DISPOSICIONES FUNDAMENTALES

Brock’s mission and vision statements are published online. The mission mentions commitment to the global dimension, diversity and inclusion: ‘Brock University flourishes through the scholarly, creative, and professional achievements of its students, faculty and staff. Offering a range of undergraduate and graduate programs, Brock fosters teaching and research of the highest quality. As a diverse and inclusive community, we contribute positively to Canada and beyond through our imagination, innovation and commitment’. Brock also has a five page vision statement entitled ‘Building a Civil Society’. The vision statement develops the mission statement and states five institutional commitments:

1. Creating a learning community 2. Fostering student engagement 3. Prizing diversity and inclusiveness

4. Developing research intensity with social applications 5. Engaging the world.

Clearly, the third and fifth of these are relevant to the globalisation agenda. Within the third commitment ‘prizing diversity and inclusiveness’, the vision develops the theme of multiculturalism and the recognition of difference as an affirmative value, as it is across Canada. Brock seeks to ‘* celebrate the many benefits of diversity, and actively includes all community members *’ and ‘Brock lives its values when it comes to creating a

respectful and inclusive community’. Within the fifth commitment ‘engaging the world’, Brock acknowledges ‘* the positive and negative effects of globalisation evident all around’. The vision states that: ‘Brock must engage the world and the issues of concern there’. It goes on to state its commitment to: ‘* extending opportunities for students to study abroad at the graduate and undergraduate levels and to encourage growth in the international student population’. It concludes by stating that: ‘A vibrant scholarly culture is international*’

As both the mission and vision statements include reference to the global agenda, one can assume that this is a priority area for Brock. However, of most strategic priority and causing a great deal of concern at Brock are the challenges brought by annual

government revenues being insufficient, as is the case with all Ontario universities and the fact that Brock is the most under-spaced Ontario university by COU norms. In summary, budget and space are challenges that Brock struggles with daily (Brock University, 2007a). These two issues underpin all Brock’s activities and need to be kept in mind.

Brock does not have a university wide Strategic Plan but has several Strategic Plans within the over-arching vision statement of the university. Brock has several planning groups that facilitate strategic planning across the university. Two critical groups are:

1. The SAC – Senior Administrative Council which includes the President, the Vice- President and Provost, the Vice-President Finance and Administration, the Deans, the Associate Vice-President; the Librarian; some of the Finance and

Administration Directors and the Executive Directors 2. The CAD - Committee of Academic Deans.

These are discussed in more detail in 5.1.5.1. Of particular interest to this study are the ‘Strategic Internationalization Plan 2006 – 2010’ and the ‘Strategic Academic Plan’. The former is not published online and a copy was obtained from the Associate VP, Student Services in May 2007.

4.1.2.1 Strategic Internationalization Plan 2006-2010

The Strategic Internationalization Plan was developed from the university’s vision statement and its five commitments (4.1.2). It is in keeping with goals of all levels of

Canadian government as is evidenced variously including in Canada’s International Policy Statement (Foreign Affairs Canada, 2005), several AUCC reports (Association of

Universities and Colleges of Canada, 2005a; Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, 2005b) and policy statements issued by the provincial government that pledge to: ‘Implement a new strategy to attract more international students and encourage study abroad for Ontario students’ (Ministry of Education and Research, 2005). Brock ensures its priorities are aligned with those of the policy-makers in Ontario and also with global entities such as the United Nations (UN). It pledges a commitment to the UN Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2008) stating that it contributes directly to at least four of the eight identified goals.

Brock states four goals within its internationalisation plan which was drafted by an ‘Internationalization Committee’ formed in August 2005:

1. Facilitating recruitment and retention of international students 2. Developing mechanisms for internationalization of curricula 3. Promoting student/faculty/staff mobility

4. Fostering international research and collaboration.

The Internationalization Committee’s mandate was to: ‘engage in the development and implementation of a Strategic Plan for internationalization, formulate relevant

administrative policies and facilitate cross-departmental and faculty communication.’

Overarching the goals and integral to each of them is the need for effective

communications and promotion internally and externally. Each goal has a strategic goal and several objectives that aim to be achieved by 2010 (Brock University, 2007b).

4.1.2.2 Strategic Academic Plan

The Strategic Academic Plan, drafted in May 2006 reflects on, and develops, Brock’s institutional goals which are:

1. Students and Programs

a) Undergraduate Programs b) Graduate Programs c) The Student Experience

2. Faculty Development

a) Complements and Professional Development b) The Research Enterprise

c) Interdisciplinary/International.

It acknowledges the centralised coordinated body that has dominated planning at Brock since the late 1990s. It includes extensive references to globalisation and international developments as evidenced in particular by goals 1.d and 2.c. It was developed from the previous ‘President’s Task Force on Planning and Priorities’ which actively involved all parts of the institution within a single planning exercise. In 1999 this group enunciated five ‘directional statements’ which, on review in 2005, were deemed to remain as priorities for the university. The purpose of the Strategic Academic Plan is to ‘refine the university’s sense of academic purpose’.

The Plan states that: ‘In the area of internationalization, the University will work towards the Long-Range Planning Committee's recommendation that at least 10% of full-time undergraduate students participate in some form of international experience. It must also achieve international enrolment targets for undergraduate (5% of FFTE) and graduate (15% of FFTEs) students and support the development of an Internationalization Strategic Plan for the institution’ (Brock University, 2006). This indicates a joined up approach to planning at Brock.