The Office of the Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Planning) strives to support the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) in achieving McGill’s academic mission, by providing leadership and support to the McGill community in the development and maintenance of McGill’s academic programs, creating and capitalizing on opportunities for innovations in program design and delivery, and promoting and enhances teaching and learning excellence across the University.
APTAP plays a leadership roles in four key areas:
- Academic Program Development, providing efficient service to our community and guiding units through the processes for academic program creation and revision.
- Teaching and Learning, by supporting and enhancing excellence in teaching and learning (including in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) notably through direct support to our community of instructors and students.
- Academic Reviews, by overseeing and implementing McGill’s academic quality assurance process, with a goal to maintain or improve the academic experience for students
- Online Education, by facilitating the improvement of current programs and the development of new innovating offerings
APTAP also supports a suite of regular governance committees and other special projects/priorities at the University.
People
Christopher Buddle, Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Planning)
Professor Buddle has worked at McGill since 2002. His home unit is the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at Macdonald Campus. He is an award-winning teacher (at McGill and nationally) recognized for innovations when using technology in classrooms. Professor Buddle has an active research program, focused on the biodiversity and community ecology of Arctic insects and spiders. He has been involved in administration at McGill for many years, as Associate Dean (Student Affairs) in his Faculty, and most recently as Dean of Students (2016 to 2019). In that role he worked on key policy developments at the University, including overseeing significant revisions to both the Charter of Students’ Rights and the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. Professor Buddle was appointed Associate Provost (Teaching & Academic Programs) on 1 January 2020 for a five-year term.
The Associate Provost (Teaching & Academic Planning) will provide strategic leadership at McGill in the areas of enhancing teaching innovation and excellence, and curriculum development and review, including online programming. As Associate Provost, Professor Buddle will oversee Teaching & Learning Services, the development and revisions to academic programs (including as Chair of McGill’s Subcommittee on Courses and Teaching Programs), the academic reviews process, and he will be involved with the facilitation of online programs, done in close collaboration with Faculties and other campus partners.
Philip Smith
Associate Director (Office of Academic Reviews)
Dr. Smith has been at McGill since 1991. He has been involved in administration at McGill for 20 plus years, first within the Research Grants Office under the Vice-President (Research and Innovation) from 1999-2005, then in the Academic Management Office (2005-2006), and subsequently he was in the Office of the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), where he oversaw the program review exercise. In 2011, he was appointed to lead the Cyclical Unit Review Office, which was renamed the Office of Academic Reviews in 2022, in the Office of the Provost & Executive Vice-President (Academic). In this role he drafted the policies and procedures concerning the conduct of academic reviews at McGill. Dr. Smith holds an academic appointment in the Department of History & Classical Studies in the Faculty of Arts, where he is a scholar of ancient Greek history.
The Associate Director, Office of Academic Reviews provides strategic leadership in the area of the academic reviews process. He also represents McGill both in Quebec and in the U15 in activities around academic quality assurance.
Julie Degans
Associate Director (Academic Programs and Planning)
Julie Degans started her career at McGill in 2011 in the Department of Psychiatry (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) before joining the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) in 2013, first as Academic Program Officer and since 2020, as Associate Director, Academic Programs and Planning. The Associate Director, Academic Programs and Planning provides strategic advice to the University’s academic units on matters pertaining to Academic Units (creation, restructuring and retirements), academic programs (creation, revisions and retirements), both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and academic policies. The Associate Director, Academic Programs and Planning, supports the achievement of the overall mandate of APTAP and strives to continuously review and improve processes to ensure efficiency and transparence.
Cindy Smith
Course and Program Officer
Cindy Smith has worked at McGill University since 1985. She started her career in the Department of Plant Science at the Macdonald Campus until 1996, then she joined the Secretariat at the Downtown Campus from 1996-1998, and in 1998 she began her role within the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) as Secretary to the Subcommittee on Courses and Teaching Programs (SCTP) dealing with all official course and program proposals that require central University approval.
As the Course and Program Officer, and Secretary to SCTP, she is responsible for all duties related to the APC Subcommittee on Courses and Teaching Programs (SCTP). Cindy handles all official course and program proposals [credit and CEU]: undergraduate, graduate, and continuing studies; she advises academic units on their course and program proposals: how to propose, their approval process, reviews drafts, the use of Banner and Minerva for course information and proposal forms, respectively, other approvals that proposals may require. Cindy has the role of educating the McGill community on proposing courses and programs by providing faculties/schools with course and program information workshops and training needed to create successful and accurate proposals.
Maggie Lattuca
Associate Director (Online Programs Portfolio)
Maggie Lattuca began her career at McGill in 2005 in Instructional Multimedia Services (IT Services) working as an instructional designer. Over the subsequent eight years, she held diverse managerial roles within IT, overseeing the effective use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. From 2012 to 2016, she assumed the role of Portfolio Manager for Educational Technologies.
In 2016, she transitioned to Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) to begin developing a portfolio of online programs aligned with the University’s Strategic Academic Plan. She led the design and development of the first fully online bachelor’s degree, the BNI Online.
As the Associate Director of the Online Programs Portfolio since 2022, she leads efforts to identify new online programs. She collaborates closely with Faculties to ensure these programs adhere to McGill’s standards for Sustainable Online Learning Informed Design (SOLID). She advocates for the design and development of high-quality experiential online learning experiences, actively promoting the continuous improvement of online programs.
Diana Maratta
Senior Learning Experience Designer
Diane Maratta joined McGill in 2015 as a Learning Technology Consultant with Teaching and Learning Services (TLS). In 2019, Diane transitioned to the development of online programs, taking on the role of instructional designer. In this capacity, her responsibilities included collaborating with faculty to design and develop courses for McGill’s first fully online bachelor's degree program, the BNI Online.
In 2022, Diane assumed her current role as a senior learning experience designer within the Online Programs Portfolio. Specializing in online and digital learning, Diane focuses primarily on enhancing instructional effectiveness in online course design and delivery. She ensures the implementation of an agile course design and development process, evaluating materials based on McGill's SOLID framework and continuous improvement model. Additionally, Diane co-facilitates a Community of Practice for Designers of Online Learning Programs launched in 2023.
Naomi Burton-MacLeod
Senior Learning Experience Designer
Naomi Burton-MacLeod joined McGill in 2020 as an instructional designer with Teaching and Learning Services (TLS). With a prior career in health sciences and learning design in the public and private sectors, she joined the instructional design team responsible for developing McGill's first fully online bachelor's degree (BNI Online). During the project’s final phase, Naomi was the Team Lead, overseeing the program’s completion and its subsequent transition to the Ingram School of Nursing.
In her capacity as a senior learning experience designer within the Online Programs Portfolio since 2022, Naomi actively contributes to the development of new online programs. She achieves this by implementing streamlined design processes and ensuring that course designs meet McGill’s SOLID Framework standards. Additionally, she co-facilitates a Community of Practice for Designers of Online Learning Programs launched in 2023 and is deeply committed to incorporating evidence-based strategies for engaging learning experiences and broadening access to transformative educational opportunities.
Theo Stojanov
Instructional Designer
Theo Stojanov joined McGill as an instructional designer in Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) in 2021. He was responsible for the design and development of the Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity for the School of Information Studies.
In 2023, Theo assumed his current role as an instructional designer within the Online Programs Portfolio. Specializing in digital learning, he collaborates closely with content experts to create engaging and interactive multimedia materials to enrich student learning experiences.
Theo is a culture analyst, ethnographer, and educator. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Film and Moving Image Studies at Concordia University where his work focuses on the sociology of cultural production. His research is a critical examination of the socio-cultural factors that drive the creative industries, their production practices, policies, and people. Alongside his academic work, Theo maintains an avid interest in cutting edge media production designed for educational uses and documentary projects.
Nancy Di Girolamo
Instructional Designer
Nancy Di Girolamo joined McGill in 2024, bringing experience designing and implementing online training programs in higher education. Nancy is passionate about curriculum design, learning theories, and online education. She aims to develop meaningful learning experiences and foster active student participation.
Renata Chiaradia
Instructional Designer
Renata Chiaradia joined McGill in 2024, bringing her wealth of experience and a passion for education. Prior to McGill, Renata worked as an instructional designer in higher education, supporting instructors in integrating technology, pedagogy, accessibility, and course design. She is an advocate for transformative learning experiences, inclusive design, and accessible learning environments to meet the needs of diverse learners.
Katharine Tiitson
Academic Program Officer
Katharine Tiitson joined McGill in 2020 as a Co-Curricular Records Program Administrator in the Career Planning Services unit. In Winter 2023, she transitioned to a new position in the McGill University Archives where she worked as an Information Management and Archives Supervisor. Katharine is also a McGill graduate, having completed her Master of Information Studies at the McGill School of Information Studies in 2020, following her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature completed at the University of Toronto.
As the Academic Program Officer, Katharine will take over all duties related to the Academic Policy Committee (APC) and its subcommittees, work on program development and grant management, and brainstorm with the APTAP team as we look to review, streamline and improve our processes.
Anna Mihunova
Academic Program Administrator
Anna is a graduate of the McGill School of Continuing Studies. Prior to joining McGill, Anna worked as an Administrative Assistant at MentorUkraine, where she coordinated programs to help hundreds of Ukrainian young people settle abroad, connecting them with local universities or integrating them into the professional workforce. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cultural Studies, Visual Art and Management of Cultural Projects, from the Karazin Kharkiv National University.
As the Academic Program Administrator, Anna takes over the daily administrative operations of the APTAP team and supports the overall mandate of the Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Planning) and the APTAP team.
Paola Colapelle (on leave)
Academic Program Administrator
Coming soon!