRU Student Services is launching a research project to investigate the team experiences of RRU students and the result will be used for developing tools to “support accountability for student teams”. Below is a copy of the email,
Hello, RRU Students!
I am sending this message on behalf of the Team Coaching unit of Student Services to invite you to participate in their research project: Accountability Within RRU Student Teams. The goal of this research is to better understand your experience of student teamwork related to within-team accountability – so that tools, processes, and general approaches that support accountability for student teams at RRU can be improved or developed.
There are two ways to participate if you choose, and you can help by doing either or both.
A survey – The survey should take you about 10 minutes to complete, and your answers are completely anonymous. The survey will be open until April 30. LINK TO SURVEY. (Michael’s Note: the LINK to SURVEY is individual-based. Please refer to your email for your link.)
An interview – One-on-one interviews will be conducted by Tabea Berg, tabea.berg@royalroads.ca. Interviews will take about 45 minutes. You will be asked to share your perspectives, experiences, and opinions on within-team accountability, but to not identify any individuals. There are no right or wrong answers, and you can decline to answer any questions you don’t want to. Interview participants will be entered into a draw to win one of three $50 Save-On Foods gift cards. If you are willing to participate in an interview, please email Tabea directly by April 30.
For more information about either participation method, please see the attachments. You can also contact Tabea if you have any questions.
Thank you for considering participating. Your perspective matters, and your contributions are appreciated.
Sincerely,
Kyla McLeod, Ed. D., Director, Student Services
I attended another student support activity today in the same post-secondary institution. Animal-assisted activity is an evidence-based practice to enhance mental wellness. It is my first time to experience it. I felt welcomed by the friendly dogs. It is also refreshing to be in a group of dog lovers. Do you like to have a Pet Cafe in RRU? Tell me by writing comments below.
This Monday morning I attended a community painting activity at a post-secondary institution. The venue was surrounded by a garden and you could see grass and trees through the big window wall. With the theme of love, the activity was self-directed and you were free to draw whatever comes to your mind. Students came in from time to time to enjoy the quiet time. After the activity, we had lunch prepared by the organizer and chatted with each other. It is a refreshing experience to paint, share your ideas, and connect.
I wonder if we can have such an opportunity at Royal Roads University. We have a much more beautiful campus and we have spacious function rooms. What we need is a small amount of funding, materials for painting, and an organizer to kick off. Are you interested? Do you have any suggestions on how to improve wellness? You can send me your views by writing a comment below.