Name: Cam Nordin
Sector: Post-secondary
Affiliated Organization: SIAST
Email: Nordinc@siast.sk.ca
Cam Nordin was born and raised on a farm in Saskatchewan and graduated from the University of Saskatchewan. He worked at a number of jobs in Western Canada before attending SIAST. Upon completion, he entered the Adult Education field as a computer instructor and completed a Bachelor of Vocational/Technical Education from University of Regina through evening classes. Within SIAST, he has performed a variety of duties including instructor, program head, extension consultant and program development consultant. He also worked on international assignments in Vietnam and Malawi. Cam is currently based at SIAST Woodland Campus in Prince Albert.
CVA Report - May 2011
SIDRU, SIAST and the FCP: Collaboration and Co-operation in Action*
by Shuana Niessen, B.Ed.
SIDRU, Faculty of Education, University of Regina
The Faculty Certificate Program (FCP) is a collaborative initiative between SIAST and the Saskatchewan Instructional Development and Research Unit (SIDRU) of the University of Regina’s Faculty of Education. When SIAST issued a request for proposals for a faculty certificate program in 2003, SIDRU responded with a unique program delivery design – one that included both SIAST and U of R courses and featured development of capacity within SIAST to provide leadership for and management of the program. SIDRU’s innovative approach led to its selection to partner with SIAST.
The FCP provides new SIAST instructors with an opportunity to develop professionally as adult educators in the SIAST environment. Instructors take four online courses, complete a personal professional development plan as well as a teaching portfolio and participate in two summer institutes. To enhance relevance, the program combines innovative adult learning concepts with instructors’ responsibilities. Each year, SIDRU and SIAST sponsor a professional development day for ILDC and the Faculty of Education instructors at both the U of R and SIAST.
Currently, there are 120 instructors enrolled in the FCP and 22 are expected to graduate in 2011. While they work toward their certificates, these instructors are also earning 18 credits toward a U of R bachelor degree program.
Throughout the partnership, SIDRU and SIAST have remained committed to a spirit of collaboration and co-operation. An Academic Affairs Committee includes a working group and an advisory group, each comprising representatives from both institutions. The committee itself provides a forum for consultation, reporting, decision-making and issue resolution. Issue resolution is particularly important when two separate institutions work in partnership. Ongoing communication and collaboration are essential, not only with each other but also with departments within each institution.
Through continuous formal and informal evaluation, the FCP is being developed to effectively meet institutional goals and individual instructor needs. New learning communities between the U of R and SIAST, as well as among SIAST campus facilitators, program advisors and students, are being developed and sustained. Ultimately, the program has further enhanced and integrated the learning culture in SIAST, and has produced new connections through which SIAST FCP participants can continue their education with the U of R.
Dr. Michael Tymchak, SIDRU’s director, describes the FCP as a “win-win” program: “The cycle of courses is oriented to SIAST and addresses the particular needs of instructors in that institutional context. The program is capacity-building in that a significant component of the program leadership and management is based within SIAST itself through the Institutional Leadership Development Centre (ILDC). By embracing all four SIAST campuses, the FCP promotes inter-campus networking that nourishes a rich institutional culture. And the program offers a ”value now” credential for those who complete the program.
“The net result,’” continues Dr. Tymchak, “ is a program that benefits SIAST, as the employer of excellent instructors; the instructors themselves, who gain an employer-sponsored qualification with broad currency; SIAST students, who enjoy an enriched learning experience; and, finally, the University of Regina, whose own student body is enlarged and enhanced by a diverse group of highly motivated educators and professionals.”
For the U of R, the FCP has helped to inspire other innovative partnerships aimed at making education local, relevant and accessible. “I am not aware of another professional development program implemented by any other college in Canada that compares to the current FCP program created by SIAST in partnership with the University of Regina,” Dr. Tymchak concludes. “The FCP is, arguably, the ‘gold standard’ of college-level professional development programs in Canada.”
SIDRU and SIAST continue to move forward. We are learning and growing together as we evolve this unique, flexible and dynamic model to meet the needs of an educational environment in a knowledge-based society.
*This article was originally published in the Spring 2011 SIAST Instructional and Leadership Development Centre (ILDC) Newsletter. Permission granted from author and SIAST.
