Image via thinkstock > New course aims to teach ecosystems and conservation theories to people around the world Savanna Craig The Concordian Cero has partnered with the United Nations (UN) to offer a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) this fall, not only to Concordia students, but to students around the world. The course, entitled “Wicked Problems, Dynamic Solutions: The Ecosystem Approach and Systems Thinking,” educates students on ecosystems and conservation theories, said Peter Stoett, director of the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre. “[The course] is an attempt to give widespread Douglas College's own ombuddy access to a course that teaches people some really necessary concepts and case studies related to the survival of future generations,” said Stoett. The online course is free and available to anyone around the world as a part of the UN’s objective to make this course accessible to as many people as possible. “The focus of the course, as the title implies, is on systems thinking and the ecosystem approach,” said Rebecca Tittler, coordinator of the Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability. “Systems thinking involves consideration of the various components of a system and the interactions between components.” Tittler was on the core development team for the MOOC. She said the course discusses how to resolve colossal issues that result from climate change, ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and forest degradation. Stoett has connections with the UN, having previously worked with them, which prompted the United Nations Environment Program to contact Stoett for the opportunity to create this course at Concordia. Robert Beauchemin, CEO of KnowledgeOne, the company in charge of developing > How Ombudsperson Tracy Ho is backing students Mercedes Deutscher News Editor | aving an issue witha professor? Perhaps with the college? Feel mistreated on campus? Sometimes, college life has its downfalls. Thankfully, Douglas College has its own ombudsperson to help. An ombudsperson works to advise and support someone through a formal complaint process; however, an ombudsperson should not be confused with a lawyer. Douglas’ ombudsperson is autonomous from the college and the student union, and is housed in the Douglas Student Union. Tracy Ho, who also serves as the College Relations and Membership Outreach Coordinator at the DSU, works as Douglas’ ombudsperson. When she was hired at Douglas in May 2012, she was asked by the 2012 al Tracy Ho via Linked In asa student representatives to take on the role of ombudsperson while they tried to figure out what would happen with the position. She has held the position ever since. The position, according to DSU bylaw, is usually meant to be held by students who represent the DSU. However, this became problematic. Students elected as DSU representatives serve in their positions for a year. The amount of formal training required of the ombudsperson took up such a large amount of time that a student’s term would be nearing completion by the time it was complete. Ho was an appealing person for the position, with her experience on educational and grade appeal panels at other post-secondary institutions being an asset. Ho is not a lawyer ora councillor. Rather, she helps students look through their options for their case. She gives support, advice, and guidance. If a student decides to launch a formal complaint against the college, or a college entity, she offers to accompany the student through the process. This can involve helping the student gather supporting documents, attending meetings with the student, offering to take notes Concordia’s online courses, described the MOOC as a web- based platform. Beauchemin said the course is accessible through any web browser available on any computer, tablet, and mobile device. “The main reason we do that is because more people in Africa have cell phones than laptops and in Asia, as well,” said Stoett. “You don’t need a computer to take this course in a day and age when almost everyone—even really low income groups—has telephones.” According to Stoett, the MOOC will be a part of the blended learning course, which will be offered under so that the student may focus on what they need to say, and to offering support in any way she can. She works with appeals lasting from anywhere from a few weeks, up to over a year. “How I see the role of the ombudsperson is to be here to provide support and advice to students who may have encountered concerns or issues in the classroom, in the college, if they’ve felt like they’ve been treated unfairly by policy,” explained Ho. Ho has helped students work through a variety of problems. Some of the most common are grade appeals, concerns about conduct, and how accommodating an educational policy is. A challenge that Ho faces is balancing her responsibilities as the ombudsperson and her staff position at the DSU. “I think something I have to be very conscious of is what hat I have on,” said Ho. the Department of Geography, intended as a course for first- year geography students. Stoett said he believes the MOOC would be interesting to recent high school graduates, students mostly in the southern hemisphere, students who are entering university, and students who cannot afford university or live in a country where university is not a well-developed system. “We have really tried to hit a global note with this—many of the case studies we used (and} many of the videos we used are from Africa, quite a few from Asia, and some from Latin America,” said Stoett. “It’s definitely worldwide.” While she aids the student representatives on many issues, she is able to put that aside in order to fulfil her role as ombudsperson. However, the biggest challenges faced by Ho is dealing with discrimination problems, and absorbing the stress and disappointment when a student doesn't receive the outcome they are looking for. On the other hand, Ho finds it rewarding when a student gets results in their favour. “It’s absolutely rewarding to see that I have been able to support someone so that they can continue their education, or are able to get into the class. Whatever it is that they were finding as a barrier and a challenge, helping them overcome that is the most rewarding part,” she said. The ombudsperson may be reached via email at ombuds@thedsu.ca or via phone at 604-527-5016.