Seneca Polytechnic
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses

The Seneca program that provides incentives for faculty to integrate sustainability into the curriculum is a faculty development program delivered as part of Seneca’s Curriculum Integration (CI) project. The CI project is an institutional-wide initiative that aims to integrate sustainability along with the other two Seneca Polytechnic priority areas, i.e., Truth & Reconciliation (TRC) and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) into every program curriculum.
The design of the faculty development program recognizes each of the three priority areas as distinct while also acknowledging specific interconnections and overlap of these areas during the curriculum integration process. Participants of the program are faculty members who are champions playing a key role in shaping curriculum renewal and integration.

The faculty development program offered to faculty champions from any programs is structured as follows:

Sessions Structure
· Weekly synchronous sessions, virtual and in-person, starting with distinct sessions in each of the three priority areas and then integrating them starting in Week 3.
· Week 0: Curriculum Integration Kick-off: Teaching & Learning Day (6 hours)
· Week 1/Session 1, 2, 3 (6 hours): Concepts & Connections Info Session for each priority area
· Week 2/Session 4, 5, 6, (6 hours): Concepts & Connections Working Session for each priority area
· Week 3/Session 7 (2 hours): Curriculum Integration Info Session
· Week 4/Session 8 (2 hours): Curriculum Integration Working Session
· Week 5/Session 9 (2 hours): Classroom Integration Info Session
· Week 6/Session 10 (2 hours): Classroom Integration Working Session
· Week 7/Session 11 (6 hours): Sharing and Celebration Day

Below are the key outcomes of the CI project since its faculty development program was first offered in Spring 2023:

Round 1 (Launch): May-June 2023
· Seventy faculty representatives from 55 programs participated in the CI faculty development program.
· Faculty attended weekly sessions and engaged in asynchronous work totalling 42 hours over the two months.
· Faculty we asked to submit two deliverables: A Needs Analysis and Curriculum Integration Roadmap after receiving approval from their Chair/Supervisor.

Round 2: July-August 2023
Five faculty from four programs in the School of Human resources and Global Business attended weekly sessions in the same format/structure as May-June 2023.
Out of the two groups of faculty champions who completed the CI faculty development program, a total of 52 faculty have submitted their need analysis, i.e. identifying gaps and opportunities in priority areas for integration). As well, 53 faculty submitted the Curriculum Integration Roadmap which included a Recommended Action Plan for integration over the next three years.

Round 3: January-April 2024
Fifty-three faculty from 52 programs, including Continuing Education, will be joining the training program.

Faculty champions who participate in the curriculum integration training program are compensated by their schools for their time participating. Full time faculty are given course release and non-full-time faculty are contracted.

Also, they can present their roadmaps to their peers and chairs on the final Celebration event. Some of those who have completed their training will be invited to provide testimonials and share examples of their implementation progress with new champions.