Thank you for the opportunity to appear before this committee today to speak on indigenous student experiences, retention and success at UBC, with a focus on the Vancouver campus where I'm stationed.
How do students experience “place”? UBC is on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territory of the Musqueam people. This ongoing relationship includes land acknowledgement, place names in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, art work, recognition and dialogue about place in most areas of the university. This supports learning and connection to this land for both indigenous and non-indigenous students. This recognition is a reminder to students about the commitment between the Musqueam and UBC to participating in a relationship that relies on an authentic partnership.
The UBC Longhouse and the First Nations House of Learning are features of the campus for the indigenous community. Long-term indigenous strategic planning has encouraged the incorporation of indigenous staff members throughout the units and faculties to ensure that there are opportunities for belonging throughout the campus. We have the indigenous strategic plan, which launched in 2020 with eight goals, including—and I'll just read a few—leading at all levels, advocating for truth, moving research forward, and indigenizing our curriculum.
Student success is dependent on belonging. Students need to feel that someone at UBC cares about them. Often, the greatest support that students find is in their peer connections. Investing in programming and resources that enrich community and connection experiences are important tools in supporting the indigenous student experience.
There's a great diversity of indigenous students at UBC, each with their own unique needs. We need to ensure that there are many different spaces and resources for students to connect. The UBC Longhouse and the šxʷta:təχʷəm Collegium provide spaces where staff and student staff are invested in creating belonging by reaching out and supporting students. Additional campus spaces and support for indigenous students ensure that there's flexibility, so students also have the ability to change spaces and supports as needed.
Indigenous student leaders play leading roles in creating community, are aware of resources and staff connections, and are guided by curriculum that reflects changes, challenges and opportunities for the year.
Academic, mental health and wellness supports are so important for indigenous students. Indigenous academic advisers need to exist in all faculties to support the specific needs of indigenous students within faculty learning environments. Although there are numerous tutoring programs available on campus, our indigenous student-focused program at the First Nations House of Learning ensures that students have a place to receive support that is safe. The collegium also runs academic support programs—indigenous student-led—that incorporate the importance of well-being into academic success. The professor in collegia program ensures that indigenous students have the opportunity to build community with an indigenous faculty member.
Finally, mental health supports for indigenous students are well thought out and continue to grow to meet student needs. UBC has an indigenous mental health and wellness support team that provides one-on-one support. There's crisis support and connection to long-term supports. Early Alert, a campus-wide program, also exists to intervene and navigate for students who may face multiple challenges in their academic journey.
Enrolment service professionals work to support by providing financial, housing and registration advice. Our enrolment number for the 2021 academic year was 2,204 indigenous students, with a total head count of 72,000-plus students for both campuses.
The programming I have mentioned is for the Vancouver campus, where around 1,500 indigenous students attend. The first-year undergrad retention is at 88%. In 2021, 329 degrees were conferred on indigenous students—graduate and undergraduate—on the UBCV campus.
Thank you.