Annual Report 2021/22
Vision
To be a global leader in applied education
Mission
We prepare students for successful careers and lives
Learn a better way
If there’s a silver lining to a second year of COVID-19 on campus, it’s been the ability to leverage and build on lessons learned during the first.
Throughout the 2021/22 reporting year — April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 — we continued to embrace technology-forward teaching and learning initiatives to help SAIT students develop the essential and technical skills they’ll need to succeed in a shifting world of work. We also prioritized our commitment to build a supportive and inclusive community for all students and employees.
Despite ongoing and evolving COVID-19 conditions, action-based learning, solution-focused research and industry partnerships remain hallmarks of our SAIT brand — our steadfast commitment to innovation and leadership in applied education.
What follows is a summary of highlights from SAIT’s 2021/22 Annual Report. The report is also available for review in its entirety.
As SAIT plays an increasingly important role in the developing digital economy, our schools are evolving to create more opportunities for SAIT students to be key drivers of the province’s future economic growth.
Dr. David Ross
President and CEO2021/22 COVID-19 timeline
- Winter 2021 courses delivered through online and blended instruction
- Spring/Summer 2021 courses delivered through online and blended instruction
- campus mask requirement reinstated
- fall classes resume in person on campus
- Vaccination Verification and Rapid Testing Program introduced
- Government of Alberta’s Restrictions Exemption Program and public health order CMOH 42-2021 implemented
- SAIT joins Alberta post-secondary institutions to announce vaccine mandate, effective Jan. 1, 2022
- vaccine mandate goes into effect at SAIT
- Winter 2022 in-person theory classes move back online in response to COVID-19
- in-person theory classes resume Feb. 28
- vaccine mandate and mask requirements lifted
SAIT successfully delivered all 2021/22 academic programming through a mix of online, blended and in-person delivery, maintaining graduation rates similar to pre-pandemic numbers. Throughout the year, a phased return to on-campus activities was guided by our Pandemic Recovery and Resumption Plan.
Looking ahead to a post-pandemic world, how do you go back to the way things were? You don’t. Guided by our Strategic Plan, New World. New Thinking., SAIT will continue to advance a new course for the future, shaping the digital citizens who will define the workforce of tomorrow.
Advancing SAIT’s Strategic Plan
Commitment to excellence
Our commitment to excellence outlined in SAIT’s 2020/25 Strategic Plan begins with supporting the well-being, health and safety of our students and employees.
Well-being, health and safety
Throughout the year, SAIT’s Safety and Community Services department continued to monitor, assess and respond to evolving public health conditions. As employees and students worked to adapt to ongoing uncertainty, SAIT re-emphasized our commitment to creating a community of support both on and off campus. Mental health and well-being resource promotion was enhanced and supported by events ranging from workshops to wellness walks.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
We celebrated the one-year anniversary of SAIT’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office, tripled the capacity of SAIT’s PERS 148: Introduction to Effective Intercultural Communication course, and partnered across campus to introduce a variety of tools and initiatives to promote inclusion. SAIT celebrated Pride Week by unveiling a rainbow art installation in the Irene Lewis Atrium, and recognized a number of EDI-focused events, including Diwali, Black History Month and International Women’s Day.
Indigenous Learner Success Strategy
Chinook Lodge has been supporting SAIT’s Indigenous student community for 20 years. Adding to the anniversary celebrations in the fall, the Aboriginal Futures Endowment Fund reached $2 million. Cross-campus collaborations led to the development of a peer technology mentorship program for students in the Indigenous Academic Upgrading program and also to an Indigenous Media Speaker Series co-presented by the Lodge and the School of Business.
Student Mental Health Strategy
The Wellness Warriors funding program was relaunched in September to support the development of campus-led mental health promotion initiatives. Eight applications were approved, including proposals to host a Lunch and Listen music series and to help the Baking and Pastry Arts Club bake 1,000 welcome to campus cookies for fellow students. SAIT also joined the Buddy Up suicide prevention awareness campaign as a sponsor this year.
Business process improvements
- ServiceNow, a new online self-service portal for technical support, launched June 2021.
- The MyCreds digital wallet was introduced to allow students to securely access their academic documents digitally.
- All SAIT courses were added to the Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer Learner Pathways System to support student mobility between post-secondary institutions.
New programs launched in 2021/22
Skills for the future
A commitment to ensuring students have the digital literacy, personal agility and entrepreneurial spirit to succeed and lead in the future world of work is an institutional priority within SAIT's 2020/25 Strategic Plan.
Strategic Enrolment Management
Did you know? SAIT’s new Strategic Enrolment Management Plan includes a goal to increase the overall graduate employment rate to 92% and training-related graduate employment rate to 84% by 2026.
Evolving SAIT’s School for Advanced Digital Technology
In January 2022, SAIT’s School for Advanced Digital Technology (SADT) merged with the School of Information and Communications Technologies to enhance SAIT's vision of boosting industry talent pools with tech-savvy graduates. SAIT schools and programs also collaborated to host several extended reality (XR) technology explorations this past year. The evolution of SADT will continue to open doors for technology program development at SAIT.
Work-integrated learning
This past year, students had a variety of opportunities to work with industry and apply their skills while building workplace connections. SAIT students designed an environmentally-friendly concept golf course for their capstone project, worked with learners from 140 post-secondary institutions around the world through the X-Culture virtual international business experience and looked to address sustainability challenges by taking part in How to Change the World.
Strategic Enrolment Management
Did you know? SAIT’s new Strategic Enrolment Management Plan aims to increase the percentage of programs with a work-integrated learning component to 90% by 2026.
Building essential workplace skills
- Career Advancement Services joined the stakeholder consultation process for program reviews and new program creation to ensure career readiness topics and resources are included within curriculum.
- SAIT’s Student Leadership Program recruited 39 student leaders to support student engagement activities on campus.
- Career advisors conducted more than 850 one-on-one career consultations, and delivered almost 50 career preparation classroom presentations.
Learning for life
A commitment to delivering work-ready skills as a lifelong learning partner is an institutional priority within SAIT's 2020/25 Strategic Plan.
Strategic Enrolment Management
Did you know? SAIT’s new Strategic Enrolment Management Plan includes a goal to sustainably grow enrolment to 20,000 full-load equivalents by 2026.
Centre for Continuing Education and Professional Studies
Programming delivered through the Centre for Continuing Education and Professional Studies (CEPS) supports SAIT's commitment to lifelong learning and workforce skills development. This past year, CEPS delivered almost 950 course sections to more than 6,600 learners. Most of the course sections were delivered online. SAIT also introduced a growing selection of micro-credential courses through SAITMicro.
Engaging alumni in lifelong learning
SAIT launched the Level Up Alumni Awards in July. The program aims to support SAIT graduates with funding to upskill through a certificate, diploma or degree program; a continuing education course or Digital Transformation Bootcamp at SAIT. What Works, a career development virtual speaker series, also aims to support SAIT alumni in their lifelong learning journey.
Life changing experiences for youth
SAIT delivered Art of the Possible workshops to more than 500 junior high school students this past year. Through the workshops, students work together and engage with industry experts virtually to explore emerging technologies. Youth Initiatives also expanded the Turning Points program from one to four cohorts. The program introduces at-risk high school youth to a variety of academic and career options.
Strategic Enrolment Management
To increase targeted enrolment, maximize student engagement and support student retention, SAIT is committed to growth driven by a Strategic Enrolment Management Plan. This past year, SAIT established a series of strategic goals to be achieved through 2026:
- enrolment growth: support and lead the continued economic viability and growth of our region by diversifying and increasing enrolment to 20,000 full-load equivalents (credit and non-credit)
- financial and operational sustainability: ensure growth is sustainable, maintaining a financial net surplus of 3% supported by effective and socially responsible operations that enhance student experience
- student experience and success: enable student academic success, increasing graduation rates (on time plus one year) to 77% through a world-class customer experience and safe, equitable and inclusive support services
- skills for careers and life: prepare graduates with the skills and experience to successfully transition into thriving careers, increasing graduate employment rates to 84% (training related) through personalized career development support and workplace learning opportunities for all students.
Global perspective
Our commitment to enhancing global perspectives both at and about SAIT is an institutional priority within SAIT's 2020/25 Strategic Plan.
Internationalization
With ongoing limitations to international travel, SAIT continued to expand virtual international experiences, including study abroad and international exchanges this past year. New transfer agreements were established with international post-secondary institutions in Australia, Scotland and India, and SAIT was awarded $500,000 from Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) to support study abroad experiences for Indigenous students, students requiring accessibility supports and students in need of financial assistance. Funding was also secured to support the PERS 148: Introduction to Effective Intercultural Communication course for the next five years.
Support for international students
This past year, the International Centre executed a comprehensive arrival and quarantine program for international students, which included hosting a weekly travel and quarantine webinar and welcoming students to Calgary at the airport. A team of regional advisors now support recruitment to SAIT in South Asia, South East Asia, Africa, Latin America and Brazil.
Rankings and reputation
SAIT’s School of Business was once again one of three Canadian schools to make the top 100 of CEOWORLD Magazine’s Best Business Schools in the World for 2022. The school moved up one spot from last year’s ranking to place #51 on the list. The School of Hospitality and Tourism is ranked #18 on CEOWORLD Magazine’s 2022 list of Best Hospitality and Hotel Management Schools in the World, and is the only Canadian school on the list. The ranking further positions SAIT and Alberta as a top choice for hospitality management education.
Industry driven
SAIT’s commitment to collaborate with industry as co-leaders in building the economy is an institutional priority within SAIT's 2020/25 Strategic Plan.
Applied research at SAIT
In 2021/22, SAIT’s Applied Research and Innovation Services (ARIS) division was awarded 30 grants valued at $7.5 million. SAIT was named one of Canada’s top 10 research colleges in Research Infosource Inc.’s Top 50 Research Colleges 2021 ranking, taking sixth spot overall. “The Confluence” living building project was recognized with a 2021 Canada Green Building Council Excellence Award and a 2021 Forest Stewardship Council Leadership Award, and the ARIS Battery Storage project was recognized at the City of Calgary’s inaugural Mayor’s Innovation Challenge.
2021/22 highlights: Applied research
- Kanaka Bar Indian Band, SAIT, Okanagan College, Foresight Canada and Seko Construction partnered on a pilot project to develop climate-resilient housing options for the rebuild of a fire-ravaged region in British Columbia.
- SAIT and ANAVIA Switzerland are working to develop a Centre of Excellence for testing and certification of heavy-duty long endurance unmanned aircrafts.
- The MacPhail School of Energy partnered with the City of Calgary to develop water use efficiency programs in Calgary and identify cost-effective ways to reduce water use.
- SAIT is partnering with the Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/Kitikmeot Heritage Society to create buildings for the Canadian Arctic that are culturally informed, scalable, and incorporate renewable energy and sustainable design.
- SAIT and six of Alberta’s colleges and polytechnics signed a declaration to collaborate to advance agriculture and food research in Alberta.
- The MacPhail School of Energy partnered with the Bow River Council to assess storm water reuse opportunities utilizing green infrastructure to address climate change resiliency.
Industry engagement and Corporate Training Solutions
SAIT’s Corporate Training Solutions works with more than 100 companies to provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities to 1,000+ employees annually. Over the past year, programming offerings have focused on leadership development, digital transformation, applied and project management, and trades training. The Energy to Digital Growth Education and Upskilling Project (EDGE UP) received funding to expand the delivery of skills training through partner institutions, including SAIT, to support former oil and gas workers to transition into careers in tech.
2021/22 highlights: Industry engagement
- SAIT partnered with Collisions YYC, a podcast centred around Calgary’s economic transformation, as a sponsor this past year.
- Career Advancement Services kicked off a formal industry mentorship program with five SAIT programs and 53 students.
- Chinook Lodge Resource Centre delivered two Blanket Exercises to industry audiences. A Blanket Exercise tells the story of Canadian history from an Indigenous perspective, highlighting the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Canada’s technology talent workforce has been steadily expanding. Over the last year, public and private sector investments in technology initiatives have attracted technology-focused companies looking to grow to our city and province.
