Collaboration will widen reach of polytechnic education
Toronto, ON, May 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Humber and Seneca announced today the Humber-Seneca Polytechnic Partnership (HSPP) to promote co-operation and collaboration between the two institutions to enhance and expand learning opportunities as students begin, continue or complete their postsecondary education.
“We’re excited to work together to look at ways to combine and complement our strengths,” said Chris Whitaker, Humber president, and David Agnew, Seneca president. “Humber and Seneca have always been leaders in designing innovative postsecondary approaches to meet the changing needs of students, employers and society.”
The intention behind the initiative is to find opportunities to collaborate rather than compete. To launch the HSPP, the two institutions have identified two transfer pathways between diplomas and degrees: from Seneca’s graphic design diploma to Humber’s creative advertising honours degree and from Humber’s computer programmer diploma to Seneca’s software development honours degree.
Operating under a memorandum of understanding, the HSPP includes joint efforts on program planning and development as well as teaching and learning activities. Both institutions have committed to consulting each other before designing new programs to avoid duplication and to identify potential pathways. Humber and Seneca are also exploring creating shared curriculum and expanding program offerings across more campuses.
Leveraging the combined resources of two large polytechnic institutions, the HSPP also seeks to support enhanced collaborative activity with other postsecondary institutions to improve access, credit transfer and seamless pathways for students.
“This is all about creating more opportunities for more students through a broader network, and we will lead by example,” said Whitaker and Agnew. “Our system will be stronger, but more importantly our students, and students from our partner institutions, will have broader options and greater access to world-class education.”
The two presidents said the time is right for the HSPP initiative.
“We are continuing to innovate and be responsive to the changing needs of the economy as we have since our beginnings over 50 years ago. This is a partnership of choice, not necessity, and reflects a long-term perspective that sees differentiation, interdependence, critical mass and deep shared expertise as keys to continued success for Ontario’s publicly assisted postsecondary institutions.”
About Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning and Seneca College
With campuses in Toronto, York Region, Peterborough, and Orangeville, together Humber and Seneca offer 46 honours bachelor degrees, 91 graduate certificates and 55 advanced diplomas, in addition to many diploma, certificate and apprenticeship opportunities in hundreds of programs to more than 150,000 full- and part-time students annually.
In the evolution of Ontario’s postsecondary system, Humber and Seneca are pioneers in programs, credentials and pedagogy. The two share a strong belief in the value of polytechnic education as a distinct third choice in higher education, offering an applied education that combines rigorous academics with sophisticated hands-on learning. Polytechnics are large, urban postsecondary institutions characterized by having significant degree and graduate certificate activity among a broad credential mix at the undergraduate and graduate levels, strong industry and applied research partnerships and leading approaches to scholarship, skills development and corporate training.
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