Strategic Plan
The 2026-2031 Vanier College Strategic Plan was adopted by the Board of Governors on September 29, 2026, after extensive community consultation and collaboration.
The Plan lays out the College's priorities over the next five years and serves as a roadmap for all departments and services when preparing their annual work plans.
The Plan includes a strong student-centred positioning, it defines transversal priorities that are to be woven throughout all our activities, and lists 4 priorities with 3 objectives each for the next five year. The College's mission, vision and values can be found on our About us page.
A student-centred college
To be a student-centred college means systematically prioritizing the diverse needs, voices, and lived experiences of learners when making pedagogical and administrative decisions. It is a commitment to fostering an environment where institutional structures support student success and wellbeing. To this end, this Strategic Plan and the ensuing action plans consider the academic and holistic success of students. The student-centred approach involves a deep understanding of student needs and a proactive commitment to meeting them.
Transversal orientations
Vanier’s values are the core principles that will guide our decisions and actions over the next five years. Our transversal orientations are approaches that will guide us through the complex work ahead. Both our values and orientations are transversal in that they are interwoven through all elements of this Plan and everything we do. They also guide the work undertaken to enact each of the objectives of the Strategic Plan.
Sustainability and biodiversity
As a higher education institution, Vanier has a responsibility to promote and support environmental action both in our operations and in our pedagogical practice. Sustainability demands that we transform our ecological footprint to respect the planet’s finite resources. This includes every facet of our operations, from our purchasing practices to our waste management and energy consumption. Biodiversity requires that we actively protect, restore, and coexist with the rich web of species that inhabit the lands under our stewardship. On our campuses, this includes initiatives such as planting and protecting wild spaces. In addition to our operational initiatives, environmental education is an essential foundation for preparing our students to contribute as engaged citizens of the world. Whether it is to prepare students for the future, to enhance the student experience, to foster resilience within our institution or more explicitly to model meaningful change to shape a just, open, and sustainable future, sustainability and biodiversity are integral to our work.
Decolonization and Reconcili-Action
In 2017, Vanier College signed the CICan Indigenous Education Protocol, which guides coordinated action on education-related recommendations found in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, and the Calls to Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The transformative actions found in the Indigenous Education Protocol are wide-ranging, from pedagogy to staffing, and thus constitute a systemic approach informing College decision-making. The expansion of exemplary practices in the Indigenous Education Protocol also constitutes a strategic objective of this Plan.
Equity, diversity and inclusion
By embedding equity, diversity and inclusion as a transversal orientation across all our priorities and objectives, the College aims to establish a foundation of trust and psychological safety, creating an environment where all members of our community can thrive. Equity is the deliberate practice of ensuring fair access and opportunity for all students and staff by actively identifying and removing structural barriers that disadvantage individuals and groups. Diversity represents actively affirming and welcoming the variety of personal identities, backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences within our college community, such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, age, and the intersectionality of these identities. Inclusion is the intentional creation of a culture where every individual feels valued and empowered to participate fully in campus life. The application of these principles works to dismantle discrimination and enhance the experience of every individual at Vanier College. During the strategic planning process, community consultations clearly highlighted that institutional equity, diversity, and inclusion cannot remain abstract. While the College remains fully committed to identifying and eliminating all forms of discrimination, consultations raised frequent and distinct concerns regarding anti-Black racism. The ongoing impacts of anti-Black racism continue to shape present-day institutional and social realities. Acknowledging and addressing anti-Black racism explicitly ensures that our strategic commitments address real, documented lived experiences.
1. Prepare students for the future
2. Enhance the student experience
3. Foster resilience within our institution
4. Model meaningful change to shape a just, open and sustainable world
1. Prepare students for the future
1.1 Support pedagogical responsiveness to a changing world
Indicators
- Current student and alumni evaluation of program relevance as measured by survey
- Academic sector evaluation of program relevance as measured by survey
1.2 Expand experiential learning opportunities: in the classroom, across the community, and on and from the land
Indicators
- Evaluation by students of impact of practical and experiential learning opportunities by category (classroom, community, land) as measured by survey
- Academic sector assessment of impact of experiential learning opportunities as measured by survey
1.3 Strengthen students’ transversal competencies
Indicators
- Number of programs applying the transversal competencies framework
- Student reported evaluation of transversal competency development as measured by survey
2. Enhance the student experience
2.1 Identify and reduce systemic barriers to student success, with particular attention to the needs of marginalized students
Indicators
- Graduation rate within expected duration of studies + 2 years
- Ratio of marginalized groups wellbeing rate to overall student wellbeing rate, as measured by survey
- Admission, retention and graduation rate of Indigenous students
2.2 Improve awareness of student services and facilitate equitable access
Indicators
- Student awareness and access rate of available services measured by survey
- Student satisfaction rate of available services measured by survey
2.3 Foster students’ sense of wellbeing through their relationships with each other, with teachers and staff, and with the environment
Indicators
- Student reported evaluation of wellbeing as measured by survey
- Student evaluation of peer connections and community engagement as measured by survey
3. Foster resilience within our institution
3.1 Reinforce connections and collaborations among colleagues, across departments, and within the educational network
Indicators
- Sense of connection with colleagues and departments, and participation in educational network activities, as measured by survey
- Percentage of collaborative research and innovation projects conducted across departments or in partnership with external organizations collectively receiving a minimum of $500,000 in annual external funding
3.2 Promote and support continuous learning for all employees and our institution
Indicators
- Development of a Continuous Learning Plan for all employees
- Sense of relevance of continuous learning opportunities as measured by annual survey
- Reach level 2 of the Gartner Data Governance Maturity Model
3.3 Cultivate a respectful, safe, and equitable workplace for all, with a focus on addressing discrimination
Indicators
- Sense of respect, safety and equity felt by employees, as measured by annual survey
- Representation and diversity rates across employee groups using institutional demographic and HR data
4. Model meaningful change to shape a just, open, and sustainable future
4.1 Strengthen our sustainability and biodiversity leadership and practices across programs and services
Indicators
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
- Kilograms of waste diverted from landfills
- Number of initiatives completed from the institutional Sustainability and Biodiversity Plan (to be adopted)
4.2 Expand the integration of exemplary practices from the Indigenous Education Protocol across programs and services
Indicators
- Number of exemplary practices adopted and applied
- Employee participation rate in Indigenous learning and professional development activities
4.3 Integrate accountability- based practices to advance equity, diversity and inclusion across programs and services
Indicators
- Number of bylaws and policies revised using an institutional EDI lens tool (to be adopted)
- Employee assessment of the College's advancement towards its equity, diversity and inclusion objectives as measured by annual survey
