The Centre for Teaching and Learning, the Office of Open Learning, and the Office of Quality Assurance are moving into the Centre for Engineering Innovation beginning August 26th.
The three units will be sharing the space formerly occupied by the Windsor Essex Economic Development Corporation on the first and second floors of the building on the eastern side of California Avenue, directly across from the parking garage.
“The primary goal of the move was to bring together the units on campus who already work closely to support teaching and learning in one physical space, creating a one-stop shop for curriculum support and innovation,” said acting provost and vice-president, academic, Jeff Berryman. “It will give all three units greater campus visibility in a space that has its own external access and appropriate spaces in which to carry out their missions,” he said.
Berryman said that having all three units in one space will elevate the importance that new developments in teaching and learning, and new modes of innovative program delivery, will have on the student experience and the University’s reputation as an educational leader. “We are making a bold statement about the importance and value of teaching and learning at UWindsor,” Berryman said.
Nick Baker, director of the OOL, said that being in the same space provides more opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and improving services to the campus. “One of the challenges we face currently is that we are all spread across campus, even within one unit, and instructors looking for support have to go to multiple locations to get the teaching and learning help they need. While we are all still autonomous units, being in the new space will make it so much easier to pull together the teams needed for complex teaching and learning questions, because we can just walk down the corridor to find our colleagues,” he said.
Penny Kollar, from the Office of Quality Assurance, will be moving into the new space as well and said she looks forward to this collaborative partnership. Kollar said with this move comes the ability to provide a one-stop shop for assistance with learning outcomes, curriculum and assessment providing campus partners with more streamlined access thereby improving partnerships and consultation. “I am excited to continue to further the existing synergies already in place for new program development and cyclical program reviews among the three offices,” she said.
Marilyn Powley, who has been the administrative assistant in the CTL for over 20 years, says she has seen many changes as the centre has evolved and this is just one more step in that evolution. “CTL, OOL and QA all have dedicated people who work hard to serve the campus, and this move will help us do that better,” she said.
The new building offers a modern and welcoming space to come and explore all aspects of teaching and learning. Another advantage is the range of spaces available to teach workshops and courses in the University Teaching Certificate and the Certificate in Online and Open Learning, to work on projects, and to showcase the many teaching and learning achievements on campus.
“Whether you have questions about designing a new course, a new program, learning outcomes, curriculum mapping, indigenous curriculum support, teaching with technology, online and hybrid courses, open textbooks, or the IQAP process, you will be able to find it all here in the new space,” said CTL’s director, Dr. Erika Kustra. She said the move provides the opportunity to create greater synergies between the units and visibility to the campus of the many services available to them.
The three units are asking the campus for patience and understanding as they transition and settle in. Services will be maintained during the move, although response times may be increased for a few days.
“We are planning an open house and grand opening in late fall and will be inviting the campus community to come and visit us in the new space,” Kustra said.