Reinventing College “Together”

by Thérèse Lafleur

Proud of its new letters patent, Champlain Regional College is beginning a new era. Together, various stakeholders worked relentlessly to set a new vision for the future of this multi-regional institution. Subject to Chapter II of the General and Vocational Colleges Act(CEGEP) since September 4, 2019, the college (founded in 1971) is now recognized as a regional college with three constituent colleges: Lennoxville, Saint-Lambert, and St. Lawrence. As one of the five Anglophone cégeps in the province of Québec, there are over 5,000 students attending regular programs at the college. That is, approximately 1,250 students in the Eastern Townships, 3000 students in the Montérérie, and 900 students in the Capitale Nationale.

Since taking office as Director General in fall 2016, Odette Côté has been leading the transition toward the college’s new status. It is with a fresh outlook that she has tackled this major overhaul and, without ignoring a history marked by the desire for independence, brought stakeholders together to rethink the new modelwithin a win-win frame of mind.

Along these lines, the Vice-President of the Board of Governors, Pamela Booth-Morrison, mentions that: “The Board of Governors is proud of the role it has played in moving Champlain College into this new era of Chapter II of the Colleges Act. We want to thank all college stakeholders who have worked so hard and so patiently in the finest spirit of cooperation to build this exciting future for the college as a whole. Thus the three autonomous colleges, supported by sound administration and united by good governance, are well positioned to grow and flourish in providing stimulating educational opportunities to Anglophone students in Quebec”.

Members of the Board of Governors and Directors of Champlain Regional College
September 18, 2019
Front row: Pierre Roy, Governor; Andrea Miller-Ffrench, Governor; Odette Côté, Director General, Interim Director of Studies and Governor; Pamela Booth Morrison, Vice-President of the Board of Governors; Hélène Bélanger, Governor; Cathleen Scott, Governor.
Back row: Nancy Beattie, Lennoxville Campus Director; Don Shewan, Saint-Lambert Campus Director; Mark Warnholtz, Governor; Yves Rainville, Director of Administrative Services; Brian Denison, Governor; Michel Léger, Governor; Randi Heatherington, Governor; Bruce Toombs, Governor; Daniel Perreault, Governor; Edward Berryman, St. Lawrence Campus Director; Nancy Chrétien, Director of Human Resources and Secretary General.
Absent: James Shufelt, President of the Board of Governors; Fatiha Chandad, Governor; Helen Walling,Governor; andEricThananayagam,Governor; as well as students whose mandate ended in June 2019: MéganneBériault and Julia Rochford.

The Power of Ideas

Don Shewan, Campus Director, has been with Champlain College Saint-Lambert for 45 years. Convinced that this model is promising for the future, he is conscious that it will take some time to fully implement.

“Over time, I’ve experienced the tensions generated by each campus’s need for autonomy. When in 1971–1972three institutions—first Saint-Lambert and Lennoxville, and then St. Lawrence—with distinct traditions and cultures located in different regions came together under a common banner to form a single Anglophone college, it was sometimes a real feat to balance centralization and autonomy.

“Throughout the process that led to adopting new letters patent, ties were established first and foremost in the perspective of providing services to students. The transition was carried out in a spirit of collaboration and respect, highlighting the complementary strengths of each campus, expertise that can be shared tobuilda college of choice.”

Edward Berryman, the Director of the St. Lawrence Campus adds: “For St. Lawrence, implementing the new structure represents the beginning of a new chapter. The increased autonomy and the creation of a local Governing Board and a Commission of Studies specific to St. Lawrence will enable us to betterrespond locally to student expectations and to the needs of our regional community.”

A Historic Challenge Regarding Management, Administration, and Governance

To better comprehend all this complexity, Odette Côté, Director General of Champlain Regional College, describes this demanding and exemplary overhaul:

“Taking on this position, I knew very well that it would not be an easy journey. I had a firm intention to let my interventions be guided by past experiences and my postdoctoral studies regardingwell-being in the workplace. Since confrontation is not part of my DNA, I aimed at collaboration and understanding to loosen the tensions and align efforts that would lead to alliances. This did not happen over night; the Ministry of Higher Educationandits representatives, the campuses and their communities, socioeconomic stakeholders, ten different unions, as well as administrators and managers all participated in a long process to clearly identify the needs and expectations of everyone while elaborating‘together’—I insist on this—a shared vision for our college and its campuses.

“From the outset, I didn’t know what all the issues were and a few pitfalls were encountered along the way. Nevertheless, theresulting new letters patent is due to collective effort, communication, and understanding.Everyone’s strengths were used to bring about changesand we did not allow the past to negatively impact the future. I believe in a regional college model, which has the advantage of offering programs in three different administrative regions of Quebec. However, faced with campuses’ aspirations for independence, I called on the Minister of Higher Education, Hélène David, to help us break the deadlock during my five-year mandate.

“The urgent request was heard. Hélène David entrusted David Birnbaum with the mandate to examine the facts, particularly relative to governance, in view of better understanding the situation. In August 2017, the recommendations of the Birnbaum Report provided the leverage to reinvent Champlain Regional College and its campuses.

“Starting in fall 2017, Minister David presented the Ministry’s decisions herself, agreeing that while there would not be independence, campuses would have more pedagogical autonomy. Remarkably, the room was brimming with representatives from all three campuses, which was a first. A dialoguehad finally begun!

“Concerned with the College’s situation and in the interest of the college community, students, and teachers, Hélène David deemed it necessary to implement changes in all three constituentcolleges according to the recommendations of the Birnbaum Report. For this reason, shemandated Sylvie Beauchamp, former President of the Université du Québec network, to support Champlain Regional College in revamping its governance for the benefit of all.

“During this process, Sylvie Beauchamp passed the torch to Jean Beauchesne, mediator and lawyer as well as President of the Fédération des cégepsfrom 2011 to 2015. He added to the ranks Serge Brasset, Strategic Advisor and former Director General of Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Cégep Édouard-Montpetit. With the help of these two experts who shared my vision of a process based on finding win-win solutions, we continued the work based on the same philosophy of well-being in the workplacewith a subcommittee of the Board of Governors composed of internal stakeholders (students, faculty, faculty union presidents, campus directors, director general, secretary general).

“If at first Chapter II of the Colleges Actwas as a point of reference, the model that was retained required adjustments in order for it to respond to the needs of the college. Champlain Regional College and its constituent colleges in Saint-Lambert, St. Lawrence, and Lennoxville will officially launch its operations on October 25, 2019 at the first meeting of the ‘new’ Board of Governors, in light of the new letters patent.

“What is happening is wonderful, like a gift for the network, demonstrating that we worked hard for something interesting and particularly unifying. It must be stated that in September 2018, the vote for the new letters patent and for redefining the roles and powers between the Board of Governors and the three Governing Boards was voted 100% in favour by all Boardmembers.

“The constituent colleges now have the pedagogical autonomy wished for and their own Governing Boards. They are represented at the Champlain Regional College Board of Governors by socioeconomic delegates and maintain their existing administrative resources. Furthermore, constituent colleges receive administrative support from Champlain Regional College to help them in their daily tasks regarding pedagogy, student services and their communities.

“This remarkable adventure demonstrates that the whole is sometimes greater than the sum of its parts and that past wars do not lead to a promising future. In order to move forward and know where we are heading, we must sometimes dive into the tsunami and swim together. Of course, I am conscious of the fact that we will be under observation. But, if we continue to move forward together, to try and better understanddiscontents, and to make the necessary adjustments, our perseverance will foster harmony and even enthusiasm among the most reluctant. I have seen it happen along the way.”

Alone, we go Faster; Together,we go Further

Julien Lacombe, a professor who participated in the process and was member of the Board of Governor’s subcommittee, bears witness to this commitment to work together:

“Stemming from dissatisfaction regarding the College structure, the transition from Chapter I to Chapter II was considered an acceptable middle ground between the status quo and the complete separation of all three campuses. All stakeholders were involved in the transition: The Ministry of Education, the Board of Governors, employees, and students.

“As a member of the subcommittee—to which administrators, professors, and students were elected—created by the Board to tackle this issue, I was given a unique opportunity to participate in the overhaul efforts. It is very rare in the lifespan of a CEGEP that professors and students are involved to such an extent. While sometimes perceived as less useful because management is not necessarily our specialty, I find that the Board’s boldness and the teachers’ and students’input greatly contributed to the successful outcome of the operation.

“As professors, our work puts us in constant contact with students. We are wellplaced to notice the improvements that the new structure can bring, particularly by bringing decisions and budgets closer to local issues. This should not only make campuses—or, rather, colleges—more responsive and capable, but also ideally increase the services offered to students through the better use of resources. In any case, this is the hope initially raised by Minister David. The future will tell if the new structure is successful. I am convinced that if we all put the well-being of our students first, we will succeed. This experience in which every player collaborated toward a common goal should be repeated if other opportunities arise.”