Tools for success at uOttawa Sunday, November 8, 2009 Murray Sang  Director Student Academic Success Service (SASS)  University of Ottawa.

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Presentation on theme: "Tools for success at uOttawa Sunday, November 8, 2009 Murray Sang  Director Student Academic Success Service (SASS)  University of Ottawa."— Presentation transcript:

1 Tools for success at uOttawa Sunday, November 8, 2009 Murray Sang  Director Student Academic Success Service (SASS)  University of Ottawa

2 Agenda Characteristics of the Student Population at the University of Ottawa Factors of withdrawal, failure, success and perseverance The Model of the Student Academic Success Service (SASS) of the University of Ottawa Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

3 Characteristics of the Student Population at the University of Ottawa Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

4 Distribution of the Student Population at the University of Ottawa Registration (Fall 2008): –Undergraduate Studies:31,331 (86.4%) –Graduate studies: 4,913 (13.6%) –International students: 1,862 (5.1%) –Language of usage = French:69.4 % –Language of usage = English:30.6 % Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

5 Distribution of Registrations at the University of Ottawa Registration by faculty (undergraduate – Fall 2008): –Social Sciences:7,386 (23.6%) –Arts:6,384 (20.4%) –Health Sciences:3,964 (12.7%) –Science:3,488 (11.1%) –Management:3,332 (10.6%) –Engineering:1,820 (5.8%) Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

6 Current Trends A student population constantly growing (mass effect) They go to university as a means to an end A high student failure and withdrawal rate: from 25% to 30% according to the studies about retention Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

7 Main Characteristics of the Student Population Students… –They are primarily young people who have just left secondary school or CEGEP –They are from various cultures –They often work and study at the same time –They often apply for loans and scholarships –They sometimes live off campus –They don’t always have clear career objectives Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

8 Challenges that students encounter Living transitions (from high school to university, from university to work or to graduate studies) Developing intellectual, social and interpersonal skills (employable qualities) Becoming autonomous Clarifying their personal and professional objectives and specifying their identity (values, interests etc.) Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

9 Factors of withdrawal, failure, success and perseverance Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

10 Factors of withdrawal and failure* Main factors: –(52 %) Lack of interest, lack of satisfaction in their program of study, no career objectives –(22 %) Financial issues –(12 %) Academic standing * Berger, Motte and Parkin, 2007 Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

11 Factors of success and perseverance** According to academic integration: –Having an interest for learning; –Developing good connections with professors; –Participating in class; –Having a good Academic Standing. According to social integration: –Participating in social activities; –Finding a group of friends or interests; –Developing a feeling of belonging. ** Tinto 1975, 1985, 1998 Student Academic Success Service (SASS) What is the role of institutions and individuals to contribute to student success and perseverance?

12 The model of the Student Academic Success Service (SASS) of uOttawa Student Academic Success Service (SASS)

13 Philosophy of the service A model of integrated services that offers support and contributes to academic success Services are offered by specialists and by peers Three principal concerns: –Quality of the university experience –Student engagement in their studies –Academic support Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

14 Academic Success Unit Principal activities: –Coordination of the welcoming activities –Coordination of student mentoring (first year, 2-3-4 year and graduate studies) and training of the student mentors –Coordination of the network of academic advisors (undergraduate studies) and administrators of graduate studies Future perspectives: –Early Identification of At-Risk Students program –Research Network on academic success Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

15 Academic Support Unit – Welcoming Activities Principal activities: –Welcoming and integrating new students (move-in week-end, information sessions, campus discovery and social activities) –Two events in September: u101 (undergraduate studies) Graduate Student Orientation Week (graduate studies) Future perspectives: –Develop welcoming activities for new undergraduate students starting in January Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

16 Academic Success Unit – Student Mentoring Why mentoring? –To develop a Learning how to learn environment –To meet the growing needs of students in regards to academic support or personal issues –To develop a culture of mutual help, which is a factor of success and perseverance Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre YearCentresMentorsVisitsUsers (students) 2006-071414269004900 2007-081515384006000 2008-091718980325618

17 Academic Success Unit – Student Mentoring Student needs: –Cognitive: develop methods for studying –Personnel: reinforce motivation and personal discipline, define personal, academic and professional objectives –Social: develop a feeling of belonging vs. avoid isolation, anonymity of the classes and lack of connections with Profs Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

18 Academic Success Unit – Student Mentoring Some figures: –2002: 5 mentoring centres (25 mentors) –2009: 18 mentoring centres (more than 175 mentors) within faculties and services –Last year: 6,500 students met with a mentor (mostly first year students) Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

19 Academic Success Unit – Early Identification The University of Ottawa has set up two Early Identification of At- Risk Students program: –According to Academic Success –According to Orientation Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

20 Academic Success Unit – Early Identification Academic Success At the University of Ottawa, there are roughly 3,000 students in the six direct-entry faculties who are at risk (in danger of probation or mandatory withdrawal) The professors provide mid terms results to their faculty The students identified to be at risk are invited to meet with a student-mentor or an academic advisor to better identify their issues or to refer them to the appropriate service Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

21 Academic Success Unit – Early Identification Orientation Pilot project with the Faculty of Arts: –New students are invited to fill out the CDDQ questionnaire (Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire) so that one can know their level of motivation or indecision regarding their choice of program of study or career –33% answered –10% of the respondents are considered at risk and are invited to meet with a career orientation counsellor Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

22 Academic Success Unit – Early Identification Orientation (example of questions from CDDQ) Does not describe me well 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Describe me very well 1.I know that I need to chose a career but I'm not motivated to make a decision right now 2.Work is not the most important thing in life, so the question of which career to choose does not preoccupy me very much 3.I don't think I need to choose a career right now because the right career choice will present itself with time 4.I find it hard to make decisions Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

23 Academic Success Unit – Early Identification Orientation (example of questions from CDDQ) Does not describe me well 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Describe me very well 24.It is difficult for me to make a career choice because I do not know how to obtain the right and up-to-date information concerning the existing professions and training programs or concerning their characteristics. 25.It is difficult for me to make a career choice because my preferences change continuously (for example, sometimes I want to be free lance and sometimes I want to be an employee). 26.Lastly, how do you evaluate the degree of difficulty in your choice of career? Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

24 Academic Writing Help centre Principal activities: –Individual meetings to improve student writing skills according to their needs and to profs requirements –Workshops and tools to help students overcome the various obstacles in writing a paper –Targeted support services (graduate studies, French immersion) Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre Year StudentsVisits Languages (undergrad) 1st year UndergradGradTotalUndergradGradTotalFREENG 2006-07 7571899462975757297523%77%281 2007-08 7771599362384777238425%75%276 2008-09 81528911043130931406125%75%n/d

25 Academic Writing Help centre Future perspectives: –Sensitizing students to plagiarism –Offering services for allophone students –Reflecting on students language writing problems Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

26 Counselling and Coaching Service Principal activities: –Individual consultations to let students discuss their concerns and develop essential strategies for solving them –The use of psychometric instruments to allow students to clarify their interests, values, skills, and abilities Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre Year Students Visits LanguageLevel Total1st yearFREENGUndergradGrad 2006-071212296400422%78%1059145 2007-081322331402423%77%1104178 2008-0913833133990 22% 78%1120216

27 Counselling and Coaching Service Future perspectives: –Developing an expertise in personal and professional coaching –Participating in the creation of a team of expert counsellors in order to evaluate students risks and to intervene with students who have worrying behaviour –Training sessions for employees and profs Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

28 Career Services Principal activities: –Individual meetings to allow students to discuss their career objectives –Workshops to help students develop good employment research methods –Career fairs and networking activities for students and employers Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre Year Individual Appointments WorkshopsCareer FairsEmployers Presentations 2006-0714013420 (178 workshops)1517 (9 fairs)1221 (34 presentations) 2007-08741717 (53 workshops)1292 (11 fairs)1167 (34 presentations) 2008-091411930 (161 workshops)1164 (9 fairs)769 (31 presentations)

29 Career Services Future perspectives: –Reinforcing the collaboration with profs and researchers in order to better understand the evolution of the professional world –Helping employers to play a teaching role for students regarding employability skills Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

30 Access Service Principal activities: –Services to identify student needs, develop suitable support and access services and help them develop learning strategies –Support with the use of learning technologies –A Transition Program for new students Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre YearStudentsVisits LanguageLevel FREENGUndergradGrad 2006-07 722258420%80%66755 2007-08 816260621%79%76850 2008-09 872n/d

31 Access Service Future perspectives: –Being an expert in accessibility –Contributing to the autonomy of students in regards to learning –Empowering faculties (employees and profs) in regards to adapted measures Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

32 Experiential Learning Service Principal activities: –The Community Service Learning (CSL) Program – Directly linking university courses to volunteer positions –The Co-Curricular Record (CCR) – An official university record of a student’s volunteer activities Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre YearStudentsProfsCommunity Partner 2006-07 110092220 2007-08 1300140375 2008-09 1600198750

33 Experiential Learning Service Future perspectives: –A Community based learning Program –An international program Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

34 Principal activities: –Liaison activities in the aboriginal communities –Academic orientation –Cultural and social activities –Meetings with Elders Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre YearStudents1st year 2006-079216 2007-089010 2008-0911314

35 Aboriginal Resource Centre Future perspectives: –Learning circles to help students define their academic and professional projects –Sustained efforts in regards to programs of transition, integration and student mentoring Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

36 Future perspectives for SASS Consolidate the integration of the services within SASS by creating inter-sector work teams Continue to decentralize the services to join students where they are Recommend the diversification of support measures Work closely with professors and their classrooms Measure the impact of our services against university experience and student engagement, retention and success Student Academic Success Service (SASS) Academic Success Unit Academic Writing Help Centre Counselling and Coaching Service Career Services Access Service Experiential Learning Service Aboriginal Resource Centre

37 Thank you for your attention! For more information, visit our Web site: www.sass.uOttawa.ca


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