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York psychology professors, alumni named top in Canada

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Two faculty members from York University, and two alum, are among the top most productive clinical psychology professors in Canada, according to a new paper published in the journal Canadian Psychology, the national publication of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA).

Joel Katz (2021 image)
Joel Katz
Matthew Keough

In a paper authored by researchers from the University of Regina, the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University, Matthew Keough and Joel Katz are among the top 15 per cent of men professors from CPA-accredited clinical psychology programs.

Keough, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health’s Department of Psychology, is one of the top four to be recognized in the early career category (10 years or fewer), while Katz, a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology and Canada Research Chair in Health Psychology, is one of the top eight named in the late career category (21 years or more).

Joining the York professors are York alum Simon Sherry (BA ’00), in the mid career category, and Andrew (Hyounsoo) Kim (BA ’08) in the early career category.

The paper, “Assessing the Publication Productivity of Clinical Psychology Professors in Canadian Psychological Association-Accredited Canadian Psychology Departments: A 10-Year Replication Study,” offers an overview from the past decade of professors’ average and annual publication counts, citation counts and h-indices.

The paper concludes: “The field of clinical psychology has flourished over the last decade, with regard to research and clinical training. Publication counts, citation counts, and h-indices have at least doubled in the last 10 years across all professorial ranks for men and women. The present study results suggest gendered differences are diminishing.”

Katz leads the Human Pain Mechanisms Lab at York University. His research focuses on risk and protective factors for chronic pain in children and adults. He is the recipient of several awards, including: Senior Investigator Award, CPA Health Psychology Section (2021); CPA Traumatic Stress Section Award for Excellence (2020); Fellow, American Psychological Association, Division 53 (2019); CPA Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions (2016); and more.

“I’m honoured to have been included as one of the most cited active Canadian clinical psychologists,” said Katz. “It’s amazing to see how productive our field has been over the past 10 years and to know that my York U colleague Matt Keough made the list in the early career category. I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years will bring.”

Keough’s research focuses on improving understanding of the etiology and treatment of addictive behaviour, including both substance use and behavioural addiction. He is the recipient of several awards, including: Certificate of Recognition from Student Accessibility Services at York University (2023); Top-Cited Paper Recognition in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research (2022); New Investigator Award from Research Manitoba (2017); and more.

“I feel so honoured to be part of such an amazing list of psychological scholars,” said Keough. “This recognition reminds me how much the field has grown, and how much we do, as a discipline, to better understand and treat mental health disorders. I owe a great deal of thanks to my colleagues at York University for their unwavering support and collaboration. And, special kudos to my colleague and friend Joel Katz, who was recognized in the established career category.”

Call for abstracts on how natural disasters impact maternal-child health

Mother child outside sky

Organizers of the seventh Lillian Meighen Wright Maternal-Child Health Learning Academy have opened a call for poster abstracts.

This two-day event is organized by the Women’s Health Research Chair in Mental Health and the Lillian Meighen Wright Scholars Program academic lead, Professor Nazilla Khanlou, and the student co-chairs of the program, Meaghan Hall and Lojain Hamwi.

This year, the event will focus on the theme “Impacts of Natural Disasters on Maternal-Child Health” and will run on July 15 and 17 in a virtual format.

Abstracts for posters can be submitted by students, educators, researchers, service providers, policymakers and community members. Send an abstract for the poster by Feb. 15, 2024. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words in length.

Organizers are seeking submissions on the impacts of natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis) on maternal-child health, across multiple domains (physical and mental health, economic, environmental, political).

Descriptive, empirical, analytical or reflective submissions should focus on:

  • how these disasters affect mothers, children, and/or their communities;
  • what supports are helpful; and
  • how populations adjust following these disasters.

Format of abstracts for the posters should use the headings provided here and abstracts should be sent to owhchair@yorku.ca with the subject line “7th LMW Academy: Poster.”

Presenters of accepted abstracts will be notified, and their abstract will be included in the seventh Lillian Meighen Wright Maternal-Child Health Learning Academy’s program booklet. Posters will be presented as short lightning presentations using pre-recorded videos.

For more information, visit this website.

Bisexual women at greater risk for substance-use events

emergency room sign

New research out of York University shows that bisexual women face a higher risk of substance-related acute events than other sexual orientations and genders.

“Disparities in alcohol- and substance-related hospitalizations and deaths across sexual orientations in Canada: a longitudinal study” uses Ontario health administrative data from 2009 to 2017 to quantify hospitalizations and deaths (acute events) related to alcohol, cannabis, opioids, narcotics, and illicit drugs across different sexual orientations and genders.

Authored by Gabriel John Dusing, Chungah Kim and Antony Chum of York University, along with Andrew Nielson of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the study indicates that bisexual women faced 2.46 times higher risks of substance-related acute events compared to heterosexual women. For non-alcohol substance-related acute events, the risk was 2.67 times higher than it was for heterosexual women.

While substance-related acute events for heterosexual men and women were found to be 29 and 16 cases per 100,000 persons per year, this increased to 33 and 34 for gay men and lesbians, and up to 99 and 55 for bisexual men and women respectively.

However, after adjusting for sociodemographic differences, only bisexual women had a significantly higher risk compared to their heterosexual counterparts. The differences between heterosexual and bisexual men (or between heterosexual women and lesbians), could be explained by other factors such as income and education.

The paper continues to suggest that bisexual women’s elevated substance use may be associated with self-medication in response to unique stressors related to discrimination and isolation.

“The findings emphasize the need for enhanced education and training for health-care professionals to address the heightened substance use risk among lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals,” said Chum. “More funding and research is needed for targeted interventions focused on reducing substance use problems among bisexual individuals.”

By combining data from a population-representative survey and health administrative data, the study offers a unique contribution to research literature by sharing the first robust evidence of disparities in substance-use acute events across sexual orientations. It calls for “further evaluation of the effectiveness of tailored prevention and treatment programs, support groups, or public health campaigns designed to reach bisexual women and gay/bisexual men.”

York collaborates on new app to help women experiencing abuse 

Woman with two children, holding smartphone

A new app developed by a collaborative research team that includes York University Assistant Professor Karen Campbell aims to help Canadian women experiencing partner violence and abuse.

Karen Campbell
Karen Campbell

The iHEAL app was designed as a free, secure, bilingual resource for the more than 40 per cent of Canadian women who are victims of abuse, says Campbell, a registered nurse in York’s School of Nursing. 

According to the iHEAL team – which includes researchers and experts from Western University, the University of British Columbia, the University of New Brunswick and York University – only 20 per cent of women who experience intimate partner violence access formal support. 

“There are many barriers to receiving services, including shame, stigma, fears over privacy and anonymity, fear of the abuser finding out, or just not knowing where to start or what to expect,” says Campbell. “Furthermore, services can be hard to access with long waitlists, costs to women who require transportation or time off work, and some services do not meet women’s cultural needs.” 

To address these barriers, the team developed the private, secure and free app iHEAL, which is backed by two decades of research and was developed and tested with women and service providers. 

“The iHEAL app is intended to help women across Canada, who have experienced violence from a current or past partner, find personalized ways to stay safe and healthy while getting their basic needs met and reclaiming their power,” says Campbell. “Through an interactive platform, it offers users help with safe housing, food, health and well-being, child care, finances, legal options and builds a network of support.”

Features of the iHEAL app include risk and health assessments, grounding exercises and safety features to attend to women’s physical, spiritual, and emotional safety and well-being. The app also provides information about services that women may find helpful, with links to more than 400 of these resources across Canada, personalized to the woman’s province or territory.

iHeal app screenshot
A screenshot from the iHeal app.

“iHEAL is what we call trauma- and violence-informed: it’s designed to work with women where they’re at, to recognize the many types of stressors and traumas, including partner violence but also other potential violence and barriers that can be affecting their ability to plan their next steps,” says Campbell. “It emphasizes their strength and their successes in keeping safe, as well as looking for ways to build on those. It also takes into account complexity – of their life, and their options – and gives her control over what’s next.”

The app is designed for women but is also useful for friends and family supporting women. Women can use the app to help explain to others the health, social and financial effects of the violence. Those supporting women who are victims of abuse might use the app to find a way to approach a conversation about abuse. 

The iHEAL app is available in English and French online and can be accessed on a computer or downloaded to a mobile device. Other resources, including printable posters and stickers, are also available. 

The development of iHEAL is supported by funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada, with contributions from Women and Gender Equality Canada.

Watch a video on iHEAL to learn more:

Community-driven exploration of girls’ mental health leads to new support

A graphic of a women with a cloudy head

Partnering with community organizations is essential for equity-informed population health researchers, and York University Faculty of Health professors Cheryl van Daalen-Smith and Marina Morrow have embarked on a community-driven inquiry exploring girls’ and young women’s mental health, leading to new local supports.

The project, titled “Pressure, Judgement, Fear & Girlhood: A Girl-Centred Understanding of the Social Determinants of Girls’ Mental Health and What We Can Do About It,” investigates the issues – as seen by diverse girls and young women – that enhance or erode mental health.

Partnering with Girls Incorporated of York Region and the Canadian Mental Health Association of York Region, the researchers and York Research Assistant Ariella Markus (master of arts, interdisciplinary studies) pursued a girl-centred exploration of girls’ own views regarding the issues they face.

In September, a community knowledge mobilization launch was held in Newmarket, Ont., where an open-access research monograph was shared and discussed with representatives from community organizations, policy developers, girl-serving organizations and government. As a result, a new and community-driven girls’ mental health network initiative, led by community partners, is in the early stages of development in York Region.

The community-based study strove to: explore girls’ and young women’s views regarding the current state of girls’ mental health; understand the issues impacting mental health; understand what they deem as helpful models of mental health support; and hear and document their views about what needs to change.

“The research team heard that girls’ lives are full of worry, with girls routinely hearing negative comments, and that the pervasiveness of judgement and pressure leaves girls simultaneously feeling too much and not enough,” says van Daalen-Smith.

While the participants varied in age, experience, cultural background and other aspects, the top three pressing issues identified in the project are: anxiety and depression related to judgement from others/society; social expectations and the constant comparison to others; and learned hatred of their own bodies and wishing they were (like) someone else.

“All of this pressure, judgment and fear gave way to clouded thinking, with the young women clearly telling us that their anxiety ‘was a symptom of gender-based devaluation and social pressure’ and not so-called ‘poor coping skills,’” says Morrow.

The inquiry, say researchers, confirmed the continuing trend that how girls are viewed, referred to and treated determines their mental health and well-being. It was also determined that the erosion of mental health is linked to a breach of their rights – something Girls Incorporated has been working to address over the past three decades.

The team also consulted with girl-serving professionals, including social workers, peer support workers/specialists, gender-affirming care workers, youth mental health workers, nurse practitioners and more. From listening to girls, young women and girl-serving professionals, the researchers put forth recommendations to consider when seeking to support girls’ and young women’s mental health.

Some of these recommendations are:

  • Believe, affirm and validate girls’ appraisals of their lives and experiences. They want to be believed.
  • Girls are afraid that others will find out they went to talk with someone. Help them find you in ways that feel safe.
  • Don’t focus on the symptom nor infuse girls with psychiatric labels through which to view themselves – language matters.
  • Girls want comfortable, girl-friendly spaces to be heard, affirmed, valued and believed – not fixed.
  • Empower girls to actively remove self-deprecating notions of themselves and other girls through individual and group activities that protect girls’ social vulnerabilities.
  • Remind girls about their right to authenticity, safety, bold expression, achievement, body appreciation, confidence and future self-reliance. Help them achieve these rights. Speak out when girls’ rights are breached.

The full list of recommendations can be found in the report.

Dahdaleh grad students showcase global health research

Global health

Four accomplished graduate scholars from York University’s Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research (DIGHR) will share details of their research projects, as well as insights on the progress of their research journeys, at the fourth annual Global Health Graduate Scholars Symposium on Dec. 13.

Taking place at the Keele Campus, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarship students Eyram Agbe, Caroline Duncan, Alexandra Scott and Nawang Yanga will offer an overview of the groundbreaking research they are undertaking in line with DIGHR’s three themes: planetary health, global health and humanitarianism, and global health foresighting.

The Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarship was created to attract exceptional incoming and continuing domestic and international graduate research students to DIGHR. The scholarship is granted annually to graduate students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement in global health research.

This year’s presentations are:

Digital Deprivation: COVID-19, Education, and Teacher Health in Ghana – Eyram Agbe
Agbe is a master’s student in the Development Studies program. Her research seeks to understand the diverse psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 on basic school teachers in Accra, Ghana, and how these factors affect their ability to support new curriculum implementation as schools have returned to in-person classes. This study seeks to centre the critical role that social vulnerability plays in education; specifically, how teachers’ health outcomes are situated within contentions over technopolitical visions by stakeholders.

Drinking Water Provision in the Canadian Arctic: Current and Future Challenges and Emerging Opportunities – Caroline Duncan
Duncan is a PhD candidate at the Lassonde School of Engineering. Her research seeks to understand the complex factors that affect the quality and accessibility of drinking water in the Arctic using an interdisciplinary and participatory approach. Duncan works closely with the Municipality of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, collaborating with community members, government and non-governmental organization stakeholders involved with drinking water from source to tap to develop a model to test treatment, as well as work towards policy interventions to optimize drinking water safety.

The Myth of “Good Enough”: Law, Engineering, and Autonomous Weapons Systems – Alexandra Scott
Scott is a PhD student, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellow at York’s Osgoode Hall Law School. Her work explores the development and deployment of autonomous weapon systems (also known as “killer robots”) under international law and the role that engineers play in both.

TB in Tibetan Refugee Settlements in India: What We Know and What Is Missing – Nawang Yanga
Yanga is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Health. Her dissertation focuses on the lived experiences of Tibetan refugees with tuberculosis (TB) in Indian settlements. This is greatly motivated by her own experiences with TB and by the sheer lack of literature in this community, despite having some of the highest TB incidence rates globally. The aim of her project is to introduce a social perspective to TB discourse by highlighting the connections between social conditions and TB that are unique to Tibetan refugees in India.

Visit the event page to register and attend: yorku.ca/dighr/events/4th-annual-global-health-graduate-scholars-symposium.

The graduate students’ research is funded by the Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarship. The 2024 competition is currently accepting applications. To learn more about the eligibility criteria and application process, visit the scholarships page: yorku.ca/dighr/scholarship.

York students engaged in heart, brain research earn inaugural award

medical hospital research brain black doctor

Four York University students were recognized with an inaugural award for Black scholars – an initiative by the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Brain Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH) – for their work and research in heart and brain health.

The Personnel Awards for Black Scholars were launched earlier in 2023 with the intent of promoting Black representation and inclusivity within the heart and/or brain health research community.

“These awards will help enable equitable and accessible treatment and care for heart disease and stroke for everyone in Canada,” said Doug Roth, chief executive officer of Heart & Stroke, in the announcement.

The multi-year awards seek to financially support 12 master’s students for up to two years and seven doctoral students for up to three years. The awards aim to enable students to focus on their studies, undertake a program of research and engage with mentors as part of their training and development.

The recipients from York University are:

Patrick Hewan

A psychology master’s student, Hewan’s work focuses on cognition and brain function in older adulthood. Among his accomplishments are a Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada Undergraduate Research Award and, most recently, an oral presentation award at this year’s Faculty of Science annual undergraduate summer research conference for a talk titled “Microstructural integrity of the Locus Coeruleus is related to decision-making in older adults.”

Toluwanimi Faromika

Faromika is a psychology master’s student interested in cognitive psychology across populations – including infants and seniors, as well those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and more. Her current research will explore spatial memory and the factors that can impede our ability to navigate the world. In addition to her academic work, she is also the host of “The BrainCore Podcast,” which explores the latest psychology and neuroscience research.

CeAnn Marks

A psychology and neuroscience graduate student, Marks’s work looks to advance mental health knowledge through research on traumatic brain injuries, mood disorders and trauma. Her current research includes studying sex differences in concussion recovery and the impact of emotional trauma on motor performance. Among her accomplishments are earning the BIPOC Award in Medical Science and Medicine Biotechnology earlier this year.

Ngozi Iroanyah

A PhD student in health policy and equity studies, Iroanyah’s research centres on the implications of dementia policy on the experiences of racialized ethnocultural diverse seniors in Canada. Her current thesis explores the experience of racialized immigrant seniors with Ontario’s dementia strategy to identify gaps in service delivery and care models. Additionally, Iroanyah is currently manager of diversity and community partnerships at the Alzheimer Society of Canada and has over 15 years of experience in health care in both Canada and abroad, in the fields of health research and administration – including having worked for the Public Agency of Canada in the Dementia Policy Unit.

Further information about the award can be found here: heartandstroke.ca/what-we-do/media-centre/news-releases/19-black-scholars-in-canada-to-receive-inaugural-funding-awards.

Research shines light on health-care inequalities for Black women

Black woman waiting office doctor

A new research report co-authored by Professor Agnès Berthelot-Raffard of York University’s Faculty of Health investigates the lack of evidence-based data for Black women’s health care in Canada.

Agnès Berthelot-Raffard
Agnès Berthelot-Raffard

Berthelot-Raffard, the principal investigator on “Santé gynécologique et obstétrique des femme noires : leurs expériences dans the système de santé québécois” (Gynecological and obstetric health of black women: their experiences in the Quebec health system), launched the report on Nov. 17 with co-authors Samia Dumais and Alexandra Pierre, both of Concordia University.

The report is now available through the Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec.

The novel study was funded by the Université du Québec à Montréal and aims to fill an important research gap in health-care equity in Canada. The research was done in a by-and-for methodology that centres on the needs and perspectives of the target community, says Berthelot-Raffard. It focuses on the reproductive rights of Black women in Canada.

Including testimonies gathered from Black professionals and patients, the report provides an analysis of the overall experience of Black women within the gynecological and obstetric health-care system, particularly regarding maternity, endometriosis and uterine fibroids.

Agnes Berthelot-Raffard co-authors and members of her research team, Samia Dumais (middle) and Alexandra Pierre (right), both of Concordia University
Agnès Berthelot-Raffard (left) with co-authors and members of her research team, Samia Dumais (middle) and Alexandra Pierre (right), both of Concordia University.

Started in 2020 in collaboration with Relais-Femmes, a feminist organization in Quebec, the study addresses a 2018 United Nations report that highlights the health disparities and limited health-care access faced by Black and Afro-descendant women compared to other Canadian population groups.

Research from the U.S., Canada and France indicates that Black women encounter differing perceptions and treatment in gynecologic and obstetrical care compared to non-Black women, says Berthelot-Raffard. Access to health care and adequate gynecological and obstetrical treatments for Black women is significantly influenced by stereotypes regarding the Black women’s embodiment, racial biases, social status discrimination, ageism and ableism, social and racial inequalities, geographic disparities, limited insurance or public care access due to citizenship status etc.

“These disparities lead to significant consequences, ranging from misdiagnosis, delayed care, limited access to information for informed decision-making, to mental health issues such as depression,” says Berthelot-Raffard. “Black women face increased risks during childbirth due to more caesarean deliveries than other groups of women, more late diagnosis of breast cancer, fibroids, endometriosis and higher rates of postpartum depression. In evaluating the quality of care during pregnancy and postpartum, women emphasize the importance of feeling welcomed within the health-care system alongside their physical well-being.”

The researchers will disseminate the study to various audiences, including health-care professionals such as doctors, obstetricians, nurses and students in health sciences and medicine, as well as with ethicists and occupational orders. The goal is to open the discussion in fertility clinics, birthing centres, abortion centres and feminist organizations as part of a campaign to raise awareness about these critical issues for reproductive justice and equity in the health-care setting.

“We’ve uncovered instances of obstetric and gynecological violence, including forced consent, disregarding their agency, physical abuse, verbal microaggressions and indifference from health-care professionals,” says Berthelot-Raffard. “Our analysis suggests that Black women in Quebec are more exposed to overmedicalization and medical negligence, indicative of discriminatory and abusive practices rooted in health-care stereotypes. This report marks a starting point in acknowledging obstetric and gynecological violence experienced by Black women in the Quebec health-care system.”

Meet York U’s 2023 Royal Society of Canada Fellows 

Joshua Fogel, Sara Horowitz, Ali Kazimi and Debra Pepler

Four York University faculty members are part of this year’s new list of Fellows named to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), one of the country’s highest honours in the arts, social sciences and sciences.  

The 2023 Fellows will be inducted at RSC’s Celebration of Excellence & Engagement from Nov. 15 to 18 at the University of Waterloo.  

In the videos below, the four York Fellows – Joshua Fogel, Sara Horowitz, Ali Kazimi and Debra Pepler – talk about their impactful research, their motivations and why their work is important to Canadians. 

York historian Joshua Fogel elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada 2023

Joshua Fogel, a professor in the Department of History in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, is a leading scholar in Asian studies. Fogel’s research focuses on the cultural, political and economic interactions between China and Japan, the importance of Japan in China’s modern development and the changing attitudes both countries have towards one another from the 14th to 19th centuries.

York literary scholar Sara Horowitz elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada 2023

Sara Horowitz, a professor in the Department of Humanities and the Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, is one of the world’s foremost experts in Jewish studies. Horowitz’s research and published works focus on Holocaust literature, women survivors, Jewish American fiction and Israeli cinema.

York filmmaker Ali Kazimi elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada 2023

Ali Kazimi, a professor in the Department of Cinema & Media Arts in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, is among Canada’s most acclaimed artists. His work explores issues of race, social justice, migration, history and memory, including documentaries that explore the diasporic South Asian relationship with indigeneity.

York psychologist Debra Pepler elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada 2023

Debra Pepler, a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health, has received international attention for her influential research on bullying, aggression and other forms of violence, particularly among marginalized youth. She is the co-founder of PREVNet, a national research and knowledge mobilization hub focused on youth interpersonal violence prevention.

Summer course opens door for students missing numeracy skills 

Students from LAPS


By Elaine Smith 

The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) at York University has created a new summer course to assist students without Grade 12 math skills to acquire the knowledge they need to enter math-dependent university programs in the fall. 

In the summer of 2023, LA&PS introduced a pilot, Mathematics for Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, a 12U Math waiver class, to help address the numeracy shortfall experienced by many incoming students. The non-degree, online synchronous course was open to all incoming students required to complete a 12U Math course to meet their condition for admission, or to any York University undergraduate students required to complete a mathematics pre-requisite for an eligible program – such as economics and bachelor of commerce. Thanks to the success of the course, LA&PS plans to offer it again in Summer 2024. 

Robert McKeown
Robert McKeown

“We wanted to make sure these students had the math they needed to learn more advanced topics once they arrived at York, such as linear algebra and calculus,” said Robert McKeown, an assistant professor (teaching stream) of economics, who helped create the curriculum alongside members of the LA&PS Numeracy Steering Committee. McKeown also played a pivotal role in overseeing the development of the instructors’ weekly lessons and assessment components for the course.  

The course ran twice a week for 12 weeks. It covered polynomial functions and some probability and statistics, and was structured like a standard university course with two tests and a final, along with asynchronous class activities.

Mona Frial Brown
Mona Frial Brown

Mona Frial-Brown, director of student success for LA&PS, said the course has been a few years in the making, first proposed by LA&PS academic advisors and Sean Kheraj, the former vice-dean and associate dean of programs. It provides a pathway for LA&PS students, so they aren’t required to return to high school to obtain the necessary skills. Previously, students were able to take a relevant course at the School of Continuing Studies, but it no longer exists. 

“Sean wanted us to think about a non-credit option that was equivalent to an advanced functions course,” said Frial-Brown, who also credits former associate dean Anita Lam and the LA&PS Numeracy Steering Committee, who created the Student Numeracy Assistance Centre at Keele (SNACK). “Numeracy is closely linked to student success, and this initiative is focused on improving access. It was a collaborative effort, and being a part of it from start to finish was a rewarding experience.” 

The collaboration drew on the skills of a variety of people and teams. The LA&PS recruitment and academic advising teams were involved in promoting the course to students. York’s recruitment and admissions team were involved in developing offer letters and explaining to applicants that acceptance was conditional on passing the course. Once the curriculum was created, Marc Anderson, a learning technology support specialist from eLearning Services, built the content in eClass. SNACK peer tutors got involved in assisting the students who took the pilot class. Maggie Quirt, the current associate dean of programs at LA&PS, also had a hand. 

“It’s a baby I delivered this summer,” Frial-Brown added with a laugh. “In addition, it’s not just a course; it marks the beginning of a non-degree framework for the Faculty. We might consider other non-degree courses, so we wanted to carefully plan this pilot program and create a structure for the non-degree landscape. We consulted with colleagues across the University, including the Faculty of Health, where non-degree courses are already offered, and established a framework for enrolment, admissions and course payment. Many factors were at play.”

Neil Bucklkey
Neil Bucklkey

Neil Buckley, current associate dean of teaching and learning for LA&PS, who was involved with the Numeracy Steering Committee throughout the development and launch of the class, added, “There is a huge move in education for micro-credentials, some for credit and some not. This was a great opportunity for LA&PS to pilot test a non-academic course.” 

The class drew 61 students, almost half of them international students. This meant breaking the class into two sections to make it accessible from various time zones. One class met online in the mornings; the other in the evenings. All but one of the students passed the class.  

“At the end of the semester, we are planning to assess the success of the participants to see how well they performed in their courses compared to students who took the course in high school and see if success varies according to discipline,” said Buckley. 

The team will also follow them through the next few years to determine if the course has an impact on retention. 

“This course opens the door to a larger, more diverse group of students,” Buckley said. “It helps us achieve access and equity. We pride ourselves on being student-centric, and this offers students flexibility.” 

Frial-Brown is equally enthusiastic. 

“I’m truly proud of this project,” she said. “It was a genuine collaborative effort aimed at achieving a common goal, which was to provide access to our students. We’ve witnessed its successful development with thanks to everyone involved and with the backing of senior leadership.”