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Highlights: First Year in Focus: Thinking Through First Year Student Success Conference
Read what your colleagues had to say about the First Year in Focus conference.
Support of Students Within and Outside of the Classroom
Student Success Initiatives: What Other Colleges and Universities are Doing
Overall Summary of the Conference
As a first year Student Success Specialist and a student success educator at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley, attending this conference was an invaluable experience which provided many insights into issues affecting the diversity of first year students’ learning in the 21st century.
Workshops focused on how to successfully retain students, provide effective support to students at risk within the college environment and build relationships with partners in the broader learning community. By listening to students, speaking with other success specialists and hearing from a variety of educators, we gained a better understanding of the non- traditional learner and how to support their needs in creative and diverse ways.
Participants shared knowledge and expertise that provided solutions and pointed out pitfalls. Each well-timed session was extremely informative, well-prepared and thought provoking. The theme provided a focus for learning on first year students that also gave a wider perspective on student issues in general. This allowed participants to generalize their own learning to a broader educational context.
It was particularly helpful to gain a truly Canadian perspective. Learning about first year student issues from a national view, we were able to see how issues of retention and risk are being addressed by institutions across the country.
Attending the conference has proven to be an invaluable networking tool. We returned to work, inspired and invigorated, eager to apply our new knowledge of student success strategies at our campus. Also we are appreciative of the reinforcement provided by the conference in terms of the things we are doing well and knowing we are on the right track.
We are looking forward to the challenges ahead and hope to have future opportunities to revisit this information with our colleagues.
Shelly Waplington, Student Success Specialist
Shawn Pentecost, Professor English and Social Sciences
Pembroke Campus
Support of Students Within and Outside of the Classroom
Through the sessions I attended, a few common threads emerged. First, student have many external stressors on them with the two major ones being financial and work/family/school balance. As educators, we need to help students succeed by showing an interest in their success, making ourselves available to them and knowing where to send them within the college for various services they may require. Student engagement was also emphasized at the conference. We need to get students more actively involved in classroom activities.
Student Success Initiatives: What Other Colleges and Universities are Doing
Durham Collegehas a Center for Success that offers a transition program for high school students who are at risk of not completing their OSSD (Ontario Secondary School Diploma).