Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at BCcampus
BCcampus is dedicated to cultivating an inclusive and equitable environment, both in our workplaces and learning environments. We foster communities where everyone is welcomed, valued, respected, and empowered to engage fully and authentically in their own way.
This past year, we focused on continuing our internal learning, building up resources for the post-secondary community, and engaging with the wider community in British Columbia.
Bringing BCcampus Full Circle
In September 2023, we launched a rebrand of our logo and visual identity to better reflect our values of openness, inclusivity, and accessibility. This involved revamping our brand package to incorporate a more inclusive colour palette, adopting an open-source font for enhanced readability, and rededicating ourselves to using visuals that better represent the post-secondary community in British Columbia. Learn more about the BCcampus rebrand: Bringing BCcampus Full Circle.
Internal Learning and Growth
As an organization, we gather monthly for two different internal learning groups: the Indigenous Learning Circle and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Learning Circle.
The Indigenous Learning Circle serves as an opportunity to listen, learn, and reflect on our own reconciliation journey. The group gathers to discuss and better understand the impact of colonization and reflect on how, as individuals and as an organization, we can respond and act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 94 Calls to Action. This past year, we completed Decolonize First, a liberating guide and workbook by Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee.
The EDI Learning Circle is a working group that considers how equity, diversity, and inclusion impacts the post-secondary sector, workplace organizations, and individuals. Our focus is to identify opportunities to advance EDI within BCcampus and to share our learnings with the wider post-secondary community.
A highlight this past year was the disability justice workshop, facilitated by Yasmine Gray. It covered a range of topics: the origins of the disability justice movement, the definition of disability justice, ableism, intersectionality, and strategies for promoting disability justice.
Supporting Indigenous Communities
On September 30, 2023, to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, BCcampus sponsored the South Island Powwow. This annual event serves as an opportunity to recognize Survivors and their families in the spirit of reconciliation. We are honoured to support this day that celebrates traditional Indigenous cultures and resiliency and inspires us to take action for reconciliation.
Bringing Accessibility into the Open
In our first equity-focused OER adaptation project, BCcampus enhanced the Introduction to Psychology, 1st Canadian edition, a widely used first-year psychology textbook. The Canadian textbook, adapted from an American open textbook, has been used in over 200 psychology courses in British Columbia, saving students a total of $810,000.
Collaborating with institutions across British Columbia and led by the Justice Institute of British Columbia, this initiative worked to improve the textbook’s relevance and equity. The project posed critical questions about the effectiveness of adapting existing OER to diversify educational resources, the optimal scoping and prioritization methods, and the necessary supports for project success. Scheduled for release in spring 2024, the updated edition will continue to be available under a Creative Commons licence. This initiative is funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Creating Community Learning Opportunities
In collaboration with the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, BCcampus extends complimentary access to the Equity Sequence training for people within the public post-secondary sector.
The Equity Sequence training helps learners better understand systemic and personal bias and how to make their work more equitable and inclusive. It is conducted through an interactive online platform incorporating gamified learning and community engagement. Participants access informative video content, engage in self-reflection and collaborative sharing within the community, and apply their new skills to case studies, ultimately integrating the Equity Sequence into their professional practices.
Learn more about Equity Sequence: Building Equality Better
Accessibility Bites was a comprehensive five-part series addressing digital accessibility in educational environments from September 2023 to February 2024. Recordings are available for all the sessions, covering assistive technologies, image descriptions, PowerPoint slides, social media, and Word documents.
In our Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) sessions on positionality statements, attendees were encouraged to reflect on their identity and how this lens may impact their work. A positionality statement is a reflective communication in which an individual discusses their various personal and social identities. It can include the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, able-bodiedness, indigeneity or settler ancestry, language, and religion. This year, we hosted two events about the practice of positionality: FLO Friday: Where to Position Positionality in Your Work and FLO MicroCourse: Bringing the Practice of Positionality into Teaching and Learning.
All BCcampus events prioritize accessibility. For example, our large-scale in-person gatherings feature a comprehensive accessibility package, custom to the host location. A recent example of this package is available on the Studio23 website. Additionally, our livestream events are equipped with edited closed captions and transcripts.
