Algonquin College Academic Plan

June 6, 2023

At the June 5, 2023, Board of Governors Meeting, the Board received for information the new Algonquin College Academic Plan. This important new plan identifies the academic priorities and objectives that will support the goals outlined in the Strategic Plan, provides a framework on which to plan activities of individual schools, departments and services across the College and sets a vision for future planning and activities to ensure ongoing relevance and financial sustainability.

Building from past successes, Algonquin College looked to think disruptively to ensure future direction meets the needs of the changing education landscape and the evolving needs of learners and employers. Algonquin College’s Academic Plan is intended to serve as a roadmap for the academic area for the next six years. 

There will be significant positive impact on students as a direct result of the implementation of the Academic Plan. This plan will set the framework for academic programming, delivery modalities, personalized learning paths and curricula that provide relevant, agile skills and knowledge that will transfer to employment. In addition, a robust Academic Plan will be a strong recruitment tool for prospective learners. 

The Academic Plan will not only further enable the College to achieve its vision to “transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success,” but it will also lay the foundational framework for futureproofing core operations in an era of significant anticipated disruption for higher education institutions by attempting “to provide a future-focused polytechnic education that embraces and values the diversity of both our learners and our academic teams and fosters a flexible learning environment that will meet their needs and those of an evolving Canadian economy.”

The Academic Plan engagement process took place over a ten-month period and provided the opportunity for a wide variety of voices to be heard and engaged. This process included the review of existing documents and material that aided in understanding the current post-secondary landscape, over 50 engagement sessions including over 2,100 voices that supported the development of topics for inclusion in the plan, and a series of surveys that helped validate and prioritize the emerging themes. 

Three priority areas encompassing several key objectives were identified. Over this six-year plan, various initiatives will be launched to meet these objectives. Success indicators will be driven by currently identified measures of success in our Strategic Plan, Business Plan and the key performance indicators (KPIs) outlined in the Strategic Mandate Agreement (SMA3) with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities. Leading metrics will be developed for individual actions and initiatives that will move Algonquin towards the lagging metrics already measured in existing processes.

This plan is the culmination of more than 18 months of collaborative activity. The broader AC community and partners are encouraged to learn more by reviewing the Algonquin College Academic Plan 2023-2029.