| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 55.02 |
| Liaison | Rob Williams |
| Submission Date | July 2, 2024 |
Capilano University
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 3.00 |
Rob
Williams Project Manager Facilities |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Non-discrimination statement
Yes
The non-discrimination statement, including the website URL where the policy is publicly accessible:
Discrimination, Bullying and/or Harassment are serious offences and are not tolerated by the University, and may be cause for disciplinary sanctions including, where appropriate, suspension, dismissal or expulsion.
E.702-Students---Statement-of-Rights-and-Responsibility.pdf (capilanou.ca)
B.512-Human-Rights-Diversity-Inclusion-and-Equity.pdf (capilanou.ca)
further we have an EDI page that can be found here:
https://www.capilanou.ca/about-capu/get-to-know-us/our-values/our-edi-commitment/
Bias response team
Yes
A brief description of the institution’s discrimination response protocol or team:
CAPU provides a range of support services for those experiencing discrimination, bullying or harrassment.
For students - or those supporting students - who have experienced sexual violence, Student Support Advisors are available to provide confidential support, information, and advice. Services include:
- Confidential support, information and advice
- Personalized safety planning
- Academic and other accommodations
- Referrals to emergency housing, financial aid or food supports
- Information and accompaniment to medical and emergency services
- Information about reporting options
- Referrals to on and off campus resources
- Support for those who are supporting a survivor
- Support for respondents or those who may have caused harm and are looking for a way forward
Employees experiencing sexual violence will be supported through the Human Resources department.
Additionally, the University has an EDI Specialist, counselling and conflict resolution advisory services that helps members of the campus community to confidentially, informally and effectively resolve difficult situations. These can range from interpersonal conflict to sexual/discriminatory harassment and bullying. The Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Advisor provides a safe and informal space to discuss situations you have encountered that relate to accommodation, ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, transgender status, sexual orientation or other.
General processes relating to complaints of discrimination, bullying or harrassment are addressed through the Discrimination, Bullying & Harassment Policy/Procedure.
Recruitment programs
Yes
Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit academic staff from underrepresented groups?:
Yes
Does the institution have programs designed specifically to recruit non-academic staff from underrepresented groups?:
Yes
If yes to any of the above, provide:
STUDENTS:
(1) Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) is the Government of Canada’s outbound mobility pilot program, aims to widen access to participation to study abroad programming, including to Indigenous students, students with a disability, and low-income students. Thanks to the funding awarded through this program, CapU has been able to attract students from the underrepresented groups to participate in short-term field schools in 2023 and, more coming up, in 2024, which have been re-imagined through the UN SDG lens. The GSO project has also encompassed the efforts to launch COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning), enabling students to engage in intercultural learning without having to travel while supporying them financially.
(2) Outbound mobility programming at CapU has been re-designed in terms of its promotional efforts, application process, and overall wraparound supports to attract and engage students from underrepresented groups - the positive results have been evident especially over the past two years.
Additionally the Office of Indigenous Education and Affairs have an Indigenous recruiter for students. This position builds relations and works with community to understand where indigenous students are coming from and what they need. The role promotes Indigenous focused programs and the incorporation of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition and Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association assessments.
STAFF - Academic & Non Academic:
The University has created new positions in our Talent Acquisition team who are tasked with pipelining talent, with a focus on finding diverse staff, including Faculty. We've partnered with groups such as Impact, Mosaic, Indigenous groups as well as Qmunity for recruitment purposes; we've implemented a self-identification survey that is part of the applications process so we can gather qualitative info on the underrepresented groups in our organization that will help us prioritze our recruitment pipelining efforts; lastly, in the interview process, we provide information on reducing unconscious bias, more rigid and standardized interviews, which allow for equal opportunity for everyone interviewing, ensuring everyone has a fair and equitable experience.
Mentoring, counseling and support programs
Yes
Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs designed specifically to support academic staff from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Yes
Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs to support non-academic staff from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Yes
A brief description of the institution’s programs designed specifically to support students, academic staff, and/or non-academic staff from underrepresented groups:
STUDENTS:
The Office of Indigenous Education and Affairs hold an Elder in Residence Program. Elders bring wisdom, cultural teaching, and support to all students at Capilano University. The Elders meet with students at the Kéxwusm-áyakn Student Centre (LB196) for interactive workshops and one-on-one mentoring, and also take part in classroom presentations. The OIEA also provide writing support for math and english (external vendor) and a lunch program to help with food security issues.
Indigenous Student Services offers direct services and support for student of First Nations, Inuit and Métis ancestry. Their services include helping with course selection and registration, contact with First Nations Band education officers and CapU instructors, advising on special programs, as well as on personal, health and school-based issues.
Within the Capilano Student Union, there are 8 collectives to support underrepresented groups. These include:
• Black Students Union
• Women’s Collective
• Queer Collective
• Students of Color Collective
• Disability Justice Collective
• Indigenous Students Collective
• International Students Collective
• Mature and Parent Students Collective
Each collective is represented by a student liaison board member (elected from within the collective peer group) and wach collective has the ability to form their own constituent group to become a union within the broader Student Union. The collective leads are also responsible for driving events and programming to promote community support, equity and diversity, e.g Black History Month.
STAFF (ACADEMIC and NON ACADEMIC)
Specific to our Indigenous employees: Homewood Health have a strong network of clinicians who have experience in working with Indigenous people; at intake, there is the option to search for ‘First Nations’, ‘Residential Schools’ and ‘Inuit’, in terms of clinician experience. They have 1080 service providers nationally who are listed as having experience working with Indigenous peoples, and more locally, we have 91 clinicians in British Columbia who are also on the FNHA (First Nation Health Authority) approved list of clinicians. Their regional recruitment specialists continue to explore providers and develop alliances with providers who are highly qualified and experienced in working with Indigenous employees.
They also have a program in place that allows employees to access support with an Elder or Healer from their community, up to four sessions/meetings per year. At the time of their call to intake, the employee would provide us with the contact information for the Elder that they wish to meet with. The intake team would then send the employee a Participant Letter and Consent form, as well as a Confirmation of Attendance & Reimbursement form. The employee would submit this to the intake centre after each meeting together, which would then prompt Homewood to send a monetary gift to the chosen Elder following their meeting.
Homewood Health works on an ongoing basis to ensure they are continuing to improve the way they support their clients prioritizing diversity and inclusion, in a way that supports cultural inclusivity and culturally appropriate support for the Indigenous populations within their customer’s workplaces.
Support for future academic staff
No
A brief description of the institution’s programs to support and prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty members:
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Optional Fields
Yes
Does the institution offer housing options to accommodate the special needs of transgender and transitioning students?:
Yes
Website URL where information about the institution’s support for underrepresented groups is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Note - the Student Residences provide the following housing options for transgender and transitioning students:
- priority for a single room, if requested.
- Open dialogie to find a suitable roommate if a double room is applied for.
- We offer single-gender and gender-neutral floors, so students get to choose what community they would like to be placed in.
- In a case where a transgender or transgendering student applies late to housing, we work with them to place them in the available space, and they are also placed on our priority waitlist for a single room.
Please note that the current student residences are located off campus, outside of the institutional boundary of this report.
Indigenous Digital Accelerator (IDA) - The IDA is designed to support Indigenous run companies within the Tech and Digital Creative sectors. The IDA scales up early-stage Indigenous companies with high growth, commercialization, and innovation potential within a framework emphasizing community development and low environmental impact.
The IDA also assists in addressing Indigenous participation gaps. The IDA program can last up to one year for participants.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.