Niagara College International Staff Connect | March 2019

(Vol. 4, Issue 7)

• "I am so excited to announce that my permanent residency in Canada got approved. I miss my fellow colleagues while I am working these odd hours. I wish I could celebrate with everyone now. The celebration will have to stay pending. I am very thankful for all the support and guidance I always receive from the awesome NC family. You guys are a great company and you have helped me come so far!” - Saddman Zaman
• “My husband, Mike, and I are expecting our first child in July – a baby boy! We are both very excited and looking forward to introducing him to his “International” family this summer!” - Kelsey Queen Dobsi

Niagara College’s 2019 Employee Engagement Survey wrapped up last week, and I’d like to sincerely thank all of our staff and faculty who took the time to provide their valuable input through this important exercise.

We had a tremendous participation rate to this year’s survey; over 83 percent of full-time staff and faculty shared their feedback with us. That high response rate is reflective of the passion and engagement you each bring to work every day. It also communicates a strong desire to see our workplace build on past successes, and pursue new opportunities for improvement. I want to assure you that we will be giving thoughtful consideration to all your feedback, and greatly appreciate the thoughts and opinions you’ve shared throughout this process.

I would like to extend my thanks to all the faculty and staff who assisted in the administration of this year’s Key Performance Indicators (KPI) survey, which wrapped up Feb. 19. In particular, I’d like to thank all the faculty who gave up valuable class time so that the survey could be administered. I would also like to thank Maria Vandelaar and the team of KPI survey administrators for their extraordinary efforts over the past few weeks. It is an especially remarkable feat that, even though two days were lost due to inclement weather days, the team was still able to complete the full complement of surveys.

The survey is an important continuous improvement tool that helps us ensure that our programs and services continue to evolve along with the needs and expectations of students. Many initiatives and enhancements in recent years have been driven at least in part by the results of the student satisfaction survey.

The results of this year’s survey are expected in April 2019. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Katerina Gonzalez, director, Planning and Institutional Research at ext. 7120.

Message from Vince Malvaso, director of Financial Services:

2018 T4 forms for current, full-time and part-time faculty and staff are now available for download through the new MyNC Portal.

Staff and faculty can access their 2018 T4 by visiting the Oracle – Employee Self-Serve application on the MyNC Portal, and selecting ‘View T4 and T4A slips’ under ‘My Pay Information.

A message from the Centre for Professional and Organizational Development

Support staff, mark your calendars; this year’s Support Team Day is scheduled for Wednesday, June 26 at The Americana in Niagara Falls.

This annual event is a fantastic opportunity for support staff to network and connect with each other, develop new skills, participate in team-building and strengthen relationships with colleagues.

Registration for the event will open in late May with more details to come. We hope to see you there!

A message from Marc Nantel, associate vice president, Research & Innovation:

It is my pleasure to announce to you a few changes on the Research & Innovation management team that will help us strategically navigate the tremendous growth we have seen in our division in recent years.

Carolyn Mullin is now the manager, Business Development and Strategic Partnerships.

Krystle Grimaldi is now the associate director, Research & Innovation.

Please join me in congratulating Carolyn and Krystle on their new appointments. We are grateful for their support with these changes and as we work to grow the Research & Innovation division.

Message from Nicole Perreault, director, Human Resources:

I’m pleased to share that the first-ever collective agreement for part-time support staff in Ontario’s colleges, including Niagara College, was ratified by support staff part-time employees on Feb. 21.

This two-year agreement was the result of nine months of collective bargaining between the College Employer Council (CEC), representing Ontario’s 24 colleges, and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). The agreement provides terms and conditions for more than 14,000 part-time support staff and student employees province-wide, including 700 at Niagara College. It also ensures that the many part-time employees who are current students can continue to access part-time opportunities during their studies.

Niagara College’s Human Resources department will be working closely with staff to implement the new agreement over the coming weeks. Updates will be posted to www.niagaracollege.ca/hr. Staff with questions about the agreement are also encouraged to contact Human Resources at hr@niagaracollege.ca.

Message from Wendy Dueck, director, Development & Alumni Relations:

I am pleased to welcome Courtney McLoughlin to the Development & Alumni Relations department in the position of Administrative Assistant, effective Monday, February 25.

Courtney has a BA in Business from Brandon University and a graduate certificate in event management from Niagara College (2007). She brings a wealth of experience in fundraising administration and donor engagement to her new role.