Returning Students

The first weeks after the holidays are a good time to make a fresh start. And at U of T, there are plenty of people and services to help you hit the ground running.

Here are just a few of them:

Get assigned readings for free thanks to U of T Libraries

Check out U of T Libraries’ Zero-to-Low Cost Course project – it's taking some of the sting out of paying for course packs by helping students and professors source their reading materials for free electronically. The program is estimated to have saved students more than $400,000 since 2015.

Read The Toronto Star story

See the CBC story

Learn more about the cultural exchange workshops in U of T News

Talk to your profs about research opportunities abroad

Some of the best learning opportunities are outside the classroom, and your teachers can help you find them. Joseph Wong, professor and Canada Research Chair in political science and U of T's head of international student experience, took undergrads to South Africa last summer to meet government workers helping the poorest of the poor. Their work contributed to his research on how social services can connect with people in need.

Mingle with city experts at a McLuhan salon

The McLuhan Centre for Culture & Technology, named after the influential theorist and U of T Professor Marshall McLuhan, is bringing discussions about Toronto to various city venues. This fall, they kicked off a salon series at Toronto City Hall with a talk about Toronto and its cultural institutions’ impact on the world.

The first McLuhan salon took place at the heart of the city, Toronto City Hall, in November (photo by Romi Levine)

The event brought together experts like Toronto’s poet laureate Anne Michaels and city librarian Vickery Bowles. Anybody can register and the events are free.

#UofTBTS16: Co-curricular record helps boost your U of T experience

ullahnor — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 19:14:17 +0000

#UofTBTS16: Co-curricular record helps boost your U of T experience

ullahnor Thu, 09/15/2016 - 15:14

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(Photo by Ken Jones)

Arthur Kaptainis

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Arthur Kaptainis

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As you work on a university degree, keep in mind that academics may not always be enough.

A co-curricular record can help complement what you do in the classroom with workplace experiences and skills.

The co-curricular record (CCR), which began in 2013, is an online centralized directory of activities for which students on all three campuses can get formal recognition for everything from work study jobs to volunteer work, regardless of whether they are pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree.

“It’s a validated document, from the university, and signed by the vice-provost,” says David Newman, U of T’s senior director of student experience.

There are now more than 10,000 students at U of T with co-curricular records.

Look through the directory and learn more about the program

The program allows students to track and showcase their experiences, contributions and skills. And Newman says it’s the kind of thing employers and admission officers for graduate and professional programs like to see.

Listen to a U of T student talking about the program

The paid and unpaid opportunities that can qualify a student for a formal co-curricular record include orientation coordinators, resident dons and mentors. Work-study jobs are on the list as are membership in a Varsity sports team and titled positions with student clubs. Click here to find a link to your campus’ co-curricular program.

“It’s a great way for students to show that they have been engaged not just in the academic side of the university,” says Susan Froom, a Trinity College philosophy and political science student in her fourth year who is vice-president of the association of part-time undergraduate students.

Pier Angeli Taruc, a third-year Woodsworth College life sciences student is working this year as an ASKme orientation consultant, a position that is recognized for a co-curricular record. She hopes the range of activities will be expanded, in her case positions that will help with getting into medical school.

Along with searching for positions that could fit a potential career choice, keep in mind that first-year students are encouraged at orientation to subscribe to Blueprint, a series of workshops related to health and wellness and academic success. Completing the Blueprint program is recognized by CCR.

So are activities for Alternative Reading Week, organized by the Centre for Community Partnerships.

“It’s a really robust program,” Newman says of this initiative. “We go into about 25 community organizations with about 300 students, generally first- or second-year students.”

#UofTBTS16: Classroom upgrades coming to a room near you

ullahnor — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 16:42:54 +0000

#UofTBTS16: Classroom upgrades coming to a room near you

ullahnor Fri, 09/09/2016 - 12:42

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Engineering students learn at one of many video screens in a newly renovated classroom (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Arthur Kaptainis

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Arthur Kaptainis and Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

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Students returning to school may see wider seats, more writing space – and get this – electrical outlets within reach to charge laptops and phones.

This school year, a handful of classrooms at the St. George campus have the new amenities. In eight years, U of T administrators hope to have all of the classes retrofitted with new furniture and amenities that are timed to bring U of T into a new era of teaching and learning.

“Modern day learners need power, more comfortable seats and more writing space,” said Steve Bailey, director of Academic and Campus Events. “The intent is that in eight years, we’ll have gone through all the classrooms on campus, transforming the instructional landscape.”

As part of the program, the university is also looking at creating more active (also known as interactive) learning spaces. So, gone are the blackboards at the front of the classroom. You won’t see rectangular desks lined up in rows.

Instead, think of hexagonal shaped desks that invite more student collaboration. And video screens and whiteboards hanging on multiple walls that allow for students to display their work and more teacher-student interaction.

This year the university is piloting a second renovated active learning space at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education building on Bloor Street. There's a similarly retrofitted classroom at the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering’s Sanford Fleming building.

Once they’ve solicited faculty feedback, university officials will see whether more classrooms like this should be created across the campus. Right now, the goal is to add to the active learning spaces planned for the new Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entreprenuership in the next two years.

“It’s about recognizing that instruction in the current form takes many capacities,” Bailey said. “For some people, lecturing is the way to do it. For other people, it’s not about lecture theatres. They want to do more active learning. We’re introducing these spaces to the teaching community and then getting feedback from them on what works and what doesn’t work.”

With the St. George campus alone home to 300 classrooms, some rooms over the years have been upgraded but more than 200 instructional spaces remain unchanged. Investments are planned over the next few years to upgrade and revitalize the rooms. The cost is estimated at $12 million, paid through both the operating budget and income generated from renting out university spaces.

The upgrades can’t happen all at once. They need to be spaced out, taking place mostly during the quieter summer months when not all classrooms are in use. There are more classrooms expected to be upgraded over the winter break as well.

In the eight upgraded classrooms located across St. George – at Galbraith, Health Sciences, McLennan Physical Laboratories, Medical Sciences, Ramsey Wright, Sanford Fleming, Sid Smith and OISE – students will see wider, more comfortable seats.

In smaller classrooms, stiff chairs have been replaced with comfortable bucket seats that can move. In larger lecture halls, the chairs still may be fixed but can swing around or have more room, making it easier for students to get in and out of their seat.

The small kidney-shaped desks have also been upgraded with in some cases flat tabletops, and in other cases wider writing surfaces – to accommodate laptops.

Where possible, for every seat in a renovated classroom, there is an electrical outlet.

Student feedback has made it clear that charging capacity is essential, Bailey said.

Along with the upgrades to the classroom, Bailey’s office is working with faculties on a new approach to classroom assignment – one that considers a professor’s needs in the classroom rather than focusing on their faculty assignment first.

“It’s a two-parter,” Bailey said. “We need a commitment to invest in our classrooms. But we also need a plan and direction on how we can get the right people in the right space.”

Returning Students

U of T life hacks for the New Year (and beyond)

Read more about U of T’s zero-to-low cost course project

Read more about the personal librarian program in U of T News

Read The Toronto Star story

See the CBC story

Learn more about the cultural exchange workshops in U of T News

Read more about the McLuhan salons

Read more about course evaluations

#UofTBTS16: Co-curricular record helps boost your U of T experience

Look through the directory and learn more about the program

#UofTBTS16: Classroom upgrades coming to a room near you