The results of the most recent thoughtexchange forum on UFV’s vision are now available online.
Broad-based participation
The thoughtexchange, which ran from January 8-23, attracted fewer participants than the November forum on values and mission; however, contributions continued to reflect a broad spectrum of the UFV community, with a very even split in participation among faculty (29%), students (29%) and staff (28%), along with contributions from alumni and community members (10%).
Major issues and trends
In response to the question “as we develop our vision for the future, what do you think are the major issues and trends we should consider?”, the top issues cited by participants were course availability, our ability to attract faculty, the need for more hands-on learning opportunities, and the challenges of physical space.
An analysis of top thoughts by stakeholder group shows that for students, course availability, qualified instructors and expanded hours for on-campus amenities such as food service and the fitness centre are high priorities. For faculty, recruiting and hiring faculty members dominated the top thoughts, followed closely by space and the trend of international student population growth. Staff members cited the growth in technology fields and the importance of experiential learning as key issues to follow. For alumni, top issues included climate change, attracting faculty, and ensuring the affordability of a UFV education.
Cultivating lasting endurance
When asked to think about what UFV should do to cultivate lasting endurance, ensuring our institution thrives well into its future, all participants reiterated the importance of strong relationships and building community. Comments noted that UFV’s strong roots in the Fraser Valley have been the key to UFV’s success so far and will continue to be important to UFV’s future.
The vision challenge
The results of this recent thoughtexchange — particularly the lower rate of participation — reflect the fact that answering the question “what kind of university do we want to become?” is not easy to do. The possibilities for UFV’s future are endless and certain outcomes in our world are hard to come by.
In spite of those challenges, imagining UFV’s future is also an activity full of optimism and excitement, something you can experience this week if you join one of the visioning workshops taking place February 4-8. We hope to see you there.