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Eventually, my website, Michael Speaks up for You, was highlighted in RRU Student Service eNewsletter today.

“Ongoing: Meet the elected graduate student member on Academic Council“

This is the first move. I hope to connect graduate students more effectively and efficiently. I also want to set up a norm for the student representative in next term.

My second move is to institutionalize the representation for graduate students. It is not a easy way to go as I have to gain approval from the RRU high administration. I added a notification feature to this RRU website. When you accept it, you will automatically get updates.

Note: this summary was published on Jan 22 and reported again in this blog.

I have sent out the mid-course evaluation survey (Jan 3, 2023) to 120 graduate students. Until now, 18 responses have been received and the response rate is 15%. 83% of the respondents (n=15) agreed to have a mid-course evaluation. 61 % of the respondents (n=11) decided to keep the anonymity of the respondents in mid-course evaluation (WG4). A few elaborated on their responses as follows,

• Keep it anonymous: “I do not see the need to disclose a student’s name. This would be a barrier to participation. Perhaps make the disclosure optional, or not disclosed at all.”
• Don’t keep it anonymous: “I believe in providing open honest feedback with course instructors…Mid course evaluations should be standard practice in all RRU courses.”
• Need more study: “Students should be free to create ongoing evaluation records that are submitted either anonymously or not to a body that is sworn to serve the institution’s interests as outlined in documents reflecting purpose and mission.”

I am glad to have a meeting with Corbett Gildersleve, Executive Director of RRU Student Union. We have exchanged views on the role of student representatives and opportunities for collaboration (WG 3).

I chose to attend in person the Academic Council hybrid meeting today in Hatley Castle. I was glad to see that there was an agenda item on “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and RRU” in the Council meeting. To represent students’ viewpoints, I indicated my wish to join the task force on using AI in RRU (WG 4)

It is my pleasure to attend the AGM 2023 of RRU Student Association as an observer. I am excited to learn that RRUSA had come up with some significant achievements in governance and partnership during the past year. May I wish RRUSA further advancement in 2023 toward its goal to serve RRU students (WG 3).

I am glad to hear from RRU Student Services today that a new job developer was hired and she helped to raise the number of job postings in Career Roads (Symplicity) by nearly 100%.

You can visit Career Roads (Symplicity) for details.

Below is information from RRU Student Services:

Feb 1, 2023 Viatec (In-person) Pitch In a Castle Pitch in a Castle – Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology & Entrepreneurship Council | VIATEC

Feb 1,2023 6 am Global Digital Workforce Summit ( Virtual/Eventbrite) https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:7005642274374107136/

Feb 3, 2023 1pm Amazon Career Fair (In-person/ Eventbrite) Amazon Delivery Job Fair Tickets, Fri, 3 Feb 2023 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite

Feb 3, 2023 11 am Victoria Job Fair (In-person/Eventbrite) Victoria Job Fair – Victoria Career Fair Tickets, Fri, Feb 3, 2023 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

Feb 9th, 2023 11 am Save On Foods (In-person/ Eventbrite) Victoria Save-On Foods Job Fair Tickets, Thu, 9 Feb 2023 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

Feb 10th, 2023 11 am-2pm (Virtual/Eventbrite) Diversity Career Fair Victoria Job Fair – Victoria Career Fair Tickets, Fri, Feb 10, 2023 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

Feb 11th, 2023 10 am-2pm (In-person/Eventbrite) Sooke Job & Volunteer Fair Tickets, Sat, 11 Feb 2023 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite

Feb 14th, 2023 11am What Works Industry Innovation BC Tech Events – BC Tech Association (wearebctech.com)

March 14-16th RISM (Virtual/LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/events/researchinnovationsinsustainabl6920802381257404416/

March 22nd Victoria Career Fair 1-4pm (In-person/Eventbrite) VICTORIA CAREER FAIR- MARCH 22ND, 2023. Tickets, Wed, 22 Mar 2023 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite

March 29-31 8th Annual Sustainable Week (Virtual) Sustainability Week (economist.com)

In comparison to New York City’s Department of Education who banned ChatGPT in all public schools, RRU is more open-minded and student-centered.

 “George Veletsianos, a professor at Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C., and Canada’s research chair in innovative learning and technology, says ChatGPT could not only help students improve their writing but also push institutions to develop better ways to assess student learning that go beyond just regurgitating facts in a written essay.” (CBC News)

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/chatgpt-student-benefits-1.6731105

RRU’s comment on the use of ChatGPT is on air today. Our President Philip Steenkamp interviewed RRU digital expert, Prof. George Veletsianos, to talk about the 5 frequently asked questions about ChatGPT. I am glad to hear that the video conveyed an open and encouraging stance on the use of ChatGPT and other AI tools. Please check out the LinkedIn video for details.

I am glad to have a meeting with Veronica Thompson, the Vice-president of RRU and chairperson of the Academic Council today. She introduced to me the role of student representative at Royal Roads University. I took the chance to share with her my work which includes conducting a survey for students’ views on mid-course evaluation and meeting graduate students in the “Pathways to Power” seminar. I also highlighted my concern over the demand for on-campus job fairs among graduate students.