January to March marks the most stressful period in the school year, this according to the number of consultations by the Counselling and Personal Development Service of the University of Ottawa.
Often, students are shocked by poor results obtained on Christmas examinations. Couple this with a number of personal and academic obligations and the stress level increases. In addition, this is the time students start to think about summer employment, the prospect of finding a new place to live and, of course, the numerous projects and examinations to complete before the end of the year.
“In March, students are out of gas,” explains Donald Martin from the Counselling Service. It is not surprising that there is a consultation rush at the end of the winter.
Each year, more than 1,300 students call upon the counselling services offered by one of the eight Centres for Academic Success (CAS) – one for each faculty. Thanks to a new sorting system put into place in January, students have access to service within 48 hours.
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The Centres for Academic Success have been around for two years. A collaborative effort between the Student Academic Success Service and the faculties, CAS opens doors to a variety of resources. The objectives are threefold: classroom, career and personal success for students.
In addition to the Counselling Service, there is writing help and resources, study skill workshops, classroom practical guides, and a comprehensive service for students with disabilities or special needs.
Front-line workers of the CAS are known as mentors. These second-, third- or fourth-year students are trained as the first point of contact with clientele and can direct them to the appropriate resource. Approximately 120 mentors are active in the University’s eight CAS. The notion of mentors may not be unique, but the University of Ottawa is one of the only institutions to pay front-line workers.
A $200,000 grant from the Counselling Foundation of Canada, a charitable organization that supports counselling programs across the country, has allowed the University to hire and train mentors for the next two years.
The Counselling Foundation also hopes to encourage the development of “good citizens” which is in line with the objectives of the University, according to Serge Blais, the director of the Student Academic Success Service (SASS).
“The University is a home environment,” affirms Mr. Blais. “One of our goals is to facilitate the student’s integration so that he or she will focus on their studies and fully profit from the university experience,” he says.
In this spirit, the University makes every effort to allow students to experience social and community commitment to complement intellectual training.
