Summary of Major Policy Changes
Policy Purposes and Alignment
Overall, the revised policies and procedures reflect a more equity-centred approach to student conduct. The revised documents also correct issues in scope between academic and non-academic areas of the College, encouraging collegial resolution and referral to the most appropriate area when complex challenges arise.
The policies and procedures employ more people-first language with the focus shifted from penalizing disruptive student behaviour to centring standards for a positive and respectful College environment in which every student and other College community member has an important role in maintaining. This shifts the focus from an extensive list of what students can’t do, and the punishments associated with that, to explaining what a positive and thriving campus community looks like. When circumstances arise that do not create this kind of environment, the procedures contain detailed, sequential, and evidence-based approaches to addressing the behaviour(s) so the campus environment can return to a positive state. This includes detailed attention to the responsibilities of each campus community member, including students, and the rights they have to a safe and respectful learning/working/living environment.
Community Consultation Feedback and Incorporation
Over the last year, Centennial College has been reviewing and gathering feedback from students and employees on these policies and procedures. Centennial College also partnered with external consultants who are experts on post-secondary policies and procedures.
Below are the main themes gathered from community feedback sessions, with corresponding explanations of how policies and procedures address each point. The feedback is presented in a table format below where feedback is presented in the left column and the response/revisions are noted on the left.
| Feedback | Response |
|---|---|
| Clarity is needed on when to engage the Student Experience Office versus being able to take action within the CMCT or student-facing level of professionals to address concerns that might not need to be elevated; | Clarity on what individual, team, or service area is responsible for upholding in terms of fair process for students when issues occur. The Case Management Care Team and other and related professionals have expertise in many areas of conflict resolution, knowledge of how to support students in minimizing mental health crises or other short-term issues that might be impacting their wellbeing, and designing strategies to facilitate success for long-term or permanent obstacles including neurodivergence, disability, and other complexities that might impact a student’s wellbeing. This is explicit within each facet of the policies (when applicable) and more so in the procedures when the steps to resolution of a short term or long term issue are broken down in plain language. |
| The need for support in appeal processes - this should not be denied to students; | Further to self-advocacy, the right to a support person is clear in multiple sections within the procedures and policies. The documents are clear about who a support person can and cannot be, and the responsibility of staff to make students aware of this provision when they are undergoing any process. |
| The need to ensure students of all learning abilities are respected and accommodated; | This is largely accomplished by the framing of the policies and procedures as people-first and equity-centric. Beyond accommodating the diverse needs of learners, the documents (particularly the Student Code of Conduct) affirm the benefit of having learners with multiple ways of knowing, learning, and doing as part of the campus community. Respecting students’ autonomy in the processes comes from explaining the Guiding Values of the College, the preambles to each document explaining the goal of keeping the College an environment prioritizing individual and collective wellbeing, and the multiple provisions within each procedure to center the student’s experience of the process to ensure a fair and equitable outcome. When accommodations are required for a student to thrive, the staff with expertise in these areas have the ability to guide students to appropriate supports; particularly for neurodivergent learners and those with cultural backgrounds that might differ from the majority of College students, this requires an individualized approach which is supported by the language and procedural flow of the documents. |
| The language should be clearly accessible for all students, including neurodivergent learners and international students. The language within the policy should also be simpler for practitioners to understand. There should not be an inherently antagonistic relationship created by any of the policies or procedures; | The policies and procedures are written in plain but concise language to allow for ease of understanding. The relatively simple terms allow students to understand their rights and responsibilities within the documents. The accessibility of the documents is paramount, as this will support students in engaging in self-advocacy. Moreover, students are likely to rely on a staff member to explain clearly what process will unfold in front of them when an issue or need arises, so the language is geared at the practitioners living and breathing this work every day. The policies and procedures are reflective of successful practices already happening to keep students well and the College a positive place to learn, live, and work. This is a collegial relationship reflected directly in the Guiding Principles statements, and woven throughout each document to assert that the best version of these procedures is one where staff and students (or faculty, if relevant) can work together to create a mutual understanding of what might have gone wrong, what is possible to provide resolution, and move towards implementing that resolution in a transparent and productive way. |
| Safety is a priority, both physical and in other forms. The policies and procedures must allow action to keep College community members safe.Concerns expressed about the safety of the students when an antagonistic situation arises with a faculty member, and the consequences for the student can exacerbate existing issues like mental health or financial difficulties; | The policies and procedures include sufficient authority for faculty (in limited ways) or Dean of Students office leadership to enact interim measures to keep everyone physically, emotionally, and mentally safe. The interim procedures outlined exist because the depth of expertise of practitioners in this role is immense, and circumstances will arise that require immediate and decisive action. The interim measures are not a substitute for due process which is underpinned by principles of fairness, and students experiencing interim consequences for an incident or circumstance are not deprived of appropriate process to support their own wellbeing. Any instance of negative behaviour likely has multiple causes and requires an individualized and nuanced approach to resolution. The procedures make this clear, stating repeatedly that multiple practitioners with expertise may be called upon to rectify a situation. The responsibility for leading this process is made clear in each step so it is explicit at all times who is tasked with putting their right pieces together to find resolution. This includes the detailed description of what faculty members can do without engaging the Dean of Students office and what must be facilitated through a student-centric process, enacted by student service professionals. |
| Clear jurisdiction of the roles and responsibility of academic faculty and Dean of Students office staff so everyone knows who is able to do what. Repeated expressions of concern for faculty members imposing punishment on students without some kind of process to guide those actions; | The policies and procedures include plainly, through explicit definitions at the outset of each document and embedded throughout, the division of labor for upholding each policy. This includes explanation of academic faculty/instructors’ roles in keeping learning environments safe and supporting students to succeed to the best of their ability in academic settings. Returning to the theme of collegiality, enacting the policies may require a joint effort between faculty and staff to devise and implement appropriate solutions in support of student wellbeing, and procedures clear definition of roles will help scaffold this type of collaboration so the student is best served by individuals with expertise in their respective areas. |
| Training to socialize the policies as well as bolster competencies necessary to uphold the policies (conflict resolution, intercultural competence, knowledge of who can act and when, etc.) is essential to ensure the policies are successful in practice. This includes the College providing guidance to instructors on how to navigate challenging situations with neurodivergent learners in the classroom; | Explicit mentions to training are peppered throughout the policies and procedures, most critically regarding gaining knowledge about intercultural competencies, Indigenization, working with neurodivergent learners, and conflict resolution. The policies and procedures also make clear the expertise contained within different teams or specialists throughout the College, so no one individual or group is expected to navigate complex and nuanced situations on their own. Returning to collegiality, the College environment is best served when multiple areas are aware of the resources available to support each team’s work, and practitioners can collaborate to support a student experiencing complex circumstances through difficulties. The multiple sources of training for practitioners to gain this knowledge are up to the College to identify and implement as this lies outside of the scope of the policies or procedures, but is an essential component of upholding them. The policies and procedures are also written in accessible language to facilitate understanding of the rights and responsibilities within each by practitioners in multiple areas, and the policies and procedures will be easily accessible for students, staff, and faculty to become familiar with. |
| Balancing of rights and responsibilities for different parties - the rights of students to feel safe and receive appropriate supports to advance their success and responsible for conducting themselves in a way that supports a productive and respectful campus environment; rights of staff to clarity of procedure, adequate training that addresses ongoing developments in student needs, and responsible for upholding a human-centered approach through due process when student conduct is harmful or counter to fostering a positive environment on campus; the rights of faculty to uphold academic norms within their classroom and receive support from expert practitioners (CMCT; other Dean of Students office staff) in complex and nuanced situations and responsible for collaborating with appropriate professionals to support fulsome student success when challenges or complexities occur. | While academic success is at the core of any postsecondary institution, students show up to class with their intersectional identities, complex lived realities, and individual goals and abilities. Within the classroom, faculty members hold the best expertise to support academic success in alignment with the respective subject areas and skill development. Similarly, student affairs practitioners hold copious expertise to facilitate wellbeing and success in other facets of a student’s life, including complexities that can affect their success within the classroom. When an issue arises, either inside or outside of the classroom, the policies and procedures expect a collegial approach to resolution wherein the resolution is one that respects the rights of the individual who created a harm, those that directly experienced harm, and moreover the positive and productive environment of the College. Balancing these rights and responsibilities for multiple parties is supported by clear definitions within the procedure documents, Guiding Principles clearly explaining what the College expects of all community members in relation to one another, regardless of one’s role on campus, and procedural resolution strategies underpinned by equity and fairness to all those affected by a particular instance or challenge. This includes adequate training for all campus community members on how to support students with complex needs, and where and how to refer students to appropriate experts who can dedicate time and resources to mitigating a negative circumstance. The College is populated by talented, caring, and knowledgeable individuals, and the procedures are designed to draw on the strengths of the varying groups of experts (academic and student-centered) to create positive responses to challenging situations that are underpinned by principles of equity and trust. |
Stylistic Notes
- Simpler language has been used.
- People-first language has been used.
- Legal references or language has been removed, or minimized.
- Intentional language has been used to bolster a tone of trust that centers individuals as inherently good actors.
- Policy framework aligns with policies recently brought online; including definitions, scope and resolution pathways.
Review the Draft Revised Policies and Procedures
As part of the final phases of this process, Centennial College students and staff are invited to review the revised policies and procedures listed below:
- Draft Student Code of Conduct: Centres respect and students as inherently good actors outlining the expectations of all students, and highlights the responsibilities of both students and the College in achieving these expectations.
- Draft Student Code of Conduct – Complaints Procedures: Centres fairness, learning and support to address disputes when respect breaks down. Provides multiple supportive resolution pathways to address harms.
- Draft Student Appeal Procedures: Outlines, in detail, the avenue available to students to challenge decisions and centres procedural fairness. The flow of the document provides the sequential steps of the process to enhance usability.
- Draft Complex Student Support and Intervention Policy: Centres student wellbeing and identifies a coordinated approach to address concerning and worrisome student behaviours.
- Draft Complex Student Support and Intervention Procedures: Affords the Case Management Care Team (CMCT) the authority to take action to support students experiencing complex needs.
We invite you to review these documents and encourage you to share these links with Centennial colleagues and students and relevant partners in your network for their input. Questions, comments, and feedback should be submitted by email to Matt Wensink, Associate Director of Student Community Standards and Support, at mwensink@centennialcollege.ca by March 8. While all feedback will be carefully considered, we will focus on incorporating those recommendations that enhance or complement the extensive input already received during the consultation process with both the College community and third-party experts.
To view the current policies and procedures, please visit our College Policies.
The revised policies and procedures will be published in March 2024, pending the necessary College approvals.
All other questions about the Non-Academic Conduct Policies and Procedures Review can be directed to Matthew Wensink, Associate Director of Student Community Standards and Support at mwensink@centennialcollege.ca.