LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE PROGRAM

Welcome!

The Leadership Excellence Program will run in 2023-24 with a hybrid delivery model, offering webinars and virtual interactive sessions, as well as in-person sessions at the 2023 Higher Education Summit.

Enrolment is currently closed for the Fall term. For further information, please contact Diane Posterski, Program Manager.

Leadership Excellence Certificate

  • Click here to read FAQ
  • The Leadership Excellence Certificate program is open to college administrators in any of the 24 Ontario CAAT colleges.
  • Participants must enrol in the program to receive credit for sessions attended.
  • There is no program fee to enroll. However, participants are required to attend the Higher Education Summit (HES) in order to receive in-person elective credits, as well as the pre-HES session, Leadership symposium: Strategic change leadership. All HES registration fees are the responsibility of the participant.

For more information, please contact Diane Posterski, Program Manager.

LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE CERTIFICATE

2023-24 PROGRAM YEAR

MANDATORY SESSIONS

Webinar: The college, the board and the governor: legal framework and obligations (90 min)
This session provides an essential overview of the board's roles, the general and specific legal duties of governors, personal liability for corporate acts and omissions, and a brief overview of risk management and indemnification. College leaders will deepen their understanding of college governance.

Facilitator:


Victoria Prince, National Practice Group Leader, Corporate Commercial,
Borden Ladner Gervais

Live: 
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
(9:00 am) 

Recorded:
Available by video-on-demand following the live session.

Click here to register (for either the live session OR video recording). 

Leadership Accountability Gap

Participants will discuss what it really means to be a leader today. This has become the most critical question for colleges as they contend with a myriad of challenges at a time of unprecedented change and disruption. To succeed, colleges will need truly accountable leaders in place at every level. This thought provoking and practical session will help participants become the truly accountable leader colleges require. Participants will walk away with practical insights on how to:

  • be a more deliberate and purposeful leader
  • learn to tackle the hard work that is holding you back
  • build a strong leadership culture in your college

Facilitator:


Vince Molinaro, Founder and CEO, Leadership Contract Inc. 

TBC

 

Webinar: Working with college boards (90 min)
As a senior college leader, working effectively with boards of governors is a critical skill set. This session will highlight important aspects of the roles, intersections with the board, and how to ensure the board is educated, informed and able to perform its governance responsibilities effectively.

Facilitator:


Catherine M. Raso, President, CMR Consulting

Live
Thursday, January 25, 2024 (9:00 am - 10:30 am)

Recorded:
Available by video-on-demand following the live session.

Click here to register (for either the live session OR video recording). 

 

Webinar: Understanding college financial statements (90 min)
Financial statements provide critical information on a college’s financial health and its ability to pursue and achieve its strategic objectives. This session will provide an introduction for board members, board staff and senior managers on:

  • basic components of financial statements
  • financial statement objectives
  • generally Accepted Accounting Principles “GAAP” for colleges
  • role of senior management and boards vis-à-vis financial statements
  • what to focus on when reading the financial statements
  • reporting of financials to key internal and external stakeholders
  • upcoming “GAAP” changes for college financial statements

Facilitators:


Robert Wilkes, CPA, CA, Partner, BDO Canada LLP 


Marcus Sconci, CPA, CA, Partner, BDO Canada LLP

Live: Thursday, February 1, 2024 (12:00 pm - 1:30 pm)

Recorded:
Available by video-on-demand following the live session.

Click here to register (for either the live session OR video recording). 

Leadership Symposium:

Strategic Change Leadership - Creativity, Innovation and Experience in Higher Education
This session will explore the role of creativity and innovation in advancing transformative change among leaders, educators and learners in post-secondary education. 

Participants will consider the tools, mindsets and approaches required to steward cross-disciplinary collaboration, human imagination and meaningful experience among teams and learning communities. 

Through a combination of discussion, interactive exchange and group exercise, participants will engage such topics as:

  • Leading Innovation in Higher Ed: Creativity, interdisciplinarity and story
  • Inspiring Change: The role of experience in learning organizations 
  • Implementation of Innovation Initiatives: Best practices, intrinsic motivation and impact 

Facilitator:


Dr. Yael Katz, Vice President, Academic, Georgian College  

Asynchronous learning component: TBC


In-person session:
Sunday, November 26, 2023
8:30 am - 11:30 am

Register through the Higher Education Summit website.

Registration fees apply. 

ELECTIVE SESSIONS
A minimum of six (6) credits is required.
Two credits must be in-person credits, from the 2023 Higher Education Summit.

In-person, elective credits. Attendance at the Higher Education Summit is required to receive TWO elective credits there.

2023 options:

The diversity, equity and inclusion "E-volution"
Presenter: Priya Bates, Communications professional, Inner Strength Communication Inc.

Next-level teamwork
Presenter: Tim Arnold, President, Leaders for Leaders

Storytelling as a leadership skill
Presenter: Mark Weber, Eyton Director & Professor, Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, University of Waterloo

Please visit the 2023 Higher Education Summit registration page to register for these sessions.

Registration fees apply.

Webinar: The college system – an introduction (60 min)
Join this session to better understand the context for the college system as a whole. Current key issues will be discussed, along with the challenges and opportunities ahead, and the strategic priorities for the system. College governors and college leaders will gain a critical appreciation for the sector in which their college operates, and its strategic role in the province.

Facilitator:


Marketa Evans, President & CEO, Colleges Ontario

Live:
Thursday, September 21, 2023 (10:30 am)

Recorded:
Available by video-on-demand following the live session.

Click here to register (for either the live session OR video recording). 

Webinar: Labour and employee relations – an introduction (60 min)
The College Employer Council (CEC) provides system leadership to labour and employee relations. Join this session to better understand the role of CEC, collective bargaining across the system, managing with collective agreements, and legislative frameworks.

Facilitator:


Graham Lloyd, CEO, College Employer Council

Live:
Tuesday, September 26, 2023 (10:30 am)

Recorded:
Available by video-on-demand following the live session.

Click here to register (for either the live session OR video recording). 

Webinar: How to Ask Better Questions as a Governor (90 min)

Board members are often told that “asking questions” is one of their most important responsibilities.  In this session, we will look at how governors ask questions from the governance perspective. Going beyond the responsibilities of the board, we’ll explore how governors can make real-time contributions by speaking up and framing effective questions that focus on the board’s domain, get at the issues, and elicit needed information. Both new and seasoned governor will benefit from this session.

For those enrolled in Leadership Excellence, understanding the basis of good dialogue between senior/executive leadership and the Board will enhance both your understanding of the respective roles, and your readiness for presentation and discussion.  

Facilitator:


Lyn McDonell, FCMC, C Dir., President, The Accountability Group  

Recording:
Available by video-on-demand from session previously recorded in February 2023.

Click here to register and view the recording. 

NEW Prioritizing EDI Impacts
How does the college system ensure that EDI commitments are prioritized in day-to-day operations? What strategies can be implanted that not only make EDI part of organizational culture but also ensure it is embedded in policy, processes, and procedures? The objective is to strengthen the tools available to college administrators that bring EDI strategies to life.

Facilitator:

Joseph Pazzano, Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Fanshawe College

Offered as in-person session at the OCASA 2023 Leaders & Innovators Conference (September 25-26, 2023).

Click here for more information and to register (you will be directed to the OCASA website). Fees will apply.

NEW Creating Economic and Community Impact through Partnerships
Colleges have always partnered with industry on experiential and applied learning; today these partnerships are more important than ever. Experiential and work-integrated learning, as well as economic and community impact are metrics on which Ontario colleges are measured. In the coming years they will take on greater importance with these metrics being key elements in Strategic Mandate Agreements.  How can colleges ensure partnerships are delivering value to both students and industry? How can you evaluate economic and community impact?  

Facilitator:

Andrew Petrou, Associate Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and External Relations (SIER), Centennial College and Chair
of the Board, Downsview Aerospace Innovation & Research (DAIR)

Offered as in-person session at the OCASA 2023 Leaders & Innovators Conference (September 25-26, 2023).

Click here for more information and to register (you will be directed to the OCASA website). Fees will apply.

Webinar: Risk management for senior managers – an introduction (90 min)
This session will look at the critical role senior management plays in leading risk management, building a pervasive risk culture and ensuring that the board has the information it needs to endorse the president’s proposed approach to, and proposed strategies for, risk management.

Facilitators:


Philip Racco, Senior Manager,
Enterprise Risk Practice, MNP LLP

Live:
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
1:00 pm

Recorded:
Available by video-on-demand following the live session.

Click here to register (for either the live session OR video recording). 

Webinar: College financial leadership (90 min)
Financial leadership is critical to both boards of governors, and senior college administrators. This session will highlight good governance practices around financial leadership, key components of revenue and expenditures, financial health indicators, the current financial status of the college system and the influence of the province on college financial matters.
Within the financial context, this session will also integrate good governance concepts, the importance of understanding legislation, regulations, risk management and fiduciary duties and standard of care, along with strong financial oversight.

Facilitator:


Sanjay Puri, VP Administration & CFO
Humber College

Live:
Tuesday, February 27, 2024 (1:30 pm - 3:00 pm)

Recorded:
Available by video-on-demand following the live session.

Click here to register (for either the live session OR video recording).