Nova Scotia Community College
PA-5: Diversity and Equity Coordination

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) is committed to fostering an environment that is safe, welcoming and inclusive to all members of our NSCC community as well as external communities. The ODI provides awareness, education, promotion, and professional services related to accessibility, conflict resolution, diversity, equity, inclusion, human rights, and wellness (see Service Delivery Model attached).

The ODI consists of a Director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, two Respectful Communities Consultants, an Equity and Inclusion Consultant, a Mental Wellness Coordinator, a Staff Interpreter (ASL-English) and an Administrative Assistant comprising seven full-time positions. The Office works to strategically infuse equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in every aspect of the College, such as policy, education and awareness, leadership, accountability, complaint resolution, measurement and analysis, communication and commitment.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion works in partnership with the College’s newly established Office of Educational Equity and the newly established Senior Advisor, Mi’kmaq and Indigenous Initiatives to provide wholistic EDI leadership across all aspects of the College’s operations. Together the Director, ODI, Senior Advisor, Educational Equity, and Senior Advisor, Mi’kmaq and Indigenous Initiatives comprise the College’s Equity Leadership Team (ELT). The ELT has been tasked by the College Executive to articulate an “Equity Ecosystem” within the college. Once fully implemented, the equity ecosystem will provide a structure for collaboration and information sharing across NSCC’s 14 campuses and 5 academic schools. Through the equity ecosystem the ELT will bring increased intention and leadership to the EDI work happening across the college and ensure efforts are aligned to NSCC’s strategic priorities.

All staff, faculty and students are encouraged to take advantage of the services available through the Office of Diversity and Inclusion which include:

• Hosting and co-sponsoring various educational and awareness activities throughout the year to highlight the value and importance of diversity, inclusion and the promotion of a respectful working and learning environment.
• Providing regular learning opportunities through partnership with NSCC's Organizational Learning department. Development opportunities are offered in areas of cultural competence, conflict resolution, etc.
• Developing resources for faculty and other College employees to promote diversity and inclusion College-wide.
• Developing community partnerships and outreach opportunities.
• Providing consultation, needs assessments and customized solutions to individuals, departments and campuses in areas of diversity, inclusion and the promotion of a respectful working and learning environment.
• Ensuring discrimination and harassment complaints are addressed in a fair, efficient and transparent manner.
• Providing conflict resolution services including alternative dispute resolution options, consultation, coaching, facilitated conversations, mediations and group work, etc.
• Policy research, development, and referral services.
• Developing and implementing strategies to facilitate the prevention and elimination of organizational conflicts, discrimination, harassment and bullying, including policy and resource development.
• Initiating anti-oppressive educational activities including mandatory training for all managers in unconscious bias; and a voluntary “Me and White Supremacy” group for employees following the work of Layla Saad.
• Participating on a working group of all post-secondary institutions in Nova Scotia focused on improving accessibility within the member institutions. NSCC has partnered with the Rick Hansen Foundation to become the sole provider of the Rick Hansen Accessibility Certification training in Atlantic Canada. NSCC’s Vice President, Organizational Development has been appointed Vice Chair of the Nova Scotia Accessibility Advisory Committee, tasked with overseeing implementation of the provincial Accessibility Act.
• Providing support to the College in policy and program development to ensure that equity, diversity and inclusion are integrated into the college organizational culture. In 2018 NSCC implemented an Educational Equity Policy becoming the first post-secondary institution in Atlantic Canada to do so. This policy commits NSCC to achieving representational equity, resource equity, and a culture of equity-mindedness. Also, in 2018 NSCC implemented its first stand-alone Sexual Violence Policy committing the College to providing education and prevention of Sexual Violence as well as accessible and effective mechanisms for responding to Sexual Violence when it does occur. In 2019 NSCC implemented its first Mental Wellness Strategy with commitments to build capacity and connections to support good mental health for all members of the college community. The Mental Wellness Strategy embraces an intersectional approach, valuing the different ways that mental health is understood and experienced based on an individual’s personal characteristics and circumstances.
• Support NSCC’s EDI related policy goals by developing various guidelines to assist members of the college community to ensure inclusive practice. Guidelines developed include: Guidelines for working with ASL-English Interpreters, Guidelines for Smudging on Campuses, Inclusive Event Planning Guidelines, Religious Accommodation Guidelines, and Guidelines to Support Transgender and Gender Variant Students and Employees.
• Administering NSCC’s Employment Equity Policy which assists the College in achieving a workforce that is representative of the available labour market with regard to Aboriginal/Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, racial minorities, and women in roles in which they are under-represented; advancing our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and informing NSCC's equity initiatives. A working group of employees from Human Resources and the ODI has developed and is implementing a comprehensive, multi-year Employment Equity Plan to support the college’s Employment Equity Policy goals.
• Meeting the requirements for compliance under the Federal Contractors Program the College is committed to meeting the requirements of this Federal Government Program:
The Federal Contractors Program was established in 1986 to further the goal of achieving workplace equity for designated groups experiencing discrimination in the Canadian labour market. These groups are Aboriginal/Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, visible minorities (racially visible) and women, in occupations where women are under-represented.
Program Requirements:
- Collect Workforce Information
- Complete a Workforce Analysis
- Establish short-term and long-term numerical goals
- Make reasonable progress and reasonable efforts
An Employment Equity Self-Identification Survey was launched on September 26, 2016 inviting all NSCC employees to voluntarily self-identify. A communication strategy was developed to assist the College in achieving the required 80% survey return rate.

The Employment Equity Survey has been updated and will be administered in October 2019 as a workforce census which will provide the college with updated demographic information about its workforce.

Due to the College's strategic commitments to diversity and inclusion, we recognize that groups other than those designated in the Federal Contractors Program, also face discrimination and systemic barriers that may limit their participation in the workplace. To this end, it is important to note that the College has gone beyond the Federal Contractors Program requirements of surveying the four designated groups. Toward achieving a barrier free work and learning environment for those who have been historically disadvantaged, additional questions have been included in the census about sexual orientation and gender identity as well as immigration status.

The Diversity Leadership Council (“DLC”) acts as an advisory body to the President’s Office and the Executive Team for the College with matters related to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Citizen and Community Engagement. The Council’s overall responsibility is to support Nova Scotia Community College’s progress in creating a more diverse, inclusive and culturally competent learning and working environment. This group ensures that:

➢ NSCC is held accountable for its commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
➢ Priorities focused on equity, diversity and citizen and community engagement are set and measured annually
Responsibilities:
➢ Advise NSCC through the Vice President, Organizational Development on diversity and inclusion matters as they pertain to key business, educational and community issues
➢ Provide advice to the College to ensure the focus of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion plan aligns with the NSCC Strategic Plan and its key priorities
➢ Be Diversity and Inclusion Champions for the College – on campus, and in industry, government, corporate and community settings
➢ Function as a resource to the College in its work to eliminate all forms of discrimination and racism within the College
➢ Assist the College in learning to use a diversity and inclusion lens for all of its policies, processes and procedures at every level of the College
➢ Actively support initiatives for the DLC membership and the NSCC Executive Team that will continue to enhance their knowledge and skills in leading large organizations with a diversity and inclusion mandate
➢ Set annual provincially focused targets and milestones for its work, reporting annually to the College and to the citizens and communities it serves
➢ Oversee the ongoing institutional monitoring and accountability process for diversity and inclusion
➢ Review Terms of Reference (“TOR”) annually to ensure their ongoing alignment with the changes and growth of the College

• Understanding Diversity and Building Bridges workshop - mandatory for all current staff and an integral component of new hire on-boarding. This training covers topics including unconscious bias, micro-aggressions, and allyship.
• Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Competency learning program delivered for Executive members and Executive Direct Reports.
• Development and delivery of Diversity Learning workshop for Board of Governors.
• Deliver Diversity and Inclusion workshop during Student Orientation and Student Ambassador Conference.
• Develop Diversity Discussion Starter Handbook for Student Ambassadors.
• Respectful Workplace and Learning Environment Policy is undergoing a review and renewal process to better align the policy with the College’s organizational values and contemporary practice in the field.
• Contribute to the development of Diverse and Inclusive curricula, supporting classroom diversity and inclusion infusion and supporting the development of a rubric to assist faculty with textbook selections.
• Leads in the coordination of celebration and NSCC's participation in Halifax Pride Week Events, including participation in the Halifax Pride Parade. NSCC has received rave reviews from the Halifax Pride Committee Chair and its members for being a leader in support of Halifax Pride Celebrations in comparisons to other local Post Secondary Institutions. In 2018 NSCC received the award for Best Float in the Halifax Pride parade.
• Various customized training offered to departments and campuses that include module /discussion on creating space for diverse perspectives.
• Individual coaching for employees and students on diverse perspectives in relation to complaint resolution.
• In partnership with Organizational Learning the ODI has worked to provide educational workshops on topics such as Cultural Competence, Intercultural Competence, Gender Diversity and Unconscious Bias, for all employees.
• The College has supported three employees to participate in training to become Qualified Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Administrators. These individuals help to elevate our in-house capacity to provide intercultural competency awareness throughout the organization. The IDI is a world renowned theory-based assessment of intercultural competence. It provides individuals with an in-depth understanding to how they make meaning of cultural differences. It is a useful tool to help individuals understand where they fit on the IDI continuum and allows them to understand the areas where they may wish to further develop to become more culturally competent.

Leave for Change: International Volunteerism
Leave for Change (L4C) is a component of the Uniterra international development programme.
Since 2009, NSCC Organizational Learning, NSCC International and Uniterra have been sponsoring interested NSCC employees to undertake a variety of international short-term placements overseas with the goal of skill-sharing and capacity building; to the benefit of both the volunteer and the host agency. NSCC employees have volunteered in a number of countries over the past eight years in Ghana, Vietnam, Malawi, Burkina Faso and Nepal.
Intercultural competency training is required prior to departure on the Leave. NSCC employees travel to Toronto or Montreal for two-day intercultural competency training followed by a three to four week placement abroad. L4C employees maintain a blog and complete pre, during and post-placement reflections, as well as make presentations to the College community. As a requirement of the L4C placement, NSCC employees are required to make a commitment to give back to the NSCC community after their return from their Leave.

Conversations on Learning: The International/Intercultural Classroom
Since 2012, NSCC Organizational Learning and NSCC International have collaborated on a workshop for employees called Conversations on Learning: The International/Intercultural Classroom. All employees are welcome to register for this 3-day workshop.
Workshop description:
Conversations on Learning: The International/Intercultural Classroom
Communities and classrooms are changing as new learners with valued cultural backgrounds are welcomed to Nova Scotia and NSCC. Awareness of cultural identities and their implications is critical to working and learning together. This workshop creates space to have dialogue and practice the impact of culture and learning at NSCC, explore how to improve communication skills with learners from other cultures, and how to broaden the concept of internationalization of education.