Priority 5: Operational Excellence

As the university transitioned back to in-person learning following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, McMaster established a Return to Campus Operational Committee to plan for health safety, and operational requirements across campus. This group brought together key leaders from across the campus to enable an integrated, consistent and student-centred approach. In addition to developing comprehensive safety protocols, the committee prepared guidance documents and standard operating procedures for the campus community, along with mandatory COVID-19 awareness training.

The health and safety of our campus community was supported by the implementation of the MacCheck system in the fall of 2021. Developed by University Technology Services, Human Resources Services and others, MacCheck enabled the streamlined verification of vaccine details, as well as daily health checks. 

In 2020/21 and 2021/22, the McMaster Museum of Art updated, enhanced and expanded its digital capabilities to support its on-line presence for education, public programs and virtual exhibitions.

At the DeGroote School of Business, Marketing and Community Engagement and Teaching and Learning Services are working together to develop training opportunities and resources to help DeGroote staff and faculty upgrade their digital communications skills.

In spring 2022, a new governance structure for Human Resources was approved, designed to create greater connectivity, integrated planning and better alignment of HR strategy and operations with McMaster’s strategic priorities. HR has also digitized several critical HR processes for key employee transactions to drive accuracy of data, reduce manual intervention and enable increased operational efficiency across the university.

In partnership with Institutional Research and Analysis (IRA), Human Resources developed an HR Workforce Dashboard, which equips faculty and department leaders with dynamic employee data needed to analyze workforce data for trends, compliance and informed decisions.

McMaster’s Disconnecting from Work Policy came into effect in June 2022 in compliance with provincial guidelines. The policy encourages clear communication about expected work hours for McMaster employees and aids examination of hybrid work environments post-pandemic to support McMaster students, staff, and faculty.

McMaster’s Campus Master Plan engagement process started in the spring of 2022, giving university stakeholders and the surrounding community an opportunity to evaluate McMaster’s locations with a fresh perspective, support the university’s response to climate change by placing sustainability at the forefront, maintain the attractiveness of the campus and ensure that diversity is properly reflected.

The Facility Services Strategic Plan 2022-26 was launched in June 2022 to support sustainability, engagement, excellence and discovery across the campus. 

McMaster launched its first university-wide Sustainability Strategy with a collective commitment to engage students, faculty and staff in transforming campus into a living laboratory for sustainability. A range of community voices helped the Office of Sustainability team develop the principles to guide the strategy, including looking through a lens of Indigeneity, focusing on equity and inclusion, and collaborating with our community to tailor solutions.

McMaster is looking for ways to fast-track its Net Zero Carbon Roadmap to achieve net zero carbon emissions on campus by as early as 2035. Two electric boilers are being installed this year, which will lead to a 23 per cent reduction in carbon emissions on campus. The next step in the roadmap will reduce the use of a cogeneration energy production plant, reducing emissions on campus an additional 21 per cent. 

McMaster’s ability to structurally balance and fund strategic and capital priorities demonstrates prudent financial management enabled by McMaster’s transparent budget model that places fiscal accountabilities with area leaders who initiate one-time investments to advance the university mission, vision, and strategic priorities. 

McMaster’s Budget Model Task Force advances the efficient use of McMaster’s physical and human resources and continues to serve the university’s decision-making particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic has required substantial one-time investments due to limited provincial funding growth opportunities. 

A newly released study by the C.D. Howe Institute saw McMaster tie for first place in Canada for its endowment emission reduction plan, governance, and disclosure of its plan and progress.