In a time of government cuts and cost challenges, universities have to make tough choices about their budgets, finding savings while still supporting core elements such as teaching, research and student experience.
AV俱乐部 is no stranger to these choices, and this past weekend two areas of campus were celebrated with national awards for their success in navigating them.
AV俱乐部 took home two institutional Quality and Productivity Awards from the (CAUBO) at its national conference, which continues this week. The Faculty of Medicine received the Atlantic Region Quality and Productivity Award for its innovative approach to considering budget reductions, while Counselling and Psychological Services was recognized with an honourable mention for its efforts to manage increasing demand for its services.
CAUBO is an association that aims to promote and support the professional management and effective leadership in the administrative affairs of Canadian universities and colleges.
In addition to the Quality and Productivity Awards, AV俱乐部 staff are receiving a number of individual recognitions. Two Dal employees are the first-time recipients of awards that are new this year: Internal Audit Services鈥� Margaret Sterns is being presented with the the Leadership in Learning Award, while the Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 Anne Weeden is receiving the Emerging Leader Award. As well, Financial Services鈥� Darrell Cochrane (recently retired) is being awarded Honorary Membership for Distinguished Service.
鈥淚鈥檝e been a CAUBO director or member for about 20 years, and I don鈥檛 recall an institution winning so many recognitions at once,鈥� says Ken Burt, AV俱乐部鈥檚 vice-president finance and administration. 鈥淭his is a real point of pride for our community.鈥�
Sparking a Faculty-wide conversation
The Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 Quality and Productivity Award was for 鈥淏eing Explicit AV俱乐部 Allocating Limited Resources within Fiscal Constraints,鈥� recognizing an innovative planning exercise for the 2011-12 budget year.
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Diane Gorsky, associate dean of operations and policy, helped lead the effort along with Christina MacNeil, director of finance for the Faculty. The initiative came from a desire to find a new strategy for managing budget cuts, rather than simply applying cuts equally to all the medical school鈥檚 departments and units.
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鈥淭here was a feeling that method wasn鈥檛 strategic or sustainable,鈥� explains Gorsky (pictured, left). 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 recognize the Faculty鈥檚 strategic plan, or that there are some areas that need to grow and develop and perhaps others that deserve less focus. So how do we start that conversation?鈥�
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To develop a new planning model, they teamed up with Craig Mitton, an expert on priority setting in health-care environments, to draft a decision-making framework that engaged stakeholders from across the Faculty: department heads, assistant and associate deans, professors and administrative staff. Grouped into clusters, they submitted proposals that were evaluated against the . The proposals that moved forward were those that best achieved cost savings while minimizing the impact on key strategic priorities.
While Mitton's model was built for government and health care, not university administration, with a few tweaks it proved incredibly robust.
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鈥淚t built a shared stewardship in the Faculty budget,鈥� says Gorsky. 鈥淚t was collegial, non-adversarial and had wide buy-in 鈥� and anyone who鈥檚 taken part in any budget discussion knows that鈥檚 not always the case.鈥�
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Accomplished in an intense six-week period 鈥� normally such exercises are spread over a year 鈥� the program was successful in helping provide multi-year strategies for managing the Faculty budget, and the Medical School is expecting to return to the same planning framework in its next round of budgeting. 听
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鈥淚 really commend everyone who took part, all across the Faculty of Medicine,鈥� says Gorsky of the award. 鈥淭his was a huge team effort.鈥�
Supporting students in need
In addition to the Atlantic Regional Prize, AV俱乐部 also claimed an Honourable Mention for the work of the team.
Its submission was titled 鈥淪ustainably Meeting the Counselling Needs of Increasing Numbers of Students Disrupted by Psychological Problems.鈥� The recognition celebrates the team鈥檚 work managing increasing demand for student psychological support in a time of limited resources.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen this increase in AV俱乐部鈥檚 enrolment in recent years but, apart from that, the broader issue is that the number of students requesting help for psychological issues, as well for as learning disabilities, has increased significantly,鈥� explains Dr. Victor Day, director of Counselling and Psychological Services (pictured, right). 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 true across the country.鈥�
Part of this can be explained by the decreasing cultural stigma against seeking help for issues like depression and anxiety. Another factor is the rising number of students coming to university with pre-existing conditions. Complicating matters further is the under-resourcing of the public mental health system. 鈥淚f students are going to get help, by and large it has to be through the university,鈥� says Dr. Day.
To try and address this situation, the Counselling Services team adopted a new triage system to better identify those students with the most pressing and urgent needs. An $8 per-student increase in the student health fee allowed the team to add part-time counsellors from local hospitals or private practice, who offer more support for evenings and on Saturdays 鈥� key timeslots for busy students. Counselling Services also increased group support options and introduced , a free online self-help program for students experiencing moderate depression, anxiety and/or stress, to help reach students who are reticent to seek out in-person counselling.
Combined, these efforts have allowed the team to provide counselling support to 46 per cent more students over the past five years.
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing our best to cope with a challenging situation,鈥� says Dr. Day, acknowledging that they鈥檙e still a long way from meeting the campus community鈥檚 needs. 鈥淲e know that some students still find it difficult to access counselling here, and others don鈥檛 get as much support as they鈥檇 like. But we get excellent evaluations from students who receive counselling here and are constantly working to do everything we can, with the resources we have, to improve the well-being of our students.鈥�
Individual recognitions
In the individual categories, Anne Weeden of the Faculty of Medicine is being presented with the Emerging Leader Award in its inaugural year. The award celebrates CAUBO members who are known for their innovative, meaningful contributions to the improvement of their professoion and the efficiency of their institute. Weeden, who has been with the Dean鈥檚 Office for more than 20 years, is assistant dean of operations, responsible for developing and maintaining strategic partnerships within the Faculty鈥檚 internal and external constituents.听 听
Another inaugural award, Leadership in New Learning, is being presented to Margaret Sterns, the university鈥檚 internal auditor. Sterns鈥� award recognizes her outsanding individual contribtuions to CAUBO professional development, including the annual conference, pre-confernce seminars, online courses, workshops and webinars.
Finally, Darrell Cochrane, who retired from his role as controller with Financial Services this February after 29 years at Dal, is being given Honorary Membership for Distinguished Service. Honorary Membership in CAUBO is granted to former representatives of member institutions who have rendered exceptional service.