Lise Bazinet
Imagine you’re a new graduate student. Like 75 per cent of all graduate students, you’re new to the University of Ottawa. You’ve been academically successful at your previous institution, but this is an entirely new environment, and it may be difficult to navigate your first few weeks or months. You may feel isolated, not knowing whom to turn to for advice.
Don’t panic! Help is on the way.
When the Student Academic Success Service (SASS) was created five years ago, its focus was on helping undergraduates flourish from the get-go. Undergraduate students have greatly benefited from initiatives such as U101 week, early identification programs, and the student mentoring network.
“With undergraduate students generally well-served and with the University clearly focused on graduate studies over the next four years, we are turning our attention to new services that will help ensure that graduate students find as good a fit as their undergraduate counterparts,” says SASS director Serge Blais.
Within the framework of Vision 2010, and given the target that the University has set for graduate recruitment, SASS is working with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies to set up programs and services to assist graduate students, with the goal of fostering student retention and degree completion. From the outset, all their efforts have been developed in close partnership with the Graduate Students’ Association.
“Academic success is based on the three pillars of learning: intellectual capacity, motivation and environment,” says Blais. “The first determinant is not in question. Our new students have made it through a very narrow doorway. They are good learners and know how to succeed academically. However, we can help them maintain a sense of purpose and engagement, and we can certainly help them fit into the uOttawa culture.”
“Soon the team will begin consulting graduate program directors, staff in the academic secretariats, and grad students themselves. This should help identify what needs to be done, and what our priorities will be,” continues Blais.
In the short term, the University community can expect the following initiatives as of September:
• an orientation week to facilitate the integration of graduate students;
• a general orientation guide containing essential information for all graduate students; and
• a new resource centre staffed with student mentors who provide structured peer assistance.
Other initiatives will be launched over the course of the year. If you have any suggestions, please contact Serge Blais.
