Student records 

In the past year, the Office of the Vice-Dean has been dealing with new appeals in a timely manner and catching up on the processing of student files. Since May 2023, the Office has processed a total of 152 requests and appeals. We have also seen allegations of fraud increase by 59%, rising from 26 cases last year to 44 cases this year. We have also updated both our communication models and our procedures for student files to ensure accurate information and facilitate processes. 

Graduate programs 

More than 40 doctoral students have defended their theses since May 2023. We are seeing a constant increase in the number of students choosing to defend their theses in a bimodal format. Since the fall, Room 413-B in the Lees building has been equipped with an audiovisual system for hybrid meetings. This room is reserved primarily for thesis defence.  

Changes to programs

This year, the Office of the Vice-Dean has made changes to some programs. For example, the name of the Master of Human Kinetics (M.H.K.) with a concentration in intervention and consultation has been changed to reflect a concentration in consultation and mental performance. This program in applied sport psychology is the only one in Canada that provides certification through the joint AASP/CSPA program accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. The professional Master’s in Rehabilitation programs have expanded their admission criteria to consider candidates who demonstrate exceptional academic standing during their third year in a specialized undergraduate program.

The Office of the Vice-Dean, Governance and Secretary supports Faculty governance. Between July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, key responsibilities included advising the dean and Faculty on interpretation and application of University and Faculty policies and regulations, and on APTPUO-related labour relations. As well, our office offered procedural guidance on organization of Faculty Executive Committee and Faculty Council meetings, managed the nomination procedures for the Faculty of Health Sciences awards, developed the consultation process for the Faculty’s strategic planning process and provided logistical support for the one-year term extension for the associate vice-dean, academic.

Our office organized an onboarding orientation event for new professors, with offboarding protocols developed for departing colleagues. The vice-dean performed an initial review of selected academic integrity cases prior to their full assessment by the Committee on Academic Progress and Integrity. As chair of the Faculty’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility (IDEA)- Anti-Racism and Decolonization (ARD) Committee, the vice-dean reviewed Faculty program learning outcomes through an EDI lens, shared committee recommendations on EDI for the Faculty Strategic Plan, launched a new EDI-centred webinar series, “Allies for Change,” and served as co-chair of the 2024 APUO-Employer Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDIC). 

This year alone, students were involved in 2,719 placements totalling 8,000 hours with 350 different community partners across Canada and around the world, including 87 new partnerships. To improve the student experience and efficiency, the Office of the Vice-Dean, Interprofessionalism, Partnerships and Practical Education, has been working with other faculties on a centralized process to streamline the submission and validation of pre-placement requirements.  

Professors have led many exciting innovative interprofessional education (IPE) activities involving students from across the Faculty and University, and even between the Faculty and the clinical partners, both in person and virtually. These team-based real life skill activities are foundational for students prior to graduation so that they can thrive in their future health care careers.  

The Faculty is also involved in a cross-university committee to establish an IPE framework to help facilitate IPE clinical practice-, education- and research-related activities.  

Collectively, the 120 Faculty members and associated research centres and institutes continued to demonstrate commitment to engaging individuals, organizations and society to make an impact on health, health care and well-being.   

Our researchers secured over $7 million in external research funds this year, with many application decisions still pending. Compared to uOttawa averages, our professors had higher success rates in the three main Tri-Council competitions: CIHR Project (18%), SSHRC Insight (33%), and NSERC Discovery (100%). After successful recruitment efforts, we are submitting two Canada Research Chair T2 dossiers.   

Many research labs moved into the new Faculty of Health Sciences building at 200 Lees, some benefitting from over $12 million in infrastructure funding from Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities. We highlighted our new facilities, including to tour invitees from Ottawa hospitals and research institutes at our building opening in September, to the local community paper the Mainstreeter in November and to the uOttawa Board of Governors in April. Research activities are conducted across all campuses, with a focus now on the Advanced Medical Research Complex being built on the Alta Vista site, to ensure Faculty needs are met.  

The Research Committee was instrumental in establishing new strategic research priorities and the Undergraduate Health Sciences Research Opportunities (UHSRO) program. We also enhanced Faculty visibility through the launch of a research study participant recruitment webpage.   

These achievements, as well as many others, are discussed in the 2023–2024 Faculty of Health Sciences Research Report. We trust that it will offer you insight into the breadth and depth of our professors’ inspiring research, which clearly shows that Health Research Matters!    

Lean more about research at the Faculty of Health Sciences