Students

Easing the transition of new students into the university

Embarking on a university degree can be an exciting and at the same time intimidating experience. For decades, students have heard tales about how their grades will drop by 15 per cent, the heavy workload in University and the stress.

“Students come to university with all these preconceived notions and more,” says Susan Vail, associate vice-president, teaching and learning with responsibility for the oversight of York University’s Academic Innovation Fund (AIF).

One of their first exposures to York University is the welcome they receive, which can be overwhelming. Vail says that after students accept their offer from the University, they start receiving as many as 60 e-mails a day from various organizations on campus. Letters and e-mails with welcome messages, information on money matters, registration, advising and more are sent to the student. “Many new students stop checking their e-mail because they don’t know what to do with all of this messaging, which is well-meaning but in many cases duplicative and confusing for these students,” she says.

Robert BishopRobert Bishop, director of strategic initiatives in the Faculty of Health

How is York University improving how students transition to University? The answer says Vail comes through a series of pilot projects known as YU Start, which have received support from AIF.

YU Start is part of the First-Year Experience system that has developed out of the AIF. Professor Martha Rogers, one of the YU Start project leads, proposed that the projects be centred on Lizzio’s Model of Student Engagement a theoretical framework for improving the student experience and retention, based on research by Professor Alf Lizzio, a psychologist based at Australia’s Griffiths University. Lizzio’s model focuses on the importance of building a positive transition and first year experience. He found that if students were engaged, felt supported and experienced a positive change from high school to university; they were more likely to have a better experience and continue with their studies.

With support from the AIF and backed by the theoretical knowledge, Vail says York University invested in a cluster of pilot projects that focus on improving how students transition from high school into university. To begin, YU Start project leads looked at the entire spectrum of information sent to new students. Vail says their first step was to build collaboration and streamline messaging to students. “Under the leadership of Lara Ubaldi [senior project leader, Services for Students, PRASE],  representatives from all of the relevant groups at York were invited to come together and talk about how we need to have fewer messages going to each student and how  we could collaborate so that we’re not overwhelming new students before they even start,” she says.

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In-course peer mentoring enhances first-year experience

A program originating in the Faculty of Health at York University and supported by the Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) is bringing the University into the first-year classroom.

Through an initiative known as the HealthAid Network Course Based Peer Mentorship program, student representatives in 1000-level courses deliver announcements to their classmates about important assignments or exams, deadlines, support services and upcoming social events. Known as in-class peer mentoring, the HealthAid Network representatives demystify the University and introduce their classmates to the essential services and supports they need to be successful in their first-year of studies and beyond.

At regular intervals throughout the course, the HealthAid Network in-class representative brings “news” to his or her classmates. If the announcement that day pertains to an exam, the student representative may outline what exam study clinics or resources are available and where they are located on the campus. The social event announcements and invitations reduce the shyness that comes with being in a new situation and help students build important social networks.

“The literature shows that students who are engaged in their learning are more successful,” says Professor Martha Rogers, master of Stong College at York University and the AIF Project Champion for the first-year experience cluster of projects.

“The aims of this program are to support academic success and student engagement in first year while developing student leadership capacity,” says Rogers. “First-year students and upper year students are recruited, selected and trained through a pretty extensive process. The HealthAid Network teams include first-year, upper year and senior student leaders. Initial and ongoing training focuses on three components – academic success, student engagement and leadership. It is a highly structured program based on literature and empirical data related to student success and peer mentorship.”

Auroosa Kazmi, an alumna of  York University, serves as the program’s coordinator. She mobilizes the students, develops training and leadership activities for the HealthAid teams and supervises their activities. She also manages the project and the AIF budget. Working with Rogers, she is also collecting data from extensive evaluations that measure the success and impact of the program.

York is an early leader in Canada with respect to this unique kind of in-class peer mentoring, says Rogers, noting that the University’s support through the AIF has been an essential factor in the program’s success.

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