{"id":54016,"date":"2026-05-25T16:37:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T20:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?post_type=cu_story&p=54016"},"modified":"2026-05-26T11:22:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T15:22:52","slug":"discovery-university-shows-what-accessible-education-can-look-like","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/story\/discovery-university-shows-what-accessible-education-can-look-like\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovery University Shows What Accessible Education Can Look Like"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Discovery University Shows What Accessible Education Can Look Like\n <\/h1>\n \n \n\n

A long-running partnership between Carleton University, the Ottawa Mission, and local post-secondary institutions is opening the classroom to forms of learning, discussion, and intellectual community that extend beyond the traditional boundaries of higher education.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

For more than two decades, Discovery University<\/a> has opened the classroom to people who are too often excluded from spaces like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Run through a partnership<\/a> between the Ottawa Mission, Carleton University, and other post-secondary universities, the program offers free, non-credit university courses in the humanities and social sciences to adults living on low incomes or experiencing homelessness. Courses are taught by university professors and span subjects ranging from philosophy and creative writing to music, psychology, and social movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Susan
Susan Burhoe, associate director and assistant professor (teaching) in Carleton University\u2019s Centre for Initiatives in Education, says Discovery University reflects the university\u2019s broader commitment to accessible, community-connected learning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Discovery University offers students <\/a>a classroom shaped by creative and intellectual exchange, where learning, curiosity, and community matter more than circumstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think DU reminds us that education is not just about credentials,\u201d says Susan Burhoe<\/a>, associate director and assistant professor (teaching) in Carleton\u2019s Centre for Initiatives in Education<\/a>. \u201cIt is also social, intellectual, and deeply human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burhoe sees Discovery University as a natural extension of the Centre for Initiatives in Education\u2019s (CIE) longstanding commitment to accessibility and inclusive learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExpanding access to education is at the core of what we do, particularly for communities that may not otherwise find a pathway to university,\u201d she says. \u201cDiscovery University really embodies that mission. It opens up the university as a site of learning, curiosity, and connection in ways that extend beyond traditional pathways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That idea, that universities have a responsibility not only to educate, but to remain connected and accountable to the broader communities around them, runs throughout the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Carleton, home of CIE, Discovery University also reflects many of the values at the centre of humanities and social science education itself: critical thinking, dialogue, public engagement, and asking difficult questions about how people live together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dr.

Music professor and artist Jesse Stewart has taught multiple courses through Discovery University, where improvisation, collaboration, and collective learning shape the classroom experience.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe humanities and social sciences invite us to ask questions about power, identity, culture, and how we live together,\u201d Burhoe says. \u201cDiscovery University centres those same questions in ways that are accessible and embedded in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those ideas come alive in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse Stewart<\/a>, professor and head of Music at Carleton<\/a>, has taught multiple courses through Discovery University and helped bring Carleton into the partnership early on. An award-winning musician, artist, and educator whose work often explores improvisation, accessibility, and collaborative learning, Stewart says the program aligns closely with the values that shape both his artistic practice and his teaching. \u201cDiscovery U offers a space where learning is relational, reciprocal, and grounded in human connection,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Discovery
Discovery University Coordinator Emma Pratt stands with Reverend John Perkins of First Baptist Church, where the program first began. Students frequently describe the program as a space of belonging and mutual learning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stewart describes Discovery University classrooms as unusually engaged spaces, shaped by openness, flexibility, and the wide range of lived experiences students bring into discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the most striking things about Discovery U is the level of intentionality in the room,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople are there because they want to be, not because they have to be, and that shifts the dynamic in important ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his classes, improvisation becomes less about music and more about listening and responding to others in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKnowledge is generated collectively,\u201d Stewart says. \u201cIt requires a certain flexibility and a willingness to relinquish some control, but it also opens up possibilities that are difficult to access through more rigid pedagogical models.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sense of community and collective learning stands out immediately to Emma Pratt, Discovery University Coordinator at the Ottawa Mission<\/a>, who works closely with students throughout the term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe work hard to foster an environment that is non-judgmental, safe, and encourages critical thinking,\u201d Pratt says. \u201cOur hope is that the program provides students with educational opportunities they may not have been able to access otherwise, fosters connection between students, and works to reduce isolation within communities that are prone to experiencing it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pratt says some of the most meaningful moments come through watching students gradually become more confident in themselves and more connected to one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Final
Final projects from students in Discovery University\u2019s Digital Darkroom course explored visual storytelling, creativity, and self-expression through photography and digital media.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She recalls one student who initially found public speaking deeply intimidating during a creative writing course, but later volunteered to sing at a graduation ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe growth that this shows in terms of confidence, self-worth, and leaning into vulnerability was really inspiring to witness,\u201d Pratt says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another course, she watched initially quiet discussion groups become \u201cboisterous, collaborative and full of life\u201d by the end of the semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe connections that we\u2019re able to see form in these classes is magical,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Stewart, experiences like these continue to reshape his own understanding of teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiscovery U embodies what teaching can be at its best,\u201d he says. \u201cA collaborative process of inquiry grounded in listening, care, and curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a moment when conversations around higher education are often framed in narrow and transactional terms, Discovery University reminds us what universities can look like at their best: places deeply connected to their communities, where people come together to learn alongside one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Student work from the Digital Darkroom course reflected the range of artistic approaches and perspectives encouraged through Discovery University\u2019s community-based learning environment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\"A
A Discovery University student performs alongside Music professor Jesse Stewart during the program\u2019s recent graduation celebration. Emma Pratt says the moment reflected the confidence and sense of community many students develop through the program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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For more than two decades, Discovery University has opened the classroom to people who are too often excluded from spaces like it. Run through a partnership between the Ottawa Mission, Carleton University, and other post-secondary universities, the program offers free, non-credit university courses in the humanities and social sciences to adults living on low incomes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":54021,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[816],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-54016","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-general"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/54016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/54016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54035,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/54016\/revisions\/54035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=54016"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=54016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}