A screenshot of president Trimbee speaking at the State of the University event via YouTube.

The TL;DR on this year’s address, and what to expect moving forward.

MacEwan president and vice-chancellor Dr. Annette Trimbee presented MacEwan’s annual State of the University address on Oct. 1. This year’s theme, “Trendsetters and Trendbreakers,” explored progress towards achieving various goals by 2030, with a focus on growth, innovation, and community. Students were not present at this year’s address, but faculty and staff members were still invited.

“We need to figure out how we use AI to enhance what we do, but not substitute what we do.”

— Dr. Annette Trimbee, president and vice-chancellor

The most obvious indicator of MacEwan’s growth as a school has been the construction of the school of business building, which aims to be open to students by 2027. As funding continues to support this expansion of the campus, the school has become focused on expanding its student population. According to statistics presented by Trimbee in the address, MacEwan has welcomed 5,300 new students this fall term and saw a staggering 30% increase in students enrolled in the business program. The president admits that the rise in student enrolment has become noticeable on campus. “We’re bursting at the seams,” she says, and hopes that the school of business building will help alleviate the pressure of MacEwan’s increasing student population. 

However, the new building isn’t set for completion until 2027, which raises the question of how student life will be impacted over the next few years until the school has more space to accommodate the growing number of students. MacEwan has high expectations for student enrolment numbers, and they don’t appear to want to slow down. Trimbee hopes to manage current growth by offering more courses during the spring and summer terms and encouraging more full-time equivalent students outside of the fall and winter. These changes are essential to student life, as students may continue to see busier hallways, longer waitlists, and fewer course offerings to accommodate the increasing funding in the spring and summer semesters. 

“We’re bursting at the seams…the new building will alleviate some of the pressure we’re feeling”

— Dr. Annette Trimbee, president and vice-chancellor

The growing relevance of MacEwan as an undergraduate university is a topic of interest to the school’s leadership. Trimbee aims to focus on keeping education in classrooms by “keeping abreast of rapid and significant changes.” The most notable of these changes is the increasingly prominent influence of artificial intelligence in education. Leadership appears to have no linear efforts to combat the increase in AI presence at MacEwan. Still, it recognizes that “the technology is a little ahead of the frameworks we have,” when it comes to regulating AI use in classrooms. The future of AI is uncertain, and Trimbee expressed interest in allowing AI to enhance our work rather than substitute it, but definitive motions have not been made. 

Financial insecurity among students remains a pressing topic of discussion at MacEwan, particularly as tuition continues to rise and ambitious promises of student growth are being made. 

The university has raised $7.9 million in external funding for scholarships and bursaries since 2021, and leadership says student funding is the tool they are focusing on to reduce difficulties in pursuing higher education. Trimbee says she wants to work more closely with the K-12 system to bridge the gap between high school graduates and university students, creating a similar dynamic to that between the university and alums. Fees and tuition weren’t a very popular topic at this year’s address, with focus being stressed on student growth and scholarship funding. 

Trimbee says she wishes to focus on building capacity at the school and connecting outside of the university for the rest of her second term. Growth in students and innovation in classrooms were central themes in this year’s address, and there is no doubt that there will be definitive changes at MacEwan in the coming years as leadership continues to strive to meet its 2030 targets while simultaneously adapting to the changes in technology and student life.