MacEwan University
EN-9: Staff Professional Development

PD-OPPORTUNITIES
Sustainability-focused or -related content is provided through credit and continuing education courses, as well as external conferences and learning opportunities (see EN 12 for more detail). A list comprising relevant credit courses as well as offerings through the School of Continuing Education, Dean's Lecture Series, MSA (MacEwan Staff Association), CAFE and external services including attendance numbers will be uploaded as additional proof.

The Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFE) offers multiple workshops, presentations, and learning communities that focus on sustainability, diversity, and inclusion, and both faculty and staff are welcome for these. A list of sessions, dates, and numbers of participants are included in a separate document.

Further, internal PD offerings include training sessions and organizational as well as development opportunities, which are organized and/or facilitated by MacEwan's Human Resource Department (e.g.
Blanket Exercises, Fostering an LGBTQ2S Inclusive Environment, Creating a Culture of Inclusion etc. during Organizational Development Days)

MacEwan Staff Association offers shorter sessions regarding personal health and growth. A selection for this credit was made based on single sustainability dimensions (e.g. Growing Microgreens, Mental Illness and Stigma)

MacEwan's indigenous centre, kihêw waciston, offers excursions, sessions, camps, circles and other formats that address different social and ecological aspects of sustainability. Cultural diversity and equity, in combination with a personal and societal healing are the main themes throughout their events.

FUNDING
The Access to University Learning Activities Fund provides employees with up to $1,100 per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) to cover tuition fees for scheduled MacEwan University learning activities. This includes:
- Credit courses
- Non-credit and Continuing Education courses*
- Courses available through MacEwan University Sport and Wellness
- Programs available through the Conservatory of Music
The Access to University Learning Activities Fund can only be used toward tuition fees. Special fees, material fees, and costs associated with textbooks and other supplies must be paid by the employee.
The Access to University Learning Activities Fund is available to all MacEwan University employees, including, casual employees who work a minimum of 910 hours per year and active Sessional instructors who have had five sessional appointments.

The Career Development Fund covers tuition, conference registration fees or workshop fees for continuing MacEwan Staff Association (MSA) Members and Out of Scope (OOS) employees previously included in the Administrative Support and Supervisory Personnel (ASSP) policy.

The fund may be used for training that:
- Enhances the employee’s capacity to perform work in their current role; or
- Prepares the employee for an expanded or different role at MacEwan.
The Career Development Fund can only be used for tuition, conference registration fees, or workshop fees. The Career Development Fund does not pay for general interest courses, personal development, wellness, or job-specific requirements. Department budgets for professional development are to be used to cover any job-specific requirements or legislative compliance training.
An individual employee is allocated a maximum of $750 per fiscal year (Jul 1 to Jun 30).

External services can be accessed through the Career Development Fund mentioned above. Past PD opportunities included, but were not limited to conferences, speaker series and, indigenous culture camps, personal coaching and training sessions, such as Kihew Waciston Land Based Camp, EconoUs Conference, Communities in Bloom, The Impact of Social Media on the Criminal Justice System, Come Together Alberta Conference, Creative Commons Global Summit 2018, NASPA Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Conference, IDI intercultural development inventory - Part of the 2018 Intercultural Awareness Training & Study Tour, Business Ethics and Society, Restorative Justive Conference, Knowing Our Spirits Conference 2018.

MacEwan University provides professional development funding for courses, seminars, workshops and conferences that may be applied to learning about sustainability. Tuition fee funding and access to all of our campus libraries is available for staff.

According to attendance numbers provided, about 439 staff members (estimates included) attended a PD session over the last year that included sustainability content. However, we cannot fully preclude double counting in the statistics provided. Hence, a the data was interpreted in a rather conservative manner.