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delivered on a semester timeline. With the integration of Business How would you describe the strategic realignment of Business Development?
Development activities, and the matrix structure of NSCC, there NSCC has created a model that is harnessing the wealth and
were challenges in communicating efectively and involving knowledge of its academic schools to provide innovative
appropriately all of the key stakeholders required to make Business training solutions to help drive the province’s economy forward.
Development successful. When Business Development was under the Financial Services
Until 2012, Business Development was under the umbrella of department of the college, it was isolated from the institution’s
Financial Services. As an entrepreneurial stakeholder in the fve academic schools. Tis changed in 2012 through a strategic
college, Business Development proposed an internal shif in the realignment when it became a part of Academic Services,
reporting structure as an impetus to increase access to college which includes the academic schools, applied research, and
resources and more deeply imbed the services and learning college registrar. Now Business Development and the academic
solutions ofered to external clients. As a result, in 2012 the college schools routinely share information allowing the college to
grouped the services ofered by Business Development, Online respond to priorities and provide industry-leading learning
Learning, and Continuing Education/Part-Time Studies under the solutions through the expertise of faculty and staf using NSCC
umbrella of Flexible Learning Solutions and positioned it under curriculum and technology.
Academic Services.
How has the realignment contributed to collaboration
Tis move coincided with the renewal of the college’s strategic plan with the schools?
Now More Tan Ever (NSCC, 2012) and resulted in deeper internal Since the realignment, considerable improvement has been
engagement, a stronger brand, and an increased capacity to generate seen in collaboration with the schools and their leadership
revenue. Business Development’s ability to generate revenue is teams. Ensuring a coordinated approach is critical in the
directly tied to access to college resources – curriculum, technology, realization of Business Development’s Business Plan 2013 – 2015
staf, faculty, training shops, and labs. Deeper engagement results (NSCC, Business Development, 2013). Increasing collaboration
in interest and willingness to make the adjustments necessary to and alignment with the academic schools and other college
avail college resources for contract work. College resources are also departments is an objective in the plan. Tis coordinated
more cost efective than contracting third parties to deliver services. approach enables Business Development and the academic
NSCC has a proven reputation for applied learning directly tied to schools to develop, implement, and align programs that are of
industry needs. According to the most recent Customized Employer high quality and that link to labor market need. It ensures a
Survey (NSCC, 2012), which measures employer satisfaction with strategic, shared leadership model of management that captures
customized training as a part of NSCC’s Balanced Scorecard, 92% of cross-college expertise and knowledge.
organizations were satisfed with the customized training purchased
from NSCC (up from 86% in 2009). Te focus on communicating, coordinating, collaborating,
Te Business Development Team, which includes fve managers and cooperating is also enabling the business plan objective
to improve and standardize business processes. When the
of Business Development and one project coordinator, reports to appropriate academic school is consulted at the onset of an
the Dean of Flexible Learning Solutions through the Manager of opportunity, people can work together to identify the resources
Flexible Learning Solutions. Te Administrative Assistant to the that will be required to fulfll the client’s needs. Tese resources
Dean provides support to the team. are the college’s resources - curriculum, curriculum consultants,
Mike Kelloway, Dean of Flexible Learning Solutions (Acting), was subject matter experts, faculty, shops, classrooms, and college
interviewed and his responses provide an update on the progress services. As a result, NSCC delivers strong solutions supported
made under the new alignment (personal communication, by the best people at NSCC. When NSCC provides a learning
November 5, 2013). solution to a client it is truly a college solution.

LEADERSHIP Vol. 19.3 Winter 2014 27

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