Why we are consulting
McGill is developing its next Strategic Academic Plan (SAP), which is anticipated to cover the 2027 to 2032 period. The plan will set our academic priorities and guide how we allocate our resources to teaching, research, and the student experience throughout the duration of the Plan.
The consultation and engagement process we undertake to build our next SAP matters as much as the plan itself. We want a process that strengthens trust, builds community, and reflects the values of academic self-governance. This charter explains how the consultation will work, what we want to cover in this process, and what you can expect from us.
Consultation principles
The following principles will guide our process for the SAP development:
- Academic freedom
- Actionability
- Continuous feedback
- Evidence-informed dialogue
- Inclusivity
- Institutional autonomy
- One McGill community
- Respect for diverse viewpoints
- Transparency
Where discussions will focus
The consultation is an invitation to help shape the academic direction of the university. Your perspective matters to us, and we begin with open questions rather than set answers. What should a McGill education offer our students? How should we define academic priorities over the next five years?
To start the conversation, our surveys and consultation sessions take up themes such as:
- student academic experience,
- research and graduate training,
- artificial intelligence and digital technology
- engagement with Quebec, Canada and the world,
- commitments to accessibility, French language and culture, equity, truth and reconciliation, sustainability
These themes are a starting point, not a fixed agenda. We expect them to grow and evolve as we learn from our academic community, and we welcome the topics colleagues and students might introduce into the discussion.
This consultation is about McGill's academic direction. It is separate from the surveys that ask about your experience of working or studying at McGill, such as climate and satisfaction surveys. It is intended to orient our development of a plan that focuses on academic priorities that apply across the university.
How the conversation is structured
Consultations will move through four levels, from purpose to action. This keeps the conversation grounded in fundamental questions while still producing direction on which the plan materially acts.
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Level 1: Purpose
“What is the University for?”
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Level 2: Strategic Priorities
“What should define the University over the next five years?”
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Level 3: Strategic Commitments
“What outcomes do we want to achieve?”
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Level 4: Implementation Directions
“What kinds of action would advance those outcomes?”
How decisions will be made
The Provost’s Office leads the development of the plan. Input from surveys, focus groups, governance bodies, and meetings is brought together into consultation summaries. The Provost’s team writes the draft plan from this input. The community then reviews the draft during a validation window. Senate and the Board of Governors are asked to endorse the final plan.
Taking part
Everyone in the McGill community may take part. We ask that views be expressed with respect for others and for differing perspectives. Survey responses are confidential. Input is weighed on its substance, not its source.
Our commitment to report back
We will publish a summary of what we heard at each stage of the consultation. When the draft plan is released, we will publish a summary of how consultation input shaped it, describing what we heard, what is reflected in the draft, what is not, and why. After the plan is adopted, we will report annually on progress in meeting our commitments.
We may not be able to implement every recommendation, but every recommendation will be carefully considered and we will do our utmost to provide each contributor to this process with a fulsome response.