Announcing the Tri-Campus Review: “One University, Three Campuses” (PDAD&C #75)

The University of Toronto has a unique tri-campus structure, bound together by a shared identity and a set of genuinely tri- or bi- campus graduate programs and departments. It is the product of a 40-year evolution, with the Mississauga and Scarborough campuses transforming themselves from small undergraduate colleges, to mid-size educational entities hosting a wide range of graduate and undergraduate offerings, and strong programs of research.

Towards 2030 stated the University’s long-term intent to create a regional ‘University of Toronto system’, characterized by three campuses with increasingly strong individual campus identities. In light of this, we are pleased to announce that the University will be launching in the coming weeks a review of the relationships among its three campuses, under the theme identified in Towards 2030,  “One University, Three Campuses.”

Academic and strategic planning activities such as this review are a normal and essential part of University functioning. They provide critical opportunities for the University to reflect on its structure and administration as we prepare to address future opportunities and challenges. This review will help to ensure that the University is poised to reach its institutional objectives.

The tri-campus review will be guided by a steering committee and will be built on five pillars, each with its own working group. Each working group will have tri-campus representation, will develop principles to guide future decision-making and will propose changes to policy and procedure as appropriate.

The five pillars are:

1. Academic Planning and Academic Change, which will discuss questions related to new/changed programs and units, reviews, and academic planning;
2. Graduate Units, which will discuss questions related to graduate faculty membership, searches, graduate chairs and graduate units;
3. Student Services, which will discuss questions related to University-wide and campus-specific responsibilities for student services, and international student experience;
4. Administrative Structure, which will discuss questions relating to campus leadership, administrative responsibilities, and reporting lines;
5. Budget Relationships, which will proceed as part of the Budget Model Review and discuss questions related to budget, costs, and planning.

The review will take place throughout 2018 and into 2019. Further details will be released on the project website as each group begins its work.

Questions about the tri-campus review can be sent to provost@utoronto.ca.