Symposium Report

NEW UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE | RECLAIMING HIGHER EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM 2009
NEW UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE

RECLAIMING HIGHER EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM
January 29th to February 1st 2009
p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction and Background................................................................................. 3
2.0 Introductory Session ............................................................................................. 4
3.0 Summary of Presentations .................................................................................... 6
4.0. Synopsis And Broad Questions: Saturday Afternoon Session ............................... 10
5.0 Working Group Discussions ................................................................................... 12
Appendix 1: DIRECTIVES/ACTION ITEMS ............................................................. 18
Appendix 2: Interesting Books ............................................................................. 19

1.0 Introduction & Background
The New University Project was formed in 2005 by a grassroots group of students, educators, activists
and community members from across Canada, at a founding meeting held in Arundel, Quebec. The
objective of the project is to build a new university in Canada, founded on principles of sustainability,
social justice, and accessibility to all, particularly given the current context of human relations with
each other and with the planet, which is defined by a state of crisis: ecological destruction and growing
social inequalities. Subsequent planning meetings focused on developing the vision of the New
University Project. In 2007, the New University Project incorporated federally as a multi-stakeholder
cooperative, and the first Annual General Meeting (AGM), held near Waterloo, Ontario, brought the New
University Cooperative into a new phase of development, with the establishment of one, three and five
year plans. These plans lay out the process of developing the New University, and seek the realisation
of a physical campus by 2013, with fully accredited graduate and undergraduate degrees, which are
rigorous, accessible to all, and have a profound ethos of sustainability and social justice. This summer
the New University Cooperative is hosting its first pilot short course summer program.
The New University Cooperative Reclaiming Higher Education Symposium was the first inaugural
symposium organised by the New University Cooperative, with a focus on two primary components: 1)
A critique and analysis of higher education, particularly in the context of crises such as climate change,
biodiversity loss, and social inequality, and; 2) working group sessions related to the further
development of the New University Cooperative in terms of manifesting concepts of innovative,
sustainable and socially just curricula, developing course offerings, and continuing the grassroots
development of the Cooperative and the New University.
Held at the Tatamagouche Center in Nova Scotia, the Symposium brought a diversity of participants
together from different walks of life, including professors, notable academic and researchers, students,
educators, citizens, and community members. But what was most notable was that there was a distinct
unaminity of passion and recognition of the need for a new approach to higher education. Participants
agreed and dedicated themselves to the task of manifesting the values and principles of the New
University Cooperative, and the result is a very productive and important list of directives to continue
and further the development of the New University Cooperative.

2.0 INTRODUCTORY SESSION: FACILITATED BY YUILL

Yuill provided a brief introduction to the history, values and objectives of the New University
Coooperative. Participants then proceeded to list characterstics of what they considered to be a
university.
2.1 What is a university?
• Learning environment
• Co-mutual learning place between faculty, students and staff
• Physical place to build relationships
• Improve your mind
• Place for elites
• Bureaucracy, hierarchy
• Privilege
• Prepares for your society
• Place to explore questions
• Place for conversation
• Socialization
• White
• Money making
• Should be place that contributes positively to society
• Resource for community
• Sources for social innovation
• Research
• Place to experiment
• Place for bold ideas, testing
• Activism
2.2 Trends we identified in current post-secondary education:

Corporatization
Speak truth to power
Detachment from society
Accessibility
Structure of university, hierarchical model
Student as client
Commodification of knowledge
Allows for a small amount of dissent but confines it – dissent never has any effect
outside of institution
Specialization
Training people as technicians rather than citizens
Limited access
Questions for Reference:

Q: What have been some of the changes in universities over the decades for those
who have experience
Q: Why do we want to be a university?
Q: Why did we use the name university?

TABLE 1: COMPARISON BETWEEN NEW UNIVERSITY AND STANDARD MODEL
New University "Typical" Canadian University
Charter Seeking charter from hereditary first nations governments. Provided by provincial governments in the form of a charter.
Organisation Federally-incorporated non-profit cooperative Charitable corporation
Governance Board elected by membership; 1/3 teachers, 1/3 students Board of Governors appointed, typically prominent business
and 1/3 interested public. people with limited faculty and student representation.
Degree-granting Seeking accreditation with US degree-granting system. Provincial act.

status
Philosophy Critical- "radical in the political sense of utilizing education to Behaviouralist- education as "training" to control human
bring about social, political and economic changes in society" behaviour and therefore develop a better society and
and constructivist- drawing on multiple perspectives and humanist- focused on self and individual development.
strategies.
Role of students Education as life philosophy: governance; maintenance; Traditional student role.
cleaning; cooking; farming; studying; teaching; etc.
Professors Volunteer; either retired or summer vacation On salary
Tuition Free, or cover costs of room and board. 4-12,000 per year for tuition.
Fundraising Primarily for capital purchase of campus, other costs on a For operations, bricks and morter, etc.
volunteer basis
Campus Based on a farm or decentralised, using existing spaces. University campus.
Income Membership, donations. Government grants, tuition, corporate donations.
Objectives Challenge existing paradigm. Perpetuates both existing power and cultural relationships and
socio-political theories.
Students Targets all ages Primarily ages 18-25
Teachers Guide, facilitator. Expert
p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca

3.0 SUMMARY OF PRESENTATIONS, Saturday January 31st (Morning)
There were six presentations given, on subjects ranging from the Earth Institute, Feminism and Higher
Education, First Nations education, Accreditation, and education in a rural setting such as Nova Scotia.
PARTICIPANTS: ARLO, LAIRD, YUILL, WILMA, SASKIA, SHAHAR, LOUISE, ROBIN, NATALIE,
LEAH, TAMMY, CAMMY, ERROL, TED, GRAHAM, LINDA, ANDREA, AV
3.1 Earth Institute

Presented by Shahar and Saskia, Founders of the Earth Institute
• How can we go beyond conventional disciplinary boundaries?

• How can we sustain conflicting values and viewpoints about oneself and others?
• How can we support the discovery of the power of the mind to innovate creative,
spontaneous and flexible solutions?
• Educational model of New Earth Institute
• Sir Ken Robinson video clip – check out
o A different view of intelligence
o What is an alternative paradigm?
• Aspects to include and incorporate:
· Reality
· The Way I Know
· What I Know
· Conventional disciplines
· The Way I Act
· Integral Knowledge (holistic)
· My Unique view Shahar Presenting on the New Earth Institute
• Integration of knowledge: Ground, consciousness, pre-conceptual knowledge,

conceptual knowledge, integral knowledge
• Heart, Action, Being, Body/Mind
• Spiral Model: Not about the ending,
• Four quadrants of reality: Being (meditation), Mind and Body, Heart (About the
other), Action (Flexibility)
Question and Answers:
Q: Graduates, Wilburg is good, but there is some fluff there. Experiential and experimental, sometimes
you lose context. How you integrate the two? A: Starting course next week: Revolution of the mind,
using social models etc. How does it not become fluff, the answer is we don't know. That is where we
need experience of convention, don't want to make it that.
Q: At the end there, threw out a lot about correcting society etc.. more about dialectical relation
between you and society? A: where is the boundaries of me and society, is there those kind of
boundaries? Social versus psychological animals, society influences how we interact, understand etc.

3.2 First Nations Education

Presented by Wilma Van Der Veen, Board of Director of the New University Cooperative and Professor
at Okanagan College
• Tribal Institutes/Colleges: some context, history, development, purpose in the US.

• Dominant paradigm: language issue - Linguistic Genocide paper from Dr. Andrea Bear
Nicholas
• Cross-cultural partnerships template
• Belief the need for their own First Nations institutions
• Idea: New U affiliate with existing institutions so not to duplicate efforts, only
offer core courses and fill gaps
• Provincial governments have not recognised indigenous accreditation, must have been
affiliated with (white institutions).
• Several First Nations institutions exist all but one in the States, although none on
the east coast, knows people who want to set one up in this region of US/Canada
New University: programs not about inserting First Nations content/programs, but
that the curricula is in sync with their approaches to education etc...
• Seek charter from First Nations in their territories when physical campuses of the
New U Coop get set up
• Copy Left: one example of a cross-cultural partnerships, examining issues of
sustainability, creativity, economy. Fundamental themes to be explored etc...
Questions and Answers:
Q: Just a quick thought that there are two kinds of models, one of which is networking with already
existing institutes, rather than reinventing the wheel, for example partnerships with the other
institutes, core course, already exists out there.
Q: Aboriginal model about how to do research. Book: Research is ceremony, Indigenous research
methods by Shawn Wilson available from Fernwood Books
3.3 Linnaea Farm School, Cortez Island, West coast of BC

Presented by Cammie Harbottle, Masters Thesis at Prescott College
• Adult Education, Praxis – the reflection cycle

Critical pedagogy
Transformational learning: Cranton
Tatamagouche Education Design Model (TEDM)
· Personal meaning
· Supportive learning environment
· Self-responsibility
· Learning styles
· Group feelings
· Adaptable design for emerging interests and opportunities
· Ongoing reflection

3.4 Accreditation of Ecological Education

Presented by Laird Herbert, Board of Director of the New University Cooperative
Several different options available to the New University Cooperative: Create our own new
accreditation system, go with existing institutions, go with US or international (e.g. United Nations
Universities) or FN body
Also: spider plant model, which is becoming an educational arm of a leading organization.
Ann Dale recommends to check out Michael Moss of Royal Roads, since he has been able
to accomplish accreditation of many courses recently within a very short period of
time.
3.5 Education and the Rural Lens

Presented by Kevin Quinlan, Principal of Nova Scotia Community College
· NSCC is rural college, province based

· Universities lost rural link when closed extension departments.
· Aging population one of biggest challenge
· Boomers are moving back to NS
· Infrastructure is a problem, e.g.: small businesses are closing, road
conditions, snow issues
· Enrolment has been increasing despite good economy until recently.
Normally with high unemployment, higher enrolment, low unemployment, low enrolment.
· Tatamagouche is one of the few innovative rural communities
· Outmigration of youth – urban pull (the big sucking sound)
· Low birth rate
· Millbrook First Nations – some attend NSCC, now 50 students, needed to
build relationships, birth rate increasing, have a FN counsellor
· African Nova Scotians: 3 communities in NS
· Horizontal community, place based campuses, versus vertical
· Need to be community based
· Many don’t have grade 12 so go to communities and provide the necessary
courses to get high school diploma. Otherwise can’t go on to college/uni.
· Literacy big issue: undereducated = underemployed = underparticipating
· How can farmers be incorporated
· Transportation a big issue, day care
· Access: partner with Community Based Organizations and community schools
· Emphasis on Service Learning: many organizations, business or non-profit,
that students could work with
· Internet access – high speed, need for distance ed
· Need to be community based and e-based, not place based
Michael Corbett’s Learning to Leave, critique of community college – teaching to leave
Educate to leave or educate to stay?
3.6 Higher Education

Presented by Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party
• Currently traded education for certification

• History of Antigonish movement, cooperative movement, came out of St. Francis Xavier
University extension dept.
• Coady Institute working in other countries, need to do asset based adult ed here.
• Provided critique of recent federal budget
• Role of universities: referred to Michael M’Gonigle’s Planet U book

• Post-secondary educational institutions need to look at their ecological footprint

• There are many sustainability programs now, but in silos not fully integrated sufficiently
across/within disciplines.
• BC institutions are being required to be carbon neutral.
• Need to go from exploitative to restorative economies. Go from carbon neutral to
carbon positive.
• Current universities not addressing big issues.
3.7 Higher Education, Feminism

Presented by Linda Christiansen-Ruffman, Saint Mary’s University
• Was part of setting up Ecology Action Center.

Became feminist after getting Ph.D.
• Canadian sociology has progressed differently from
US sociology.
Context matters.
• Exploitation is the fundamental assumption of most
disciplines.
• Free University in Milan
• Free University for Women
• Women’s university in Norway outside of Oslo
• Knowledge is represented by diagram of interlinking Linda and Ted Rutland engaged in discussion
circles, geometric pattern.
Mapping it as it evolves.
• What are the circles: could be issues or social movements, adding new social
movements as a spiral as opposed to adding a circle.
• Disciplines are silos.
• Wise women’s workshop: book on this of all the wise women, Portraits, thought it
was going to be a one time institute.
• Political women of courage workshop.
• Wise womens feminist international institute
• Realized that need a staff person, tried several different configurations of length
of times of institutes
• Book Women and Gift Economy, fundamental difference from exchange economy. Money
economy is fundamentally unsustainably.
• Praxis – theory and doing, important component but not only one
Notion of critical is very individualistic now, analyze assumptions of this concept
of critical
• Getting to assumptions and working this out would be useful
Words are co-opted, e.g. Sustainability.
“If you are not ahead of your time, your time has not yet come”
From the Book Earth and Mind by David Orr

4.0. SYNOPSIS and BROAD QUESTIONS: SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION
4.1 Feedback for the Morning Session:
• Words: higher ed, post-secondary ed or “advancing education”

• Different perspectives from working within, creating new, critiquing
existing…, how to incorporate all perspectives, e.g. feminist, integral, FN, etc…
• Need to learn how to learn in new ways, get educators to be students
• Continue discussion, need to explore further, and challenge some
assumptions, we are all the good and bad people
• Be mindful of replacing one paradigm with another paradigm
• We come from western education, can learn from eastern
4.2 Working group discussion on bigger picture C’EST QUOI CA, LE NEW U?....
4.2.1 Why Will People Want to Come?
• Multiple options
• Using medicine wheel format to structure discussions
• The need for a return to a renaissance education
• The loss of a renaissance education – MULTI – purposes, faceted, life-long
get you to think, realize your boxes, and get rid of ‘em!
• Learning SKILLS to learn how to create new knowledge
• How is it framed around a subject area ie the situation of skills within
different areas of knowledge
4.2.2 Do you need this framing in order to accomplish the learning of the higher skills?
• FRAME – teaching the critical frameworks

• Go horizontal so that the students can go vertical/deep
• It can be useful to have a framing in which to place the
skills
• As much as you possibly can, draw on the students’
experience
• How do you do this without a subject matter around
which to do it?
• Do you only have one subject matter and is it
sustainability?
• What is the purpose? Folks aren’t going to be there
forever, do we need to
define an outcome and then work backwards from there? Morning Session, Saturday Afternoon
• Learning how to learn as purpose – active, critical – e.g. TEDM
• Learning as cycle & as process
• Action learning (E.g. – Black Mountain College) and Critical skills matrix, achieved through action
learning & bottom-up action
• Have a way for folks to think about learning, then practice learning, then reflection
• Individual learning plans? But same degree (e.g. human ecology in COA)?
• Explicit mandate to take a very specific world view (St Thomas)
• Can still have freedom with parameters – is this completely individualized learning plans or some
boundaries?
• Some fundamental core things and then some individual

4.2.3 How is it taught?
• Paradigms, plural frameworks, and perspectives

• Why are human beings bad at difference? When we define the other, we
classify for good and bad
• Co-teaching – all curriculum designed by a team
• Students designing a curriculum themselves. If they design their own course, evading what you
want the institution to be?
• Have to have standards to have credibility, but could design them yourself
• Elder model of education – do we all have to go through that process to get to that point?
• That process as being the learning
• Students designing individual courses, with guidelines for individual courses
• Courses currently aren’t asking questions that are important – the knowledge being taught in
universities aren’t answering these questions
• Sending out questions beforehand, come with ideas to those answers, and then build the course
from there, think strategically about those questions
• Transformative learning
• Knowledge which helps to create change, in search of that knowledge collaboratively
• Subject areas – informed by basic principles (sustainability, peace, feminism, etc)
• Second level - the application of those principles
• It’s getting into the ISMS – structure of society, power & conflict rather than class
• Individual and collective questions of power
• Core courses addressing fundamental issues – then further courses, applying this
• Literacies – underpinning other courses, Having a prerequisite level of literacy
• Communication –writing, arts, communication
• Teaching theory & experience, different ISMS cohesively
• Problem-based learning: question framing
• Theory is only in the practice – intellectualizing & theorizing – a dance!!!
• Systems thinking – teaching systems through an ecology course
• Role of residential program – for teaching, learning, transformation
• Financing strategy – cottage industries Governance – as learning opportunity
• How do all of these interact with the co-op model?
• How do you keep a student body diversified in terms of models, residences,
etc – WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?
• Do people need to relocate? Do people stay where they are?
• Value of residential component
• Divorce between manual and cognitive information: doers are thinkers, and thinkers are doers
• Really, it’s an artificial separation between the mind & body
• The intellectual process is to be enjoyed if you let some dancing in it!
• Universities depend on people to survive
• DYNAMIC
• Living experience as part of the education
• Legitimizing knowledge – grounded theory (qualitative)
• Going back to looking at what we mean by grounded theory – because theory
4.3 Developing a Working Purpose

h◦ Renaissance education
h◦ See the box, find the box, change the box – all in relation to your thinking
(We are in the box, identify the box, critique the box, go outside the box
È◦ Something that people graduate from or process of continual learning
€◦ Making connections between it all

h◦ Core fundamentals – core course – foundational learning – the way we learn, how we learn,
why we learn
r◦ Modified sustainability – underscoring “the reconciliation of three imperatives – ecological,
social, economic”
5.0 WORKING GROUP DISCUSSIONS

Participants divided up into 6 different working groups, to look at various components of the
development of the New University Cooperative, including: Inclusion/Accessibility, Fundraising,
Accreditation, Curricula/Academic Council, Next Meeting/Future Activities.
5.1 Working group discussion on 09 Summer Program
Students figuring out how they learn? How people learn? How do students know they are learning?
Incorporating the Reflection cycle. What do we want the students to do – what is the purpose of the
month? See the handout in symposium which has the learning outcomes and objectives of the course.
• To live ecological sustainability and social justice
• Use cooperative style living
• General understanding of social justice and ecological sustainability
• Reflection: Today we planted a garden how does this relate back to social justice, ecol. Sust.
ICE: interactions, connections, experiences
Table 2: IDEAS FOR THE SUMMER COURSE 09

* One month in the summer- most * Would imagine it would be mostly younger people
likely going to be only older people
* All ages and as diverse as possible * Suggestion using Tatamagouche model for 1st week, have them
do the training
* Discussion for spirituality * Every one can bring something, each of the 15 students…
* Toolkit- what books do I need * Participatory part/experiential and then more of a seminar part
* Partner with Ecology Action Centre * Sailing/sea school
* Pagan spiritual thing * Connection to the indigenous peoples of this area
* Eco-psychology * Something to do with renewable energy
* What does it mean to be non-violent * There will be conflict and challenge, when these are there then
you experience metamorphisis, strategy needs to be set to help
people through challenge.
* Can learn a lot from making things * This is what the New U. is, this is how it can be done
* Young people don’t build or make * Want 15 New University educators at the end of the month,
things anymore class that is transformative
* Non-violent component * Students knowing what they have achieved is important
* Constant reflection * Experiential learning is key, e.g. woodworking and farming
* Aboriginal component- story-telling * Month of the August- help other people with gardening or
farming, would not be able to grow own food
* Coady Institute, Agriculture College, * Somebody teach the students how to carve something out of
Tatamagouche Centre possible wood, something that is theirs forever
partners
* Something to do with movement- * Personal time, isolated personal time, leg warmers from this
spiritual, dancing, whatever… weekend, from here on….
* Core course so that everything can * Core course that would be the undercurrent, transformative so
click to it, everything can click to it. that one believes that one can change after one month so that at
the end, never see life the same way again
* Learning cycle * Evaluating and using the medicine wheel as an evaluation tool
* Gardening or building something, * 24 hours outdoors or by oneself so not always in group
some physical work
* Expose people to some ideas * Spirituality

Other thoughts….
• One idea is to think about ways to take down the price so that the people who come make
things that can be sold or doing volunteer things. Study for a month and get one week of
practice or something
• Posters made a big difference- one sentence
• Work with facebook- have 4-500 people on the internet
• Deposit when people come
• Open meetings wherever you want.
• Whole variety of things versus one thing in depth
5.2 Working Group Disucussion on Inclusion/Accessibility
• Identify three core aspects of the New U: Ecological Sustainability, Social Justice, First
Peoples Participation/Perspective, and these three points help to steer discussion
• Also Related to the living principles: accessibility + diversity. Accessibility may be a concern
within this wording, b/c if we don’t have those people in the room/classroom, are we setting
ourselves up for failure
• Diversity: Look at the two of these principles, long term intention & short term goals
• Code of Conduct: dedication to diversity and including as many different perspectives
• This code would act as a short-term goal, but eventually it would be an
increasing process of bringing in people who may be traditional barred from
education
• Diversity: recommend that able-bodied-ness
• Stress the importance of saying a First People’s perspective both male and female, elders
and youth
• Terminology Concerns
• Have a core group to those three core aspects
• Not just reaching out to already established academic community
• Work on good faith rather than guilt when considering accessibility
• Priority Area 1: First Peoples participant or leader, especially women
• P.A. 2: community based but cooperative led activities – it means that the core
ideas will be sustained, no matter where New U activities are taking place
• P.A. 3: place-based education – supplemented by the realities of the region –
e.g. in N.S. – Acadia, Black-Nova Scotia, etc.
• Long-Term: identifying people who believe in and share these ideals but are
currently not represented within the New University Cooperative
* E.g. – someone working in environmental racism
* Make a point to reach out to people who are not in this room
* Celebrate what we’re doing well
* Intention to have a charter ratified by Native Women’s Association
5.3 Working Group Disucssion on Fundraising
Both long-term & short-term

The BIG Questions: structural set-up of the co-op? Especially how that
relates to people giving money to the coop?
• Sponsor/Associate Member – how does this get set-up and/or is it
compatible with the idea of the cooperative model
• Tiers of Involvement – may not be compatible with the model –
organizational sponsors, individual sponsors, members (3 tiers – most power
attributed to the first tier ie members)
Targeted Areas: Short Term – how to raise the resources?

• Core funding: for the university itself – how does this get developed?
• Difficult b/c it’s still very much an idea and therefore needs a pitch to get
people involved – recognize strategies
• Hello academia! Professors, maybe students – venues to get to professors:
conferences, Congress of the Social Science & Humanities, journals for ad space
(purchased or donated)
• Donating intellectual property to the website – an essay, an article, etc
• Developing relationships – face-to-face – using Fernwood b/c already going to
universities so bring along those brochures!
• Create a brochure specifically geared towards professors: target b/c may be
preaching activism but not actually doing it
• Because these are the people who can give stuff away
• Go to businesses that would support these kind of ventures
• Big questions of the co-op model – if these business contributions can be
written off, how do they fit into the coop model ex. Just Us!, etc. – working with sponsoring
coops?
• Teaming with an NGO – one that is already established
• Challenging the month-long model – week?
• Offer curriculum for NGO members/participants and getting the NGO to fund it
• Looking at Phoenix Community Works Foundation – charitable tax number
• Partnering with a university? (especially for accreditation) Educational
NGO? (especially for fundraising)
• Conflict between being a university and being a non-profit
Wrapping It Up.....
· Structural technicalities of the coop
· Networks for funding contacts – Identification of allies
· Piggy-backing – looking at other NGOs
· Means to an end??? Can you reconcile values with alternative funding
structures
5.4 Working Group Discussion on Curricula Development & Academic Council
* Action Learning: Learning by Using & Experiential Learning: Learning by Doing & Transformative
Learning: Learning by Becoming (hands, heart, head idea)
* Integral Thinking
* Synthesis/Systems Thinking – Wholistic Thinking
* Interdisciplinary Thinking
* Critical Thinking
* Literacies – what ARE the critical literacies?
* Computer Analogy: 01010101 – this is what it is
* Seeing the picture – beautiful (this is for students)
* Putting the learning into our blood, our cells, our SELVES through different
learning, right from the symposium
* Perspective making and Perspective taking – ie What is SOLIDARITY?
* Not looking to the quick fixes – learning to ride a wave and confront the
mutations that appear
* Virus – we’re always trying to manipulate – what is the virus? Not humans, because we can be
beautiful – is it something with the operating system?
* Don’t need to kill the virus – the virus can only attack a PC, if you go to MAC then it can’t attack – it’s
not about killing the virus, it’s about changing the operating system – WHOLENESS

* Now, how do you translate that abstract thinking to the ground?

* Looking within – it’s not about looking outside for the answer but a realization that the gift is within –
group of geniuses
* So what is the starting point?
* Role and relationship of the knowledge to power – not ONLY looking within or ONLY looking outside
but looking to both
* Awareness and consciousness of connections and relationships
* I want to come here to learn how to critique, how to analyze, how to challengea dominant paradigm,
and I need the tools to be able to do that and I need the material to back me up
* We don’t accept the status quo
* Welcome all modalities and welcome all means of learning
* Folks in the summer course being able to act as educators within the New U
* Wisdom – do you have to be old to wise? Process?
* How do you capture those skills?
Principles & Ways of Learning
* Devotion to Ecology
* Accessibility
* Interdisciplinary/Wholistic Learning
* Open Learning Space
* Diversity
* Leadership
* Community
5.4 Working Group Discusion on Academic Council
* Buffer between normal world & New U

* How to avoid having to do two degrees
* Higher Profile Academic Council – a vetting agent for courses/curriculum + defense
* Retired professors emeritus? New kinds of attachment?
* Where do we want our elders to be?
* Should they be in university or external? Both
* Legitimizing the process
* Council should mirror your content
* Value-added for people who could interact who wouldn’t normally have that opportunity
* Elders + Youth Wisdom
* 10 members? 5-10?
* Approval of courses
* Instead of making council responsible for liaising with the board, have a board member on council
* Evolving role of curriculum
* Honourific & Horrific?
* Advisory more than approval
* Relationship between core curricula & academic council
* Creation of learning plans
* Individual learning plans?
5.5 Working Group Discussion on Next meetings/activities

Main purposes of conference (symposium): in essence dual purpose of combined

working groups/planning of New U Coop as well as sharing ideas
· Feedback loop into the New U Coop

· Recruitment of members into New U
· Exposure to new ideas re: higher ed
· Gain legitimacy
· Increase exposure of New U
· Community service to local/regional communities
· Maintain grassroots focus
One annual conference – move around the country whoever wants to host, if more than
one wants to host then have a process to determine
Issues that could be addressed: freedom of speech, speaking power to truth, hands
on learning and getting accreditation for this – building curricula components with
this, science in society - push against positivism, talk about facts with values,
speaking to accreditation issue – working for change within existing institutions,
helping those within since lack of mentoring
Logistics
Getting a venue: church camps, Narramata centre
Fundraising Strategy
Getting students to organize it with some profs (Jake
Kennedy, Marlo Edwards,
Sharon, Ann, etc… - the group that is organizing the
applied arts degree)
Timeline
Securing venue
Draft budget to board
Identifying funding sources, applying for funds
(Okanagan College – Stan Chung) Presentation on Saturday Morning
Brainstorm keynotes, sub-topics of main theme
Call for papers proposals (need to highly encourage people to stay for whole weekend)
Plan for some activities off site e.g. excursions and/or more structured social time
Draft agenda
Food – local, organic
5.5 Working Group Discussion on Accreditation Strategy
The whole idea of accreditation is to be recognized as a valid institution.
Accreditation
Interim Accreditation
(Summer Courses, Diplomas, or Certificates) in the beginning

• Need Champions
• If you do a partnership, you automatically have to pay tuition = expensive
Long Term Accreditation

• Wait and see, if it's actually what we want to pursue

• Instead of focusing on the conventional system, put more efforts into other systems that are
more attune with our vision, given the complexity of the standard system (in order of priority),
but at the same time work on every option
Ð◦ Own accreditation
◦ Designing our own accreditation regime, by which students attend other programs which
…
are accredited by the New University, and that makes up the degree
ø◦ United States Accreditation
◦ First Nations Accreditation (Typically designed for first nations education and institutions, so
…
it might not be the best fit)
◦ AUCC
Charter
Provincial Legislation
• Provincial Legislation
• Start looking into requirements, to see if we can even meet them, start working towards that
First Nations Charter

• First Nations Charter: Dependent on where we are going to establish the thing
• Might not be something they are interested in, another favour/token
-- END OF SYMPOSIUM --
Thank you to Meghan from Waldergrave Farm for volunteering her time to
provide delicious organic and local food for the Symposium!
Appendix 1: DIRECTIVES/ACTION ITEMS

Reclaiming Higher Education Symposium | January 29th – February 1st

2nd Annual Reclaiming Publicity Organisational Curricula

Dire Higher Education For Structure
ctiv All Symposium
es Early in term or end of Presenting at Three Priority Areas (Pas) Core courses addressing
Dra winter term, end of April International Eco- for inclusion/accessibility fundamental issues – then
wn conference, and diversity idenfitied further courses, applying
fro Calgary May 7-9 this
m Circulate materials in Presenting at World Size tensions of Literacies – underpinning
the advance, encourage Environmental cooperatives + voluntary other courses
Sy people to read them Educators conference, spirit
mp Montreal, Feb. 9-14 Friends, Sustainers, and
osiu Members
m Proposed theme for next Apply for more Donating your royalties? Accreditation Structure:
for conference: Activism in academic conferences Nature of co-ops? How Priorities and strategy for
the Academia, Reclaiming and prepare a does it work? accreditation developed
Ne the Activist in Academic: brochure specifically Hierarchical structures?
w Community, Culture and targeting academics
Uni Change
ver More continuity is needed Encourage people to Academic Council raises Students designing
sity from meeting to meeting, organize local or questions of relationship individual courses, with
Co issue of existing regional discussions, with organisational guidelines for individual
ope members divesting their speakers, and similar, structure of the courses
rati power by virtue of their in order to pitch New U Cooperative: non-
history in organization, (sponsoring these hierarchal etc...
ve
working events), engaging in
out having new people outreach of ideas &
each time so how to concurrently
incorporate them manifesting principles
of New U
Longer time – one Fernwood Publishing Network model: Partner Living experience as part
additional day for issue Could help with with already existing of the education
discussion, one additional networking and bring programs and courses to Legitimizing knowledge –
day for our brochures to develop the curricula of grounded theory
organizational stuff conferences such as the New U (qualitative)
the Social Sciences
and Humanitites
Conferences,
Develop a timeline Work with Facebook Own Course Offerings Have to have standards to
Model: Providing New have credibility, but could
University Cooperative design them yourself
specific course offerings
Develop a fundraising Target brochure Critical Literacies:
strategy specifically for Underpinning of a core
Professors/Academics foundation to curricula
Co-teaching – all
curriculum designed by a
team
Transformative learning
Accreditation Strategy:
Interm, and long-term
Appendix 2: INTERESTING BOOKS

Ira Shor Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change

Reshaping the University: Responsibility, Indigenous Epistemes and the Logic of
Gift, Rauna Kuokkanen, Sami University College, Kautokeino, Norway, ubcpress.ca
Women and the Gift Economy: A Radically Different Worldview is Possible, edited by
Genevieve Vaughan
Michael Corbett’s Learning to Leave
Jane Jacobs The Dark Age
Neil Bradford Why Cities Matter
Check out Fernwood Books catalogue!

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NEW UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE | RECLAIMING HIGHER EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM 2009

NEW UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 1

1.0 Introduction and Background................................................................................. 3

2.0 Introductory Session ............................................................................................. 4

3.0 Summary of Presentations .................................................................................... 6

4.0. Synopsis And Broad Questions: Saturday Afternoon Session ............................... 10

5.0 Working Group Discussions ................................................................................... 12

Appendix 1: DIRECTIVES/ACTION ITEMS ............................................................. 18

Appendix 2: Interesting Books ............................................................................. 19

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 2

1.0 Introduction & Background

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 3

2.0 INTRODUCTORY SESSION: FACILITATED BY YUILL

2.1 What is a university?

2.2 Trends we identified in current post-secondary education:

Questions for Reference:

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 4

New University "Typical" Canadian University

Organisation Federally-incorporated non-profit cooperative Charitable corporation

Degree-granting Seeking accreditation with US degree-granting system. Provincial act.

Professors Volunteer; either retired or summer vacation On salary

Campus Based on a farm or decentralised, using existing spaces. University campus.

Income Membership, donations. Government grants, tuition, corporate donations.

Students Targets all ages Primarily ages 18-25

Teachers Guide, facilitator. Expert

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca

3.0 SUMMARY OF PRESENTATIONS, Saturday January 31st (Morning)

3.1 Earth Institute

• How can we go beyond conventional disciplinary boundaries?

• Integration of knowledge: Ground, consciousness, pre-conceptual knowledge,

Question and Answers:

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 6

3.2 First Nations Education

• Tribal Institutes/Colleges: some context, history, development, purpose in the US.

Questions and Answers:

3.3 Linnaea Farm School, Cortez Island, West coast of BC

• Adult Education, Praxis – the reflection cycle

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 7

3.4 Accreditation of Ecological Education

3.5 Education and the Rural Lens

· NSCC is rural college, province based

3.6 Higher Education

• Currently traded education for certification

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 8

• Post-secondary educational institutions need to look at their ecological footprint

3.7 Higher Education, Feminism

• Was part of setting up Ecology Action Center.

From the Book Earth and Mind by David Orr

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 9

4.0. SYNOPSIS and BROAD QUESTIONS: SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION

4.1 Feedback for the Morning Session:

• Words: higher ed, post-secondary ed or “advancing education”

4.2.1 Why Will People Want to Come?

• FRAME – teaching the critical frameworks

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 10

4.2.3 How is it taught?

• Paradigms, plural frameworks, and perspectives

4.3 Developing a Working Purpose

p: 902 657 2532 | e: info@newuniversity.ca | www.newuniversity.ca | 11

5.0 WORKING GROUP DISCUSSIONS

5.1 Working group discussion on 09 Summer Program

Table 2: IDEAS FOR THE SUMMER COURSE 09