FNTI/RYERSON UNIVERSITY PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE PROGRAM GUIDELINES FOR INSTRUCTORS PROFILE OF STUDENTS Almost all students in the program hold administrative or political positions in their communities. A significant number have some prior university or community college background. Approximately 75% - 80% are female. They range in age from mid-twenties to fifty-five plus. Many students have significant family obligations in addition to their work responsibilities. This may affect their ability to submit assignments on time. The program welcomes students from a variety of communities throughout Ontario, and includes students from Mohawk, Ojibway and Cree bands. Students from the far north (Treaty 9) often require significant travel time to attend classes. For some Cree students there are linguistic and cultural barriers to education; these students require extra sensitivity and encouragement. ABORIGINAL CONTENT You have been selected to teach this course because of your expertise in a particular area, not for your expertise in Aboriginal issues. Students do not expect you to have this type of expertise. They do expect instructors to provide ample opportunity for discussion and for students to apply concepts and theories to their own work situations and communities. Faculty are expected to be sensitive to Aboriginal issues. It is not appropriate for faculty to criticize practices or policies extant in Aboriginal communities, or indicate that another (non Aboriginal) way of doing things is better. Your role is to present concepts, theories and techniques from within your discipline as alternative ways of thinking. Exercises and participation should be based on a cooperative rather than competitive model. Direct eye contact is considered to be impolite in some Aboriginal cultures. You are free (and encouraged) to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies, and any special community events. When opening and closing ceremonies are held, the times should be clearly indicated so that everyone can attend or not as they see fit. ABSENTEEISM The Project Management Committee allows students to miss a session under the following circumstances: 1) The student is up to date on previous course work. 2) The student is in good academic standing (minimum GPA 2.00) 3) The student is counselled and signs a waiver acknowledging the potentially negative impact of missing a session. (1/2 of the course work) 4) Faculty may assign extra work to compensate for a missed session only if this is articulated in a course outline. 5) The decision about whether a student is permitted to miss a session will be determined by the program directors in consultation with the instructor. Revised: 24 September 2012 FNTI/Ryerson Instructor Guidelines 2 STUDENT SUPPORTS In order to enhance student retention and success, FNTI employs a full-time program coordinator (Doreen Guimont) and full-time administrative support (Lorrie Whalen). Their jobs are to provide program and administrative support which includes student and instructor liaison. FNTI also engages cultural advisors to open and close sessions, smudge classrooms, and conduct other ceremonies at their discretion. Cultural advisors also provide counselling and support for students in the program. COURSE MATERIALS Course outlines and handouts are duplicated by FNTI. Instructors are asked to provide to FNTI, whenever possible, electronic, rather than hard copy, documents. Textbooks are purchased for participants by FNTI. All materials, including textbook selection, should be sent to FNTI at least 8 weeks prior to course delivery to enable FNTI to send material to participants. Any special audio/visual or other session-related equipment needs must be communicated to Lorrie Whalen well in advance to ensure that the session runs smoothly. Contact person: Lorrie Whalen ([email protected]) 613-396-2122 ext 181. If you plan on using overhead/PowerPoint, it will be helpful to provide handouts to students yourself (if they not prepared and submitted to FNTI prior to the session) as it is very difficult to get copies the day of student attendance. ASSIGNMENTS Students are asked to submit ALL electronic assignments to [email protected]. The FNTI administrative support or coordinator will forward assignments to the appropriate instructor. Faxed assignments are to be submitted to FNTI at 613-396- 2761. This is important to assist FNTI personnel in their support roles. 1) It is appropriate to assign pre-reading and pre-assignments. 2) A common pattern of assignments would be a. A pre-assignment b. Short in-class exercises c. A substantive assignment between sessions d. A substantive final exam due a few weeks after the final session 3) Instructors are encouraged to provide assignments that allow students to apply ideas, theories, and models to their own workplace/community projects 4) Instructors are encouraged to base assignments on Aboriginal case studies. 5) Instructors are encouraged to allow students to design customized assignments that overlap with workplace/ community projects (subject to instructor approval) 6) The assignment structure should take advantage of the 6-8 week break between sessions. 7) Instructors are encouraged to discuss assignments, evaluation mechanisms and deadlines with the Project Managers [Carla Cassidy 416 979 5000 ext 3128 [email protected]] Revised: 24 September 2012 FNTI/Ryerson Instructor Guidelines 3 SCHEDULE Classes are offered in intensive mode in two two-day sessions. The typical pattern is as follows: COURSE DAY TIMES COMMENTS 8:30-9:00 Opening with Elder 9:00-12:00 In Class Session with Break DAY 12:00-1:00 Lunch Break COURSE ONE 1:00-4:30 In Class Session with Break (Usually A Wednesday) 4:30-6:30 Supper Break 6:30-8:30 In Class Session 8:30-12:00 In Class Session with Break DAY 12:00-1:00 Lunch Break TWO 1:00-5:00 In Class Session with Break FREE EVENING FOR STUDENTS - OPTIONAL GROUP ACTIVITY 8:30-12:00 In Class Session with Breaks DAY 12:00-1:00 Lunch Break ONE 1:00-4:30 In Class Session with Break (Usually Friday) 4:30-6:30 Supper Break COURSE B 8:30-12:00 In Class Session with Break 12:00-1:00 Lunch Break - Closing with DAY Elder TWO 1:00-2:30 In Class Session with Break This pattern is repeated in 6-8 weeks Courses are normally scheduled as follows: September/November: January/February (or March); and, April/June. Instructors will generally switch days. (i.e., if your course is taught on Day 1 and Day 2 in the first cycle, it will normally be taught on Day 3 and Day 4 in the second cycle). [Note that there is slightly less time in the Day 3/ Day 4 cycle.] Note: Revised: 24 September 2012 FNTI/Ryerson Instructor Guidelines 4 1) Saturday (Day 4) classes: Please note that transportation arrangements will require that some students leave by noon. Nevertheless, classes will continue until 2:30. Please do not deviate from this schedule. Faculty who finish earlier (or later) affect student ability to attend the closing ceremony. They also have implications for students who are in different cohorts who share rides. 2) Depending on the location: faculty/instructors may need to coordinate break times with other instructors. FNTI will provide info on this. 3) Please begin classes on time. DELIVERY Intensive mode delivery can be very demanding for students. Faculty need to be flexible and innovative in using a variety of delivery techniques, including break out groups; video clips, case studies, group work and group exercises, simulations, debates, stretch opportunities. Often adults learn more by doing than listening. Class sizes are generally quite small (15-30) and so there should be lots of opportunity for participation. REGISTRATION, EVALUATION & GRADE SUBMISSION: FNTI registers students in “batches” so it is important to ensure first that all students who attend the course are, in fact, duly registered and second, that grades are properly recorded by Ryerson (Records and Registration) when the course is over. At the conclusion of the first two-day session, please ensure that an accurate list of students who attended is forwarded to the Program Administrator at Ryerson [Viola Ing ([email protected])] who will ensure that the class list is corrected for the second two-day session. With courses offered in intensive mode, the regular schedule of grade submission may not be appropriate. Students are generally given several weeks after the last session to complete assignments. Because courses do not coincide with the normal Ryerson academic year, grade submissions are not “in sync” with the regular grade deadline schedule. Most courses are set up as Continuing Education sections. Instructors are responsible for submitting their final grades on line on RAMSS. Please visit http://www.ryerson.ca/facultysupport/grading/ regarding grade submissions. University policy requires the Department to maintain grade records showing the complete grade breakdown (i.e., performance on each evaluative instrument, the value of each instrument as a % of the course total, and the final grade). Therefore, please provide such breakdowns to both Doreen Guimont at FNTI ([email protected]) and Viola Ing in the Dept. of Politics and Public Administration ([email protected]). CONVOCATION ISSUES: Certification – and convocation – are very important to most FNTI students. Given the nature of the courses, the registration process, and the grade submission process, there are many points at which administrative errors and omissions might occur that would prevent students