THE INFORMER PAGE 4 MARCH 31, 1992 Strategic Plan Solidified Capilano College has moved toward consensus on a new strategic plan. Ina forum held March 13, about 30 participants discussed a position paper listing goals that could help the College compete with other institutions during difficult economic times. “Basically the paper was well received. There were a few questions around the edges, but there were no fundamental disagreements,” said Greg Lee, Vice-President, Career Voca- tional. In general, the plan includes the following goals: ¢ develop programs that build on its strengths * expand specialty or applied degrees * consider creating an alternative degree program in “integrated curriculum” or “liberal studies” * not try to offer traditional degrees through arrangements with universities * design programs with variable entry and exit points * continue to offer specialized certification in appropriate areas * continue to offer programs suited to a wide range of entry qualifications Frank Gelin, Vice-President, Academic Studies, stressed that once the strategic plan is in place the College must convince the Advanced Education Ministry it should be implemented. Once the College offers many applied degrees through the Open University, Frank said, it will be easier to convince the government that the College should grant its own degrees. Regardless of the approach taken, Rob Turner, Vice- President, Student and Instructional Services, predicted getting action from the Ministry won’t be easy. “I think it’s going to be a pretty long haul.” The process of goal-setting started last May when the vice- presidents proposed an examination of the College’s mission statement. In August they distributed a letter to faculty and staff requesting input on educational goals. The process has included two earlier forums and a series of focus groups with the vice- presidents, staff and administrators, which ended today. Construction on Schedule The fine weather has helped keep the Library construction on schedule. Over the next few months, we’ ll see the shell of the new building go up, and modifications to the B Building will begin to prepare it for the overbuilding to be constructed later next year. Construction supervisor Humphrey Sale says construction of the new portion will be complete by the spring of ’93, and the renovations to B building should be done by the fall of ’93. “We’re working toward gaining time on completion and easing and expediting the number of moves in the library,” he says. “It’s coming out quite favorably.” Humphrey says the sunshine has certainly helped things along. “A wet cold winter is usually the worst time for construction.” In May, Media Production will move temporarily to the ARC area while pillars are being constructed to support the overbuilding, and Technical Services will be re-located to a temporary location (to be determined) for approximately a year and a half. Head Librarian Frieda Wiebe says MPC will still be able to provide services to College departments, but will be closed to the public over the summer. MPC will make a total of four moves over the next year or so to keep out of the way of con- struction. It will move back to its original locale for the fall, then vacate again and move to the third floor of the new building in the spring of 93 while the area is renovated. Finally, when those changes are complete, MPC will make the last move back to B. The Library itself will also move in the spring of ’93 to the new building. Fortunately, says Frieda, that is the final home for the stacks. When all construction is complete, the Library offices, Audio Visual, Technical Services and MPC will all be located in B Building. EAP Assessment The College launched an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in the fall of 1990 with the firm of Wilson Banwell as the provider of the service. The EAP Committee (made up of two representatives each from the OTEU, CCFA and the administra- tion) has worked hard to get the program in place and keep it on track. We are pleased that the program has been well used, and it is gratifying to know that it is, at least attempting, to meet people’s needs. Nonetheless, there have been complaints about the service. This fact, plus normal College practice, has led the Committee to conclude that an evaluation of Wilson Banwell’s performance is necessary. You will be receiving an evaluation questionnaire in the mail in the near future. To continue to ensure absolute confidentiality in these matters, the committee has contracted an independent third party auditor to distribute, collect, and collate the questionnaire. Absolutely no one from the College will ever know the name of anyone who accesses this program. This assurance also applies to the evaluation process. Also, the results of the questionnaire will not be seen by Wilson Banwell. When you receive a questionnaire from the third party auditor (PETA Consultants Ltd.), I urge you to fill it out and, following the instructions given, return it promptly. Decisions about how to improve the service will be made based on these responses. If you have any questions about this process, do not hesitate to contact myself or any of the committee members. — John Sayre, Chair, EAP Committee, loc. 2470. Committee members: Pamela Robb, loc. 2923; Susan Fisher, 430-0378; John Potts, loc. 2988; Donna Gallagher, loc. 2936.