IIRP working groups and executive sponsors offer an update on progress

Vari Hall in the sunshine
Vari Hall in the sunshine

The chairs and co-chairs of the Institutional Integrated Resource Plan (IIRP) working groups, together with the IIRP executive sponsors, would like to provide the York community with an update on their progress:

The intent of the Institutional Integrated Resource Plan (IIRP) is to identify institutional level initiatives that would leverage local initiatives and enable the University to achieve its objectives as set out in the University Academic Plan 2015-2020. As members of the community will be aware, in January 2016, working groups were established to develop implementation plans for the institutional initiatives identified in the IIRP.  Each of the groups was populated with faculty, staff and student members following a call to the community for volunteers.

Six new working groups were established: Quality Teaching and Learning, Enhancing Program Quality, Student Experience – Advising, Student Experience – Campus Experience, Quality Administrative Services – Shared Services, and Graduate Studies. In addition, three existing committees – Research Intensification, Experiential Education, and Technology Enhanced Learning – are continuing their work, incorporating the IIRP institutional initiatives as appropriate.

Each of the working groups has now developed terms of reference to guide its work. Some have broken into sub-groups dedicated to exploring particular aspects of their mandates. For more information about the working groups, including their membership and terms of reference, see the IIRP site on yu link. The groups are currently conducting reviews of relevant literature, including previous York reports and surveys, and are engaged in consultations with relevant stakeholders (faculty, staff and students), including both subject experts and users, as appropriate, in order to gain a better understanding of the issues and potential solutions.

In the coming weeks, the groups will be preparing draft reports, including preliminary recommendations, to the executive sponsors; these draft reports will form the basis of updates to the Board of Governors. It is intended that broader community consultations will be undertaken prior to finalization of reports and recommendations, which will include actions to be taken, suggested processes for implementation and measures of progress/success. It is important to note that recommendations will be consistent with and advance the 2015-2020 University Academic Plan; and that any actions recommended as part of the reports will be subject to consideration and approval by the appropriate governance bodies, including Faculty Councils, Senate and the Board of Governors.

The working groups and executive sponsors continue to meet periodically as a steering committee to ensure coordination among the groups and to explore opportunities for synergies; and will provide regular updates to the community, including opportunities for input and consultations.  Members of the community who would like to provide feedback on specific IIRP initiatives or have comments for the working group chairs are invited to submit input on this form.