Over the past several months, the Office of the Provost has been working with the Faculty of Extension to review the structures and supports of the faculty’s degree-credit teaching and research activities.
As you may know, the Faculty of Extension is home to three core functions:
- The scholarship of engagement (the research and graduate degree teaching arm, which includes the Master of Arts in Communications and Technology, the Master of Arts in Community Engagement, and the Community-Based Research and Evaluation graduate embedded certificate programs)
- Continuing and professional education
- The English Language School
Under the university’s new budget model, in which resource allocations are in large part based on degree-credit teaching and research activities in faculties, a new structure is needed to support Extension’s scholarship of engagement and graduate programming functions.
As a result, I am working with Interim Dean Maria Mayan and her team in Extension to develop a strategy moving forward. The goal is to restructure so that Extension’s existing degree-credit teaching and research functions continue to grow and flourish while also reaching more students. This means moving Extension’s academic staff and graduate programs into other faculties, with no expected changes to research or the MACT and MACE graduate programs.
Extension’s continuing and professional education and English Language School activities will continue. Offering lifelong learning opportunities for Albertans and English language support for our international students remain core to the university and Extension will continue growing these activities.
Community-engaged scholarship and teaching is vital to the University of Alberta and to our many partners and students. We are looking forward to working with our stakeholders to continue co-creating high-quality teaching and research opportunities with our communities.
Once decisions have been made, further updates will be shared. Our goal is to have arrangements for affected faculty members finalized by July 1.
Steven Dew
Provost and Vice-President (Academic)