11. Increased Enrollment - Degree Programs
The Task Force calls on our University to note that many Indigenous students at McGill are enrolled in Continuing Studies programs, and to increase Indigenous student enrolment in degree programs by:
- Establishing growth targets for specific faculties at the undergraduate and graduate levels; and
- Establishing faculty-specific admission pathway and retention programs to complement the support offered by First Peoples’ House.
Progress
- Enrolment Services has focused their growth targets by geographic region thus far. However, with data on program level enrolment now available, this level of growth target-setting may be possible in the near term.
- The Faculty of Dentistry is working on the establishment of a specific pathway into dental programs for Indigenous students with two reserved seats.
- As of 2023, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives is in the process of establishing faculty-specific admission pathway and retention programs.
Next Steps
- For the Faculty of Dentistry, the priority will be to promote the Indigenous admissions pathway as broadly as they can in order to increase interest and enrolment in their dental programs. They hope to be able to fill the two seats yearly and expand Indigenous representation in the student body.
- Developing a robust support system for those students will also be a priority. They would require funding to hire one administrative and one CAS Faculty member to help develop an Indigenous cultural competency program for a wider diversity of students and to address the learning needs of our students and our professors. These persons could also coordinate and support Indigenous students admitted to the program. They hope to recruit Indigenous persons to fill these positions.
