CACUSS Fall 2015

CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT SERVICES L’ASSOCIATION DES SERVICES AUX ÉTUDIANTS DES UNIVERSITÉS ET COLLÈGES DU CANADA F A L L / L’ A U T O M N E / 2 0 1 5 / I S S N 1 2 0 6 - 8 5 0 0

Catch Up with CACUSS Award of Honour Recipient Dr. Tricia Seifert, on p. 8

The

ORIENTATION ISSUE

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 1

FIC: 10 years of pathway program success

Students from 50+ countries

Distinguished faculty and staff

Award-winning programming

(Jordan Scott, 2015/16 SFU Writer-in-Residence; 2014 BCCIE/CBIE award recipients)

(BCCIE Outstanding Program in International Education, 2015)

3,000+ graduates from SFU

Fraser International College ensures international students are given the extra support needed to adjust to a new teaching and learning environment, and encourages successful academic outcomes.

To learn more, contact us: info@fraseric.ca

2 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

Contents 4

President’s Message / Message du président

6

Executive Director Update / Mise à jour de la directrice générale

8

Catching Up with Dr. Tricia Seifert 2015 CACUSS Award of Honour Recipient

by Jessica Pilfold

9

Communiqué Volume 15, Issue 3, Fall 2015 / Tome 15, Numéro 3, Automne 2015 Editor / Rédacteur Mitchell Miller, communique@cacuss.ca Design / Conception graphique Managing Matters Inc., 647-345-1116

Okanagan Charter a Call to Action on Health and Wellbeing CACUSS Board/Conseil ASEUCC

Feature Section: The Orientation Issue

David Newman, President, cacuss-president@cacuss.ca Patricia Pardo, President-Elect, ppardo@mtroyal.ca Marcelle Mullings, Finance Director, marcellm@yorku.ca Karen Cornies, Director / Professional Development, kcornies@redeemer.ca Christine Adam, Director-at-Large / Advocacy, cadam@tru.ca Anne Bartlett, Director-at-Large / Research and Recognition, ambartlett@upei.ca Angie Clarke, Director-at-Large / Policy, angie.clarke@mi.mun.ca Jack Dobbs, Director-at-Large / Research and Recognition, jdobbs@mtroyal.ca Dale Mullings, Director-at-Large / Communities of Practice. dale.mullings@utoronto.ca

10

Storientations: Narrative Ontology in Student Affairs

by Neil Buddel

13

Three-Day Pre-Orientation Program for First-Year University

Students with Disabilities

by Nina Hindrichs

14

The Last Six Weeks

by Nicole Crozier

15

First Year Me

by Scott Dempsey and Ariana Spencer

16

Evaluation of an Online Pre-arrival Graduate Orientation Program

by Elizabeth Cawley-Fiset and Mitchell Miller

18

Queen’s Major Maps - Orienting Students to University, Majors,

and Careers

by Miguel Hahn

21

Zen September: One Team’s Approach to Fostering Resilience

and defeating the busyness myth

by Krista Lambie

22

The Full Circle of Orientation

by Laura Mitchell, Laura Glover, and Monica Boulos

24

An Opportunity to Educate at Frosh: The Student Perspective

by Raumina Rezai

25

So Many Questions!

by Josh Hass

Jennifer Hamilton, Executive Director, cacuss-ed@cacuss.ca

26

Home Away from Home: Creating Intentional Communities

Advertising / La publicité CACUSS Secretariat, contact@cacuss.ca

for Out of Province Students

by Nicola Paviglianiti and Aanchal Ralhan

26

Reflect and Restore: Come to the Camino

by Tricia Seifert and Karen Cornies

27

Disclosure in the Graduate Environment

by Chelsea E. Mohler, Emily M. Duffett, and Mahadeo A. Sukhai

29

Opening Letter Regarding CACUSS 2015 Conference

by Katie Allan

29

Immigrant Students Can Have Disabilities: We Just Don’t Know About It

by Evelyne Marcil, Christine Vo, Mary Jorgensen, and Catherine Fichten

31

Honouring Mark Chytracek

Communiqué is published by the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS)/L’association des services aux étudiants des universities et colleges du Canada (ASEUCC). All material copyright CACUSS/ASEUCC unless otherwise noted. Material may not be reproduced without the express written permission of CACUSS/ASEUCC. The opinions expressed in Communiqué do not reflect those of the magazine or of CACUSS. Le Communiqué est publié par la Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS)/l’Association des services aux étudiants des universités et collèges du Canada (ASEUCC). Copyright pour le contenu : CACUSS/ASEUCC, à moins d’indication contraire. Aucune reproduction du contenu de cette publication sans l’autorisation écrite expresse de CACUSS/ASEUCC. Les opinions exprimées dans Communiqué ne reflètent pas ceux du magazine ou de l’ASEUCC.

Submissions / Soumissions News, articles, updates, opinion pieces, letters to the editor, artwork and photographs relating to college and university student services in Canada are all very welcome. Send submissions to: Nous acceptons les nouvelles, articles, mises au point, énoncés d’opinion, lettres aux rédacteurs, illustrations et photographies se rapportant aux services aux étudiants des collèges et des universités. Faire parvenir vos soumissions à : Mitchell Miller, communique@cacuss.ca CACUSS Secretariat/Secretariat ASEUCC 720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 202, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2T9 • 647-345-1116 Email: contact@cacuss.ca Website: www.CACUSS.ca

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 3

President’s Message

H

ow is it that another year is upon us? It seemed like only a blink ago that we were welcoming our new and returning students to our campuses. Our annual conference, although almost 4 months ago, seems as though it just happened. Time flies. Yet, as I write this, I have just finished wrapping up orientation and transition activities at my own institution. Despite what might seem like a routine passing of time through programming and events, there is an intoxicating energy and excitement that comes with this “rite of passage” that helps remind me how important our work is and our impact on student success.

The orientation period is one of those unique times throughout the year where we touch on all aspects of the student experience in one discrete time. We often talk about the importance of ensuring that students learn about the value of successful academic and social integration into our campuses. But what does this mean?

Being prepared academically for college or university is much more than knowing what is needed to graduate. It’s about understanding how to learn in a different and often self-directed environment. It’s about knowing what services and supports are available when barriers are experienced. Connecting socially on our campuses is much more than making friends and building community. It’s about understanding our own identities and how we relate to others. It’s about understanding the impact of what we do and how it affects others. And the list goes on.

As I reflect on this past month in my own work, I consider the role of CACUSS and how it mirrors the multi-faceted needs of our students in our institutions. More than a year has passed since we introduced our new organizational structure, and I am in awe of the incredibly meaningful contributions that members have put forward to ensure that we are equipped to support our students holistically. It has taken tremendous leadership and interest by many people to continue our collective work in keeping the organization relevant to our ever-changing context. I’ve written about our Communities and how our hope is that all of our members are able to find a professional home within the association.

David Newman Our Communities also reflect the broad exposure that we want our students to understand, learn from, and know about as they transition through their postsecondary experiences. The multi-faceted nature of student experiences must be reflected in how we work with them. As we build our collective knowledge in supporting student success, we need to know what each other are doing. For students, there should be no wrong access point on our campuses.

However, we also must be mindful and carefully consider what student success is.

Our governments, general public, and institutions have a good sense of how success is defined. We want to retain our students, have them graduate, and know that they have successful careers when they leave. But what does it mean to the students we serve? CACUSS and all of its Communities can provide meaningful conversation here.

And it’s an important conversation because, after all, first impressions are lasting.

Students need to see and feel that they will be successful while they are with us and when they leave our campuses.

As the seasons change and we all settle down into our work (which is anything but routine!), I hope that you take some time to remember the feeling and excitement of when our students arrived. Think about all the aspects of student transition and consider what you might not know a lot about. Go outside of your comfort zone, 4 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

connect to other CACUSS members and colleagues, learn something new. And model what we expect of our students.

David can be reached at president@cacuss.ca.

Message du président

C

omment se peut-il qu’une autre année soit déjà à nos portes? Il me semble que c’est hier que nous avons accueilli les étudiants, nouveaux et anciens, sur nos campus. Quatre mois ont passé depuis notre congrès annuel, mais on dirait qu’il vient tout juste de se terminer.

Le temps passe si vite! Et pourtant, au moment où j’écris ces lignes, je viens tout juste de finaliser les activités d’orientation et de transition dans mon propre établissement. Même si ces programmes et événements ressemblent parfois à une manière routinière de passer le temps, il se dégage de ce « rite de passage » une énergie et un enthousiasme enivrants qui me rappellent à quel point nous avons, par notre travail, un impact majeur sur la réussite des étudiants.

La période d’orientation est, dans l’année, un moment unique où nous abordons tous les aspects de l’expérience étudiante en temps discret. Nous disons souvent qu’il est important que les étudiants découvrent et apprécient la valeur d’une intégration académique et sociale réussie sur nos campus. Mais qu’estce que cela signifie? Être bien préparé sur le plan scolaire pour entreprendre des études collégiales ou universitaires, c’est beaucoup plus que simplement connaître les exigences liées à l’obtention du diplôme. C’est comprendre comment apprendre dans un environnement différent, souvent axé sur l’autoapprentissage. C’est savoir quels sont les services et soutiens offerts lorsque des obstacles doivent être surmontés. Tisser des liens sociaux sur nos campus, c’est beaucoup plus que se faire des amis et créer des communautés. C’est comprendre sa propre identité et sa façon d’entrer en relation avec les autres. C’est comprendre l’impact de ses agissements et comment les autres en sont affectés. Et la liste continue.

Quand je réfléchis à mon dernier mois de travail, je songe au rôle de l’ASEUCC et à la manière dont il reflète le caractère multidimensionnel des besoins des étudiants de nos établissements. Plus d’un an a passé depuis la mise en place de notre nouvelle structure organisationnelle, et je suis ébahi par les propositions extrêmement porteuses de sens formulées par les membres pour s’assurer que nous disposons des outils requis pour soutenir de façon globale nos étudiants. Il a fallu que bien des gens démontrent un leadership et un intérêt hors du commun pour assurer la poursuite de notre travail collectif et maintenir la pertinence de notre organisation dans un contexte en constante évolution. J’ai écrit au sujet de nos Communautés et de l’espoir que j’ai que tous nos membres puissent trouver un foyer professionnel au sein de l’association. Nos Communautés témoignent également du fait que nous voulons exposer nos étudiants à un vaste éventail de possibilités qu’ils devront s’efforcer de comprendre, dont ils devront tirer des enseignements et qu’ils devront apprendre à connaître au fil des transitions qui marqueront leur parcours postsecondaire. La

nature multiple des expériences étudiantes doit se refléter dans notre manière de travailler avec eux. Au moment où nous constituons notre base de connaissances collective pour soutenir la réussite étudiante, nous devons savoir ce que fait l’autre.

Pour les étudiants, il ne devrait y avoir aucun mauvais point d’accès sur nos campus.

Cependant, nous devons aussi être attentifs et bien réfléchir à ce qu’est la réussite étudiante. Nos gouvernements, le grand public et les établissements d’enseignement ont une bonne idée de la manière de définir la réussite étudiante. Nous voulons que nos étudiants persévèrent, nous voulons les voir obtenir leur diplôme et nous voulons savoir qu’ils auront de brillantes carrières après leurs études. Mais qu’est-ce que cela signifie pour les étudiants à qui nous offrons nos services? L’ASEUCC et toutes ses Communautés de pratique peuvent favoriser la tenue d’une conversation fructueuse à cet égard. Et c’est une conversation importante parce qu’après tout, les premières impressions sont durables. Les étudiants doivent voir et sentir qu’ils réussiront pendant qu’ils sont avec nous et une fois qu’ils auront quitté nos campus.

Au moment du changement de saison, où chacun de nous reprend le travail (qui est tout sauf routinier!), j’espère que vous prendrez un petit moment pour vous

rappeler les sentiments et l’enthousiasme ressentis à l’arrivée des étudiants sur nos campus. Pensez à tous les aspects de la transition que vivent les étudiants et songez à ceux à propos desquels vous ne savez peut-être pas grand-chose. Sortez de votre zone de confort, tissez des liens avec d’autres membres de l’ASEUCC et d’autres collègues, apprenez quelque chose de nouveau. Et donnez l’exemple de ce que nous attendons de nos étudiants.

Vous pouvez communiquer avec David à l’adresse suivante : president@cacuss.ca

UPCOMING

IMPORTANT DATES

Check the website for exact dates!

JANUARY 2016

FEBRUARY 2016

Call for Proposals for CACUSS 2016 closes Call for Reviewers for CACUSS 2016 closes

Nominations/Applications for Awards and Grants Applications for CACUSS Committees Nominations for the 2016-17 Board of Directors

May 1, 2016

June 19-22, 2016

Early Bird Deadline for CACUSS 2016 Registration

CACUSS 2016, Winnipeg, MB

June 11-14, 2017 CACUSS 2017, Ottawa, ON COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 5

Executive Director Update

I

t was a great pleasure to meet so many new members at our largest-ever conference this past May in Vancouver. In addition, I enjoyed seeing many of you who have been CACUSS supporters for many decades.

The combination of new ideas and fresh perspective with experience and expertise is one of the cornerstones of our organization.

Another cornerstone of our organization is the objectives that the Board of Directors has outlined in our strategic plan. The plan1, which was approved in 2012, has guided us in making decisions in a very deliberate way. This intentionality was demonstrated when the Finance Committee and the Board of Directors discussed a nice problem to have: an operating surplus and significant retained earnings.

Due to higher-than-projected conference revenues in 2013 and 2014, CACUSS was faced with a relatively large sum of money that we carried forward on December 31, 2014. When we were developing our operational goals for 2015, we decided to focus these resources specifically on outcomes-oriented projects that would advance our strategic objectives. We are hoping that when we meet again in Winnipeg from June 19-22, 2016, we will be able to report on the successful results and progress of these initiatives.

Professional Development Many of you participated in our member “Needs Assessment” project in 2014-15 where we examined the needs of members specifically as it related to professional development.

The Board of Directors considered the results2 and recommendations of this project, and prioritized them to move forward. As a result, we have set aside between $50,000$75,000 to support the development of a Canadian Student Affairs learning framework, as well as the construction of a Jennifer Hamilton professional development plan for CACUSS. We are currently reviewing proposals for a consultant to help us shape the learning framework and hope to be able to move forward on a comprehensive plan within the next 12 months.

Research CACUSS dedicates between $13,000 and $18,000 annually to support research and member recognition. This amount reflects a relatively small percentage of our annual budget. We know that there is great work happening by faculty, doctoral students, and practitioners. CACUSS wants to support and influence excellent applied research projects that shape our field in Canada. In order to support this work, we have: • Allocated an additional $45,000 to support research for the next three years ($15,000/year).

• Added a second “Call” for research/special project grant applications; now members can apply in October and February for funding.

• In addition, we have developed a new Research/Awards Committee, which will focus on fine-tuning our research grant process, as well as making progress towards a Canadian Student Affairs Research Agenda.

Knowledge Source/Resource The Board has also decided to add additional resources to our goal of being the Knowledge Source and Resource for student affairs professionals. This objective is meant to build the resources available to support your work, reflect and celebrate best practices in student affairs in Canada, and hopefully encourage and support further research. We have set aside: • $50,000 towards evaluating, updating, and improving our website and technical capabilities as an organization; • $15,000 towards curating our current/existing resources and building a 6 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

•

searchable catalogue that reflects the communities of CACUSS and builds a knowledge base for professionals of all levels; and $5,000 towards our monograph program, encouraging the development and incubation of new monographs.

As you can see, this represents a total of approximately $175,000 over the next two to three years to move CACUSS towards meeting the needs of our members and advancing our role as the leader of Student Affairs and Services in Canada.

I am very proud of the work that our organization has done in effectively stewarding our limited resources and making very intentional decisions. This plan ensures that our resources are spent in a responsive and responsible way, and it is our hope that they will ultimately create a greater return on your investment in CACUSS. Please be in touch to share your comments or ideas, on Twitter @cacusstweets or by e-mail at cacuss-ed@cacuss.ca Please be in touch. cacuss-ed@cacuss.ca @cacusstweets Copies of the Strategic Plan and Operational Plan can be found at www.cacuss.ca/current_projects_strat_plan.htm 2 Copies of the summary of the Needs Assessment project can be found at www.cacuss.ca/about_current_projects.htm 1

Mise à jour de la directrice générale

C

e fut un grand plaisir de rencontrer un si grand nombre de nouveaux membres lors du congrès de mai dernier à Vancouver, qui a été le plus grand congrès jamais tenu par l’ASEUCC. J’ai aussi été ravie de revoir beaucoup d’entre vous qui appuyez l’ASEUCC depuis des décennies. La combinaison entre idées et perspectives nouvelles d’une part et expérience et expertise d’autre part est l’une des pierres angulaires de notre organisation.

Les objectifs que le conseil d’administration a définis dans notre plan stratégique sont une autre pierre angulaire de notre organisation. Nous nous sommes guidés sur ce plan1, qui a été approuvé en 2012, pour prendre des décisions mûrement réfléchies.

Des décisions dont le caractère intentionnel a été démontré lorsque le comité des finances et le conseil d’administration ont discuté de ce que l’on pourrait qualifier de « beau problème » : un excédent de fonctionnement et de substantiels bénéfices non répartis. Les congrès 2013 et 2014 ayant généré des recettes plus importantes que prévu, l’ASEUCC disposait d’une somme relativement importante qui a été reportée à l’exercice financier suivant le 31 décembre 2014. Lorsque nous avons élaboré nos objectifs opérationnels pour 2015, nous avons décidé d’allouer ces ressources tout particulièrement à des projets axés sur les résultats qui permettraient de faire progresser nos objectifs stratégiques. Nous espérons que lors de notre prochain congrès du 19 au 22 juin 2016 à Winnipeg, nous serons en mesure de faire rapport sur les résultats positifs et les progrès de ces initiatives.

Perfectionnement professionnel En 2014-2015, vous avez été nombreux à participer au projet d’évaluation des besoins, un projet qui nous a permis d’examiner les besoins des membres, plus particulièrement en ce qui a trait au perfectionnement professionnel. Le conseil

d’administration a examiné les résultats2 et les recommandations découlant de ce projet et a établi les priorités afin que nous puissions aller de l’avant. Nous avons donc réservé entre 50 000 $ et 75 000 $ pour soutenir l’élaboration d’un cadre de formation des professionnels des affaires étudiantes du Canada et la préparation d’un plan de perfectionnement professionnel pour l’ASEUCC. Nous examinons présentement les propositions en vue de l’embauche d’un consultant qui nous aidera à donner forme au cadre d’apprentissage et espérons être en mesure de mettre en œuvre un plan exhaustif au cours des 12 prochains mois.

Recherche L’ASEUCC consacre chaque année entre 13 000 $ et 18 000 $ au soutien de la recherche et à la reconnaissance des membres. Ce montant représente un pourcentage relativement faible de notre budget annuel. Nous savons que les professeurs, les doctorants et les professionnels accomplissent un travail remarquable. L’ASEUCC veut soutenir et orienter les excellents projets de recherche appliquée qui façonnent notre domaine au Canada. Afin de soutenir ce travail, nous avons : • alloué un montant additionnel de 45 000 $ pour soutenir la recherche au cours des trois prochaines années (15 000 $/année); • instauré un deuxième « appel » de demandes de subventions pour projets de recherche/projets spéciaux; les membres peuvent désormais soumettre une demande de financement en octobre et une autre en février.

• En outre, nous avons créé un nouveau comité sur la recherche et les prix.

Il aura pour tâche de préciser les modalités de notre processus d’attribution des subventions et de nous permettre de progresser vers un programme de recherche dans le domaine des affaires étudiantes au Canada.

Source/Ressource de connaissances Le conseil d’administration a également décidé d’allouer des ressources additionnelles à la réalisation de notre objectif d’être la source/ressource de connaissances pour les professionnels des affaires étudiantes. Cet objectif vise à augmenter la base de ressources disponibles pour soutenir votre travail, refléter et célébrer les pratiques

exemplaires dans le domaine des affaires étudiantes au Canada et, nous l’espérons, encourager et soutenir la réalisation d’autres projets de recherche. Nous avons mis de côté : • 50 000 $ pour évaluer, mettre à jour et améliorer notre site Web et nos compétences techniques en tant qu’organisation; • 15 000 $ pour organiser et préparer nos ressources actuelles/existantes et constituer un catalogue consultable qui reflète les Communautés de l’ASEUCC et constitue une base de connaissances pour les professionnels de tous les niveaux; • 5000 $ pour notre programme de monographies, pour encourager l’élaboration et la conception de nouvelles monographies.

Comme vous pouvez le constater, nous prévoyons consacrer au cours des deux ou trois prochaines années un montant total d’environ 175 000 $ pour aider l’ASEUCC à répondre aux besoins des membres et renforcer son rôle en tant que chef de file des affaires et services étudiants au Canada.

Je suis très fière du travail accompli par notre organisation pour gérer efficacement nos ressources limitées et prendre des décisions intentionnelles. Ce plan nous assure que nos ressources sont dépensées d’une manière adaptée et responsable et nous espérons qu’elles finiront par générer un meilleur retour sur votre investissement dans l’ASEUCC. N’hésitez pas à nous communiquer vos idées ou commentaires via Twitter (@cacusstweets) ou par courriel (cacuss-ed@cacuss.ca).

Vous trouverez notre plan stratégique et notre plan opérationnel à l’adresse suivante : www.cacuss.ca/current_projects_strat_plan.htm 2 Vous trouverez un résumé de notre projet d’évaluation des besoins à l’adresse suivante : www.cacuss.ca/about_current_projects.htm 1

Coming Soon….

Research in Student Affairs Month Join us this January for a webinar series featuring current and ongoing research on the post-secondary student experience! Check the calendar at www.cacuss.ca for more details and to register.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 7

Catching Up with Dr. Tricia Seifert 2015 CACUSS Award of Honour Recipient

by Jessica Pilfold

T

he CACUSS Award of Honour is the highest honour given to a member of CACUSS, awarded to an individual who has demonstrated significant achievement and meaningful contribution to the development and promotion of student affairs in Canada. This year’s recipient, Dr. Tricia Seifert, is currently an associate professor in Adult and Higher Education at Montana State University; holds the status of associate professor in the Leadership, Higher and Adult Education department at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto; and leads the Supporting Student Success research group, whose members call OISE and the University of Toronto home.

I was not only lucky enough to sit at Tricia’s table at the CACUSS 2015 Closing Banquet (at my first CACUSS conference, Tricia Seifert no less!), but I also had the immense privilege and pleasure of sitting down with her post-conference to discuss her contributions to the changing landscape of student affairs and services in Canada, the role of CACUSS in the profession, and her surprise at being chosen as the 2015 Award of Honour recipient.

Having first met Tricia at CACUSS 2015, I was eager to learn how she began participating in the association. Shortly before becoming an assistant professor at OISE in 2009, she attended CACUSS 2009 at Wilfrid Laurier University, securing her work permit for the trip en route to the conference as she crossed the Canada-United States border. She says there is no better way to observe the field of student affairs in another context than to attend a national association’s annual meeting. From her arrival, Tricia was impressed by the conference’s structure and its emphasis on real connections. “I was blown away by how relational the conference was and how much time was crafted within the conference to support networking and people-to-people interaction. I remember being overjoyed by having time to sit down at lunch and have a real conversation, as opposed to those short conversations you have as you’re waiting for the next session.” As she was preparing to teach Introduction to Student Services in her first year at OISE, she called upon several people she’d met at the CACUSS conference. “Carney Strange recommended some key Canadian contacts, and I left the conference with a literal stack of business cards of people I knew I could call on. And I did!” Consequently, she is thoughtful of her own participation 8 / COMMUNIQUÉ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

at each conference she attends. “I’m really mindful of how I can pay that forward.

How do I help other new people that may be coming to the CACUSS conference for the first time meet new people, and introduce and connect them? How we welcome and orient our new members of the field is so important.”

As an aspiring student affairs professional and first-time attendee of the annual CACUSS conference this year, I too noticed the open and welcoming nature of everyone in attendance. It created a friendly and casual environment in which to facilitate connections across the Canadian student affairs community. “For new professionals, especially those just coming into the field who don’t necessarily have a graduate degree, CACUSS could be a very important initiation to the field, almost like an orientation,” Tricia says, adding that the association offers a snapshot of the field of student affairs in Canada and how its values permeate into how student affairs and services staff approach their roles. The CACUSS Statement of Guiding Principles can serve as a basis for a wide range of offerings geared towards new professionals, including workshops and webinars, but also more passive programming to communicate what the field of student affairs encompasses and how a professional association supports the field. Tricia also recognizes the value of the association for senior student affairs officers, a very different group with different needs. “CACUSS provides space for networking and an opportunity to gather, where these senior student affairs and services officers can simply have a conversation. I envision CACUSS offering high-level, targeted, issue-oriented programming around topics and challenges that most often require response from senior-level administrators.”

Speaking further about the conference, Tricia describes her enthusiasm for the sessions for each of the newly established Communities of Practice and Networks, which she feels is a powerful opportunity for CACUSS members.

“It was a brilliant way to introduce these communities. It offers members the opportunity to think about what speaks to them. Sit in on a session, brainstorm with this group of like-minded individuals, and see if their ideas and values resonate with you. Some communities are further along in their formation, maybe going from forming to storming to norming and getting ready to perform! While others are still in that forming stage, which is just as exciting.”

While currently an associate professor at Montana State University, Tricia maintains strong ties to the Canadian student affairs community as the primary investigator of the Supporting Student Success research project. Started in 2010 during her time at OISE at the University of Toronto, the project has gained steam in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. “It’s so far from being at its conclusion. As we speak, I have at least nine things written down that the team is currently working on that have come out of this research, and by and large, it is data that are really unique,” she reveals with excitement. The project looks at organizational structure and culture, and its relationship to student retention and completion. Much of the current literature focuses on individuals’ roles and how professionals perceive the scope of their respective portfolios, making the Supporting Student Success project so interesting and unique.

Tricia says, “I don’t know of any other dataset that has asked faculty and staff about their perceptions around the organizational culture with respect to student persistence and retention efforts. How do faculty and staff know about program services that exist to support student success? We’re asking these sorts of organizational and knowledgebased questions, in that context, for what seems to be the first time. So there’s a lot of work to do, and it’s really exciting!” A second piece of the project involves updating the Blueprints for Student Success website, recently completed in September 2015.

Also on her plate? Co-authoring the third volume of How College Affects Students, the award-winning review of the research on the impact of post-secondary education on students by Ernest Pascarella and Patrick Terenzini, a book that many student affairs professionals have on their bookshelves. While reading and researching for the chapters she wrote, Tricia gained a clear sense of the importance of student

affairs professionals to the student experience, and their role going forward. “Clearly, student affairs and services staff play such a critical role in supporting students to get connected, feel a sense of belonging, identify with a cohort or group of friends, and recognize that they can thrive in a post-secondary setting.” She sees another major opportunity coming for the field in intentionally positioning and helping faculty to understand the complementary expertise that student affairs and services staff have to offer. “Not only should we work directly with faculty, but we should create opportunities to partner with centres for teaching and learning, which often have enormous knowledge bases around pedagogical approaches, and in many cases have a really good understanding of cognitive learning theory.” She explains that opening dialogue with these centres is pivotal and often a completely underutilized partnership that could be instrumental in developing better relationships with individual faculty members and with faculties themselves. “Where the centres for teaching and learning may not have as much understanding and knowledge is around the skills and experience that student affairs and services staff bring to the table, which is knowledge around the characteristics of today’s post-secondary student, and the challenges or barriers for success that individual groups of students may experience. It’s really about bringing student development theory into a conversation with learning theory.”

This union directly relates to Tricia’s view of the future of student affairs professionals, centred on their identity as student supporters and educators. “I think the future will be in student affairs and services staff members recognizing the critical role they play in providing good service to students and figuring out processes that don’t give students the runaround. We have to do the process side well and examine those things, and find the hiccups. Students shouldn’t have to run all over campus to 17 different offices to do X. We have to figure out how to streamline processes.” She is quick to add that in addition to providing excellent service, we must accept and embrace our role and orientation as educators foremost, with unique backgrounds and skill sets. “How do we, as staff, communicate our role as educators and share that complementary expertise with faculty colleagues? We need to invite faculty to see how we can complement the great work they’re doing in the classroom with our unique skill set and knowledge.” Tricia appreciates that the field allows for people with more diverse backgrounds or work experiences to find their way into student affairs, and all of that variation and skill can be creatively applied to the issues and challenges that student affairs and services work is facing. “It harnesses a broader pool of knowledges that can be really important.”

While she is an established researcher and scholar, compassionate educator, and supportive mentor, Tricia is gracious and humble when I ask about her award. “I was so excited, but I was confused! At first I thought it was a mistake. I was so blown away and stunned that I was literally shaking. Then I called David Newman [President of CACUSS], and I left the craziest message on his voicemail. I was so overwhelmed and so honoured, and I still feel that way.” She is quick to recognize her colleagues that are making amazing and deserving contributions to the field; knowing who has received the Award of Honour in the past, Tricia feels a tremendous honour to be in such company. Which is how I feel during our entire interview. Congratulations, Tricia!

Follow Tricia Seifert on Twitter @TriciaSeifert. The Supporting Student Success research team shares its research findings and implications at www. supportingstudentsuccess.wordpress.com, or follow the project on Twitter @CdnStdntSuccess.

Jessica Pilfold is a student in the Student Development and Student Services field in the Master of Education in Higher Education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. She was the CACUSS graduate summer intern in 2015 and can be reached at jessica.pilfold@mail.utoronto.ca.

Okanagan Charter a Call to Action on Health and Wellbeing Universities and colleges put priority on health promotion locally and globally

A

new international charter, an outcome of the 2015 International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges / VII International Congress, signals a challenge to universities and colleges to create healthier campuses and healthier communities.

“Universities and colleges must be exemplars of health-promoting communities,” says Deborah Buszard, University of British Columbia Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Okanagan campus in Kelowna, BC, where the Charter was drafted last June. “The Okanagan Charter is a powerful call to action for post-secondary institutions to embed health in our campus policies and services, to create environments which support health and personal development, and to become communities with a culture of well-being.”

Alfonso Contreras, Regional Advisor, Health Education and Social Change, Pan American Health Organization, Washington DC, describes development of the Charter as “an historical moment” of global significance. People from 45 countries designed the Charter to confront increasingly complex issues about health, wellbeing and sustainability of people and the planet. The Okanagan Charter puts higher education at the forefront of this movement. Conference delegates pledged to take the Charter back to their countries and organizations to mobilize health promotion action on and off campuses.

“The goal was to strengthen a movement that was already developing for health promoting universities and colleges,” says Mark Dooris, Professor in Health and Sustainability at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, “Integral to that was to develop a Charter that gives a sense of direction, a map of where we go from here.”

“The Okanagan Charter is especially valuable because it is visionary, inspiring and also very practical, with an action framework that can be adapted to any campus,” says Claire Budgen, Conference Chair and Associate Professor Emerita Nursing at UBC Okanagan.

Aligned with the World Health Organization’s Cross Sector Action and Healthy Cities movements and the United Nation’s Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Okanagan Charter reflects the latest research and thinking in health promotion.

“Universities and colleges have unique potential as living labs, to develop, test and model policies and best practices that can be translated for use in other communities,” notes Tara Black, Co-chair of the Charter Working Group and Associate Director of Health Promotion at Simon Fraser University.

For more information on and to view the Charter, please go to www.internationalhealthycampuses2015.com/charter-renewal/

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 9

Storientations:

rooted in our social story of masculinity). I think you understand where I’m going (if you’re ever suffering from insomnia, you can read my dissertation at http://hdl. handle.net/10402/era.39848 to learn more).

Narrative Ontology in Student Affairs

Storying Growth Mindsets towards Social and Academic Belonging

by Neil Buddel

T

homas King (2003), a notable Aboriginal educator, invites us to consider the philosophical roots of human experience when he suggests that we are stories: the truth about stories is that’s all we are.

Consider that for a moment: Are we stories?

Cultural, Social, and Family Stories Shape our Values, Dispositions, and Beliefs If you have not (yet) answered a resounding “yes” to the posed question, imagine Santa Claus for a moment. One of the most iconic capitalist symbols in North America features a jolly, older gentleman (temporally paused around age 70), who monitors children’s behaviours and delivers presents to them on Christmas Day: toys for the nice and coal for the naughty.

And it’s a story.

As children, we are told the story about Santa – from the elves making toys in the North Pole and Santa’s archaic (and somewhat creepy) tracking list, to reindeer that fly his sleigh around the world in a matter of hours. We are told this story by parents/ guardians, older siblings, aunts and uncles, the media, and even strangers. They further reinforce the story by asking questions associated with the story plot: Have you been a good child? What’s on your list for Santa? Canada Post even assumes a prominent role in the story by facilitating children’s letters to this omnificent being.

We later learn it was “just” a story. (If you didn’t know this – surprise!)

Nonetheless, the story shapes us. We all felt the motivation to behave in order get the toys on our list, and we were fearful when we misbehaved and were threatened with “Santa saw that” (though now it’s Elf on the Shelf, which is a whole other level of mystical creepy).

The story of Santa shaped our values, dispositions, and beliefs – or habitus, according to Bourdieu (1984) – as children. We believe that this strange man flies all over the world in a matter of hours to deliver presents to good boys and girls. We value being good in order to be on Santa’s nice list in order to get the presents we asked for. Our dispositions or behaviours are congruent with the story, from writing letters to Santa and going to bed early to leaving out cookies and milk for him… and carrots for the reindeer!

Cultural, social, family, and self-stories (to name a few) shape our habitus (values, dispositions, and beliefs).

The Santa story is ubiquitously embedded in our cultural fabric to the extent that, as adults, we have an assignment. Our role in the story is to perpetuate the story, to never rob a child of the magic of the season - or of a parent’s right to use coercive methods (i.e., being on Santa’s naughty list) to control behaviour.

There are more examples, but I will stop myself from further commenting on the role of stories and social issues (though look at Jeff Perera’s TedTalk, The Ladder of Manhood, where he argues that the roots of sexual and gender oppression can be 10 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

We are stories. They shape our perceptions and behaviours in our social world, and, therefore, we need to bring this ontological commitment to our work in student affairs and the student experience.

Working with stories, we can shape a student’s habitus in profound and positive ways.

Indeed, such an orientation holds significant potential for enhancing how we facilitate students’ personal, social, and academic success as they transition in, through, and out of our postsecondary institutions.

Imagine a system where students are not segregated based on complex and nonexclusive identity constructs, but build community through their diversity. This system is also designed to level the playing field – to equalize capital – for those underrepresented in postsecondary education, who enter liminality (Heilbrun, 1999) where the stories of their lives no longer make sense. Of note, this system, by attending to the interrelationship of stories and habitus, incorporates elements proven to enhance social and academic belonging for underrepresented students towards both short-term and long-term results, including increased self-efficacy, grade point averages, and retention.

Such is the potential of wise, brief psychosocial interventions – the foundation of storientations – towards fostering growth mindsets.

Wise interventions are precise psychological interventions and have demonstrated efficacy in enhancing social belonging and grade point averages for underrepresented or marginalized students in postsecondary education, by targeting student’s implicit theories of personality and intelligence.

Yeager and Dweck (2012) discussed the literature concerning entity theories (where personal traits are regarded as fixed) versus incremental theories (where personal traits are regarded as malleable and something that can develop), concluding that, to face the ubiquity of challenges in the postsecondary world (and life in general), students who believe (or who are taught) that traits are malleable tend to be higher achievers and resilient through challenges.

Possessing a growth mindset is key to navigating and succeeding through adversity and such psychological interventions are efficacious because they “change students’ mind-sets to help them take greater advantage of available learning opportunities” (Yeager and Walton, 2011, p. 274), particularly when restraining forces exist (e.g., worries about ability or negative stereotypes).

Yeager and Walton (2011) concluded that saying is believing interventions that attend to the “specific underlying psychological processes that contribute to social problems or prevent people from flourishing” (p. 73), have been proven to enhance outcomes for marginalized populations in postsecondary education. Similar conclusions have been demonstrated in numerous studies (Walton, 2014; Walton & Cohen, 2011; Walton, Logel, Peach, Spencer, & Zanna, 2014; Yeager & Walton, 2011) Storientations: Beyond Marginalizing Interventions towards Resilience Evident from the modest discussion above, when stories (particularly from upper-year student peers) were used in treatment groups to normalize the academic and social transition, treatment students performed better academically and experienced greater social belonging, which increases retention (Tinto, 1993).

The focus is on resilience and developing a growth mindset [incremental theory] versus signs of not belonging or lack of ability [entity theory] for all students

at postsecondary institutions, which will have a differentially positive effect on underrepresented students’ academic and social transitions. Such an approach could be realized through storientations as a tool.

Key Messages and Conceptual Approach Storientations could involve information about how personal traits are malleable and stories from upper-year students reinforcing the message that academic and social transitions are an adjustment for everyone but that things get better.

Following this, students could be asked questions regarding what they learned and how they will incorporate the learning into their plan for academic and social success, which can culminate into a mini-essay. In an integrated campus systems, this essay could then be shared with students’ advisors so that, when advisors follow up with students experiencing difficulties, conversations can begin with the student’s own story.

Further, if storientations are mandatory for all students (as a bridging or preorientation), certain student populations are not treated at a deficit, “requiring” intervention; it is simply part of the program for everyone.

The stories should attend to key features associated with growth mindsets (i.e., incremental theory of trait) as follows: Challenge is normal in the transition to college. Social and academic transitions might be difficult (you might feel like you don’t belong or not smart enough or both).

You have the ability to succeed. We all have the capacity to learn and grow, and need to commit to our goals and the learning experience.

It gets better. Sometimes, it just takes time, as there’s so much change.

In some form, students will listen to a story that matters and be asked to write a brief reflection along the following prompts: •

I learnt the transition to college can be…

•

If I experience challenges, I will tell myself the following about my ability to succeed:

•

•

I have…

•

I am…

•

I can…

My overall advice to myself to be a college graduate is…

Storientions would be specific tools, not an overhaul of existing practices, and used to build community (students realize that transitional challenges are something that all community members experience together; it’s not an isolated experience; students also feel that the community cares for their wellbeing as other students are invested in their success), build capacity (students receive functional information about essential components of the transition that those with a history of postsecondary attendance may already know; in such a way, building capacity is about equalizing cultural capital), and build confidence (adversity is storied as a normal part of the transition to postsecondary life).

The use of storientations to foster growth mindsets towards enhancing academic and social belonging (particularly in the face of adversity for underrepresented students) holds potential as a tool for the masses. This piece is simply a (hopefully enticing) invitation to read more and reflect on the possibilities and your own work as a student affairs professional.

Neil Buddel is the Dean of Students – Student Life Enhancement at Centennial College and can be reached at nbuddel@centennialcollege.ca.

References Berger, J.B. (2000). Optimizing capital, social reproduction, and undergraduate persistence: A sociological perspective. In J.M. Braxton (Ed.), Reworking the student departure puzzle (pp. 95-124). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste.

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Braxton, J.M., Sullivan, A.V.S., & Johnson, R.M. (1997). Appraising Tinto’s theory of college student departure. In. J.C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research volume XII (pp. 107-164). New York, NY: Agathon Press.

Clandinin, D.J. (2013). Engaging in narrative inquiry. Walnut Creek, CA : Left Coast Press.

Colombo, E., & Rebughini, P. (2012). Children of immigrants in a globalized world: A generational experience. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York, NY: Collier Books.

Esping-Andersen, G. (2004). Unequal opportunities and the mechanisms of social inheritance. In M. Corak (Ed.), Generational income mobility in North America and Europe (pp. 289-314). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Finnie, R., & Mueller, R.E. (2010). They came, they saw, they enrolled: Access to postsecondary education by the children of Canadian immigrants. In R. Finnie, M. Frenette, R.E. Mueller, & A. Sweetman (Eds.), Pursuing higher education in Canada: Economic, social, and policy dimensions (pp. 191-216). Montreal and Kingston, ON: Queen’s Policy Studies Series, McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Grace, A.P., & Wells, K. (2007). Using Freirean pedagogy of just IRE to inform critical social learning in arts-informed community education for sexual minorities. Adult Education Quarterly, 57, 95-114.

Heilbrun, C. G. (1999). The rewards of liminality. In C. G. Heilbrun (Ed.), Women’s lives: The view from the threshold (pp. 83-103). Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.

Longden, B. (2004). Interpreting student early departure from higher education through the lens of cultural capital. Tertiary Education and Management, 10, 121-138.

Marker, M. (2004). The four Rs revisited: Some reflections on First Nations and higher Education. In L. Andres and F. Finlay (Eds.), Student affairs: Experiencing higher education (pp. 171-188). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.

Rendon, L.I., Jalomo, R.E., & Nora, A. (2000). Theoretical considerations in the study of minority student retention in higher education. In J. M. Braxton (Ed.), Reworking the student departure puzzle (pp. 127-156). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.

Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Walton, G.M. (2014). The new science of wise psychological interventions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(1), 73-82.

Walton, G.M., & Cohen, G.L. (2011). A brief social-belonging intervention improves academic and health outcomes of minority students. Science, 331(6023), 1447-1451.

Walton, G.M., Logel, C., Peach, J.M, Spencer, & S.J., Zanna, M.P. (2014). Two brief interventions to mitigate a “chilly climate” transform women’s experience, relationships, and achievement in engineering. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(2), 1-18.

Webb, J., Schirato, T., & Danaher, G. (2014). Understanding Bourdieu. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Yeager, D.S., & Dweck, C.S. (2012). Mindsets that promote resilience: When students believe that personal characteristics can be developed. Educational Psychologist, 47(4), 302-314.

Yeager, D.S., & Walton, G.M. (2011). Social-psychological interventions in education: They’re not magic. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 267-301.

Zepke, N., & Leach, L. (2005). Integration and adaptation: Approaches to the student retention and achievement puzzle. Active Learning in Higher Education, 6(1), 46-59.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 11

CACUSS Communities TERMS OF REFERENCE

Approved September 2, 2015 CACUSS approved the Terms of Reference for CACUSS Communities on September 2, 2015. This document outlines the basic expectations of Communities and Co-chairs.

To view this document visit www.cacuss.ca

12 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

Three-Day Pre-Orientation Program for First-Year University Students with Disabilities

by Nina Hindrichs

T

he Meighen Centre for Learning Assistance and Research at Mount Allison University just completed its fourth year of the Pre-Orientation Program. This program is closely based on the program outline in an article by Gomez (2015). This article highlighted the importance of providing students with disabilities the necessary services to help them succeed in college while also allowing for these students with disabilities to adapt to college life before the general student population arrives to campus. Most universities and colleges provide services to students with disabilities, but to our knowledge we are one of the only, if not the only, university in Canada that offers a pre-orientation program. The Meighen Centre PreOrientation Program was free to the students thanks to the funding provided by the Scotiabank Innovations Fund.

Past research by Mamiseishvili and Koch (2010) highlighted the importance of first-year students socially integrating into university life. Students who were able to accomplish this were more likely to continue on to their second year of studies.

Social integration was more predictive of continuation than academic integration (making connections with faculty). Our Pre-Orientation gave students a head-start on their social integration, because it allowed them to make social connections that have continued after the end of Pre-Orientation.

Our Pre-Orientation Program spanned three days. On the first day, students arrived at the Meighen Centre and were given a welcome bag with a Mount Allison t-shirt, two pens, a gift pack from a local store, and a Mount Allison binder. This binder contained the schedule for Pre-Orientation, a list of important contacts at the centre, a check-list of tasks they needed to complete before school started, a map of the campus, the school calendar of events, and FAQs about the Meighen Centre Services. They then received their residence keys and were given time to move in and get settled. The first-year students and their parents were invited to have dinner with the Meighen Centre staff and the Pre-Orientation volunteers. The staff, volunteers, and students also had lunch and dinner together for the remainder of Pre-Orientation.

We felt it was important to eat meals together so that the students could get to know the staff, as well as make friends and to feel included.

On the first evening, there was a welcome meeting. The parents were given a presentation that gave more information about the Meighen Centre and offered reassurance that their children were in good hands. The students met with volunteers to play icebreaker games and get to know each other. This event was a big success. The students seemed to enjoy themselves, as many of them stayed past the event end time.

On the second day, students were given a tour of the student centre and all the

services available to them in the building: fitness centre, café, wellness centre, and bookstore. They were able to get their student identification cards and textbooks before the bookstore was overwhelmed with all the returning students trying to do the same. The students participated in an activity called “Get to Know Your Way Around”. They were divided up into small groups according to the classes they were taking and were brought to each of their classrooms so they knew where to go on their first day of classes. This activity also included a tour of the town so they could get an idea of what is available to them. Students were allowed to use the time between this event and dinner to finish moving into their rooms or pick up supplies in town, but we also gave them the option to come to the Meighen Centre and play board games with volunteers.

The third day began with the Technology Session, which consisted of a short tutorial on the assistive technology available to these students, as well as showing the students how to navigate the important websites for their classes. In the afternoon, they went to Silver Lake, a local swimming area. The social events continued after dinner with organized games in the gym, followed by a bonfire, which concluded Pre-Orientation. The next morning the students were able to make appointments with the Meighen Centre Coordinator for any further questions before the term started. In the first few weeks of the term, we saw as many of the first-year students as we could, to make sure everything was organized for their term and to keep them coming into the centre.

Overall, the goal of Pre-Orientation was two-fold: (1) to give students the necessary information about the services available to them on campus, and (2) to allow students to adjust to campus before all the other first-year and returning students arrived. The general consensus from the students was that Pre-Orientation helped them adjust to life at university.

There are some aspects of the program that will change for next year. There was a Facebook group for attending students; however, it was started later than we had hoped. Next year, the group will be launched at the very beginning of the summer before the students arrive. This will give them more time to ask questions, get to know each other, and stay updated on activities for Pre-Orientation. Additionally, we plan to re-vamp the technology session. This session is necessary and has very interesting information; however, it needs to be a little more interactive to hold all the students’ attention.

We sent out a survey to the students for feedback on how they enjoyed PreOrientation. Generally, students felt more positive about starting at Mount Allison following Pre-Orientation than they felt before arriving to campus. The large majority of the students attended at least half of the events. All of these students thought the technology session was helpful; one student even named it their favourite PreOrientation event. The bonfire was most listed as the favourite event. Other favourite events were playing board games, the Movie Night, and Get to Know Your Way Around. These students reported feeling comfortable approaching the volunteers and Meighen Centre staff, and felt included in the activities they attended. Only one student who filled out the survey felt they did not make friends during this time. We still see the students who became friends during Pre-Orientation continuing their friendship into this term. Overall, Pre-Orientation fulfilled our goals of social and academic integration.

Nina Hindrichs is a Meighen Centre Assistant and Mount Allison University and can be reached at ndhindrichs@mta.ca.

References Gomez, C. (2015). 5-day program helps students with disabilities transition to college more smoothly. Disability Compliance for Higher Education, 20, 1-5. doi: 10.1002/dhe.30053 Mamiseishvili, K. & Koch, L. C. (2010). First-to-second year persistence of students with disabilities in postsecondary institutions in the United States. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 54, 93-105. doi: 10.1177/0034355210382580

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 13

The Last Six Weeks

by Nicole Crozier

T

he first six weeks. It’s when students venture onto campus for the first time. It’s when they meet their fellow classmates, and begin forming friendships that will last the next four years. It’s when they learn exactly what we mean when we say “University isn’t high school.” And it’s when they learn what being independent really means.

As student affairs professionals, we all know the importance of the first six weeks of the school year. That’s why we plan orientation weeks, launch mentoring programs, and run workshop after workshop. These weeks are crucial to ensuring students are successful and persist at university.

#RoadtoRyerson. For the last two years, Ryerson has invited a small number of students to share their stories of transitioning to university through a series of blog posts, videos, and social media posts over the last few weeks of the summer/first weeks of the semester. All students are encouraged to contribute their voice and share their story using the hashtag #RoadtoRyerson on social media.

Ask a SMUdent. Saint Mary’s University provides the opportunity for incoming students to ask a question directly to an upper-year student. Students can submit a question via a webform and will receive an email response from an upper-year student. All questions and responses are also aggregated on the website for other students to browse and view.

I’m not advocating for you to stop thinking about the first six weeks. That period of time will always remain critically important. I am advocating for you to begin considering the last six weeks. It’s essentially uncharted territory, with a great deal of potential and possibility. Let’s explore!

Nicole Crozier is the Coordinator, New Student Transition at Queen’s University and can be reached by email at nicole.crozier@queensu.ca or on Twitter @n_crozier.

What if I told you that this intense focus on the first six weeks was a bit outdated?

Levitz and Noel conducted their research and solidified the importance of the first six weeks back in 1989. At the time they did their research, orientation was the first opportunity for students to meet and interact with their classmates. It was only once students were on campus that resources were able to promote themselves and their services. Communication with students was primarily by mail, and a checklist and handout was about all the information we could realistically provide.

That’s how it used to be, but it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. In fact, it isn’t that way anymore. Now, we all have the ability to create robust websites full of information. We can send as many emails as we want. We have the power of social media on our side. The technology exists to create videos, run webinars, and facilitate interactive online sessions. Let’s step back from the first six weeks for a minute, and start putting some thought into the last six weeks.

We currently have greater access to students prior to their arrival on campus then we ever have in the past. With this in mind, how can we help students build relationships, create realistic expectations, and develop a solid foundation before they even set foot on campus? Taking a look at the list of goals and objectives we all have for orientation, how can we be working towards these outcomes before students even arrive?

Since the ability to reach students this early is relatively new, proven strategies and best practices are few and far between. However, some institutions appear to have put some thought into this pre-arrival period, so here are a few ideas to spark your thinking: Class of 20XX Facebook groups. These groups have become a staple of summer outreach and act as a forum for incoming students to get to know each other, to hear directly from upper-year students, and to have their questions answered in the blink of an eye.

E-mentoring. Woodsworth College at the University of Toronto sets up all incoming students with an upper-year student e-mentor. The mentor is there to answer any student questions over the summer, and the program has additional webinars and e-resources.

14 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

Follow CACUSS! CACUSS sends out weekly member digests via email. For up to the minute member news and updates, follow us on twitter @cacusstweets or Like our facebook page www.facebook.com/cacuss.

Scott: New York, New York seems like a long way from Oshawa, Ontario…

Scene 3 – The Actors Narrator: With the vision of the play coming along, Scott and Ariana were beginning to feel more confident with how the process was going. The script was almost final, the characters formed, and the storyline of First Year Me was coming to life. It would take place during September Orientation at the historic Regent Theatre in Downtown Oshawa and would follow the hilarious and sometimes challenging lives of seven first-year students. Open auditions would take place in a few weeks to find the perfect students to help bring the script to life on stage.

First Year Me

by Scott Dempsey and Ariana Spencer

T

he Prologue - Scott’s Office Scott: You know what would be cool? If we wrote our own play this year for September Orientation!

Ariana: What? I don’t know. We aren’t professional playwrights…

Scott: I know we aren’t, but I think it’s a good idea to highlight some of the issues and hesitations a first-year student might face in an informative but funny way.

Ariana: You’re right…but you know that September Orientation is in a few months? Can we do this?

Scott: Why not try? If we start now we can do it.

Scott: I guess we should think about hiring some actors, maybe a director as well.

Ariana: That’s a good idea. I don’t want to be stuck acting out the play ourselves.

Scene 4 – The Debut Narrator: With the actors hired, the director chosen, and three months’ worth of rehearsals completed, the debut day had arrived. The Regent Theatre was ready to showcase First Year Me to over 1,100 first-year students. And students did in fact laugh at Scott and Ariana’s jokes!

Scott: They’re laughing at our jokes! I might cry… I’m so proud.

Ariana: If you cry, I cry!

Scene 5 - The Debrief Narrator: With applause and cheers from the audience, Scott and Ariana felt very accomplished with how well the audience responded. First Year Me covered some pretty heavy topics and a debrief facilitated by Scott was used to help address some of those topics. Poll Everywhere, a real-time text message audience response system was used to help gather thoughts and feedback from the students.

Scene 1 – The Process Narrator: This past year, the Student Experience Centre at UOIT decided to create their own theatrical play from scratch, a daunting task for staff who are not professional playwrights. Despite the challenges, they were determined to make it happen.

Scene 6 – The Assessment

Scott: We will need to start our research by meeting with people on campus.

Scott: Oh yeah? What did it say?

Ariana: Who are you thinking about? Perhaps Student Mental Health Services, or Residence?

Ariana: Here it is: “I think that the play was really well done, and is fun and informative.

The students can really benefit from it, but in a fun way that keeps them interested, and the talk afterwards helped address very important issues at university. Good job to you!”

Scott: Exactly! And staff from the Student Learning Centre, and Outreach Services.

Ariana: Yeah! They’ll definitely be able to give us some insights into what kinds of things first-year students are facing.

Narrator: Based on these consultations, the issues that were agreed upon to be included in the play were: homesickness, sexual assault, social anxiety, consent, academic integrity, sexuality, gender, making new friends, drug and alcohol use, and sexual health.

Scene 2 – The Writing Narrator: Once the thoughts were written down, and the brainstorming had concluded, Scott and Ariana got down to writing. Characters were created, scenes were planned, and a vision was coming together.

Scott: I’m afraid our jokes won’t be funny enough. Will students think we’re funny?

Scott: Well, we did it! We made it happen.

Ariana: We sure did. I think it went over really well. There was some good feedback from a student who emailed me after the play.

Narrator: And just like that, it was decided that First Year Me would continue to be evaluated and improved upon every year moving forward.

End. Scott Dempsey is the Director – Student Experience Center at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and can be reached at scott.dempsey@uoit.ca. Ariana Spencer is the Administrative and Programs Assistant at University of Ontario Institute of Technology and can be reached at ariana.spencer@uoit.ca.

Ariana: I think we’re pretty funny! We should be nominated for a Tony Award for this. Just saying.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 15

Evaluation of an Online Pre-arrival Graduate Orientation Program

by Elizabeth Cawley-Fiset and Mitchell Miller

I

n recent years, increased attention has been paid to providing support for graduate students in postsecondary institutions. One of the primary areas of focus has been on improving the orientation experience for new graduate students, as it has been recognized that “many graduate students when first entering their respective programs are just as confused and anxious as they were as new undergraduate students” (Rosenblatt & Christensen, 1993, p. 502). A series of reports on the status of graduate students at McGill University indicated that many graduate students were not aware of critical academic requirements and support services meant to facilitate their success. For example, over a third of graduate students reported that they were unclear about the requirements necessary for graduation (34%) and more than half reported not regularly completing mandatory progress reports (54%) (McGill University Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office & The Post Graduate Students’ Society, 2013). Moreover, 26% of McGill students reported that they did not receive the emotional support they needed from their social networks, which is significantly higher (p < 0.001) than what was reported by the Association of American Universities (AAU; Di Genova, & Romano, 2013), an organization that represents the leading research universities in both the United States and Canada. These findings suggest that McGill students have not been properly socialized to their academic context and as such, lack adequate knowledge of their academic requirements and of the support resources (both personal and academic) available to them. As “a successful socialization process is critical for a successful graduate career” (Turner & Thomson, 1993, p. 357), the objective of the McGill Grad Life Online Orientation (GLO) initiative was developed to address this gap.

GLO is a short online education resource designed to familiarize incoming graduate students with critical information and resources to facilitate success during their transition to graduate studies at McGill. Prior to 2014, the University orientation for new McGill graduate students consisted of a single information fair where representatives from University administrative and support services were available for students to meet with and get information. After reviewing peer-university models, it was decided to develop a pre-arrival online orientation to exist in conjunction with the information fair. Targeted information, particularly on academic requirements, which has been reported as the most desired information by graduate students during 16 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

orientation (Poock, 2002), was the primary focus. The online format was chosen as it enabled students to easily complete the orientation prior to their arrival at McGill, and online formats have been recognized as “one of the most significant forces shaping best practices in orientation … particularly in combination with student’s affinity for and reliance upon its use as a social and learning tool” (Mason, 2010, p. 70).

The online orientation was made using McGill’s learning management system, which both offered a free technology solution and helped introduce new students to McGill’s LMS. Because the entering graduate student class is so diverse in age, all videos except for the PGSS video used motion graphics to not have to “portray” graduate students and risk alienating students who do not see themselves represented by the actors. Videos were hosted on YouTube, outfitted with closed captioning, and then embedded on individual pages in the LMS. Relevant links (e.g., to report templates, services’ websites) were included beneath each video.

After consultation with current graduate students, the Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies office, Teaching & Learning Services, Student Services’ Campus Life & Engagement, and the Office of the Deputy Provost (Student Life & Learning) on the needs and knowledge gaps of graduate students, six critical domains were identified: (1) Expectations for graduate students, (2) Supervision, (3) Mandatory progress reporting, (4) Support Services, (5) Academic & Professional Development Resources, and (6) The Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University (See Table 1 for more information).

To assess whether students had retained pertinent information from each section of GLO, a short six-item quiz was designed to test their knowledge on each of the six domains covered by the videos. Quiz items were a mix of multiple choice, true/ false, and matching questions, and each question covered a critical element of the particular knowledge domain.

Once students completed the knowledge check, a section of additional resources and information about life in Montreal and graduate studies at McGill was unlocked.

Once the resource section was unlocked, it remained as an available resource within the learning management system. After completion of the GLO module and the quiz, students were then automatically sent an email requesting that they complete the post-GLO survey.

Methods: Beta –test: GLO was launched in beta version in January 2015 and became available to all new graduate students who were admitted for Winter 2015 (n = 368), as well as those students who had been admitted for Fall 2014. A total of 69 new graduate students completed GLO (i.e., viewed all content and completed the quiz), and of those, 33 completed the feedback survey (48% response rate). Feedback from the initial release was positive and minimal changes were made prior to the official launch in Fall 2015.

The only notable change based on student feedback was to provide link to download each video’s script so that students could retain the information in written form.

Official launch: GLO was heavily advertised (e.g., emails, bookmarks, messaging in the graduate first-year guide) to the incoming class in Fall 2015 and a total of 307 students (307/ 2,667; 11.5%) watched each of the videos and completed the final quiz. Of the 307 students that completed the orientation, 104 filled out the voluntary survey (34% response rate). Of these participants, two were removed from the analysis because of incomplete responses.

In the feedback survey, students were asked to provide feedback regarding the video content, the course as a whole, as well as their self-reported knowledge of the content before and after completing GLO. For the course feedback, all questions used a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree (SD)) to 5 (strongly agree (SA)) as well as the option to indicate that a question was not applicable (N/A).

Subject

Learning Outcome

Topics Covered

Instructional Medium

Graduate student Expectations

To recall what is expected of and by a graduate student at McGill

•

Graduate student eCalendar describing McGill’s regulations, programs, and courses for the academic year Graduation time limitations Student rights and responsibilities and where this information can be found Support structures if difficulties arise Supervision website, which covers information on setting expectations, and building a successful relationship with your supervisor The role of the supervisory committee Mandatory progress tracking

Motion graphic design video

Understand the timeline to complete progress tracking annually Review who should be involved in progress tracking Topics that should be included on progress reports Wellness services (McGill Health, Counselling and Mental Health Service) including crisis support information and the eating disorders program Student Services’ personal support services Student-run services, such as McGill Students’ Nightline, sexual assault centre, and accompaniment services

Motion graphic design video

• •

Graduate student regulations: supervision

To review the supervisorsupervisee relationship

• • • •

Graduate student regulations: progress reports Graduate Student Support Networks

Motion graphic design video

To apply learned information about progress reports and other time-sensitive information To recognize the existence of a multitude of personal and emotional support services and networks available to McGill graduate students

• • • •

Academic and Professional Development

To recognize various on-campus programs supporting academic and professional development

• • • • • •

SKILLSETS: interdisciplinary professional development McGill writing centre services for graduate students Library research services Office for Students with Disabilities Career Planning Service Social Equity and Diversity Education Office workshops

Slideshow-style graphic video

Post-Graduate Student’ Society (PGSS)

To identify the role of and the services offered by the PGSS

• •

PGSS as a support service, including health insurance and family care.

PGSS activities, excursions, and social events

Narrative-style video filmed with grad students

• •

Slideshow-style graphic video

Table 1: Summary of graduate student knowledge gaps, learning outcomes, and instructional mediums for the graduate student online orientation (GLO) Students completed survey questions of the five domains (i.e., Grad expectations, supervision, progress reporting, services for students, and PGSS). The survey questions were not meant to reflect knowledge on each video specifically, but knowledge gained in a particular domain overall, which resulted in five key areas. Students were asked to report on their level of knowledge of each area prior to accessing GLO on a fivepoint Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (no knowledge) to 5 (very knowledgeable).

The same process was done to assess knowledge after completing GLO. Results were analyzed using paired samples t-tests and significance is reported at p ≤ 0.05.

As there were no changes made to GLO content following the beta-test and there were no significant differences between the two groups (for each variable p ≥ 0.07), data from the knowledge survey were pooled for analysis, for a total for 135 student responses.

Results: Videos: Overall, the majority of respondents responded favourably to the videos, including that the video quality was clear (SA: 70%, A: 23%), that the video length (1-2 minutes) was adequate (SA: 62%, A: 26%), that the audio quality was clear (SA: 68%, A: 24%), and that the information in the videos was easy to understand (SA: 65%, A: 30%).

Those students that utilized the closed captioning option (44/123) reported that the videos’ closed captioning was adequate (SA: 64%, A: 20%).

Quiz: At the end-of-course quiz, students were asked six questions that covered the specific content that was introduced in GLO videos. For the 311 participants (i.e., “class”) who completed the quiz, the average score was 90.8% with a mode of 100%. These results show that participants were successfully able to demonstrate their learning about the topics covered in GLO. Survey Pre- and Post-GLO: Results from the survey questions were analyzed using paired samples t-tests and significance is reported at p ≤ 0.05. For each of the five domains, there was a significant increase in students’ reported knowledge following GLO. Progress reporting had the largest overall percent increase in knowledge (68%) following by PGSS (54%), Support Services (43%), Supervision (31%) and Graduate Student Expectations (27%), respectively. All pre-post comparisons are significant at p < 0.001 (see Figure 1).

Course: Regarding GLO as a whole, again students responded favourably. Students responded that the content was sensibly sequenced (SA: 47%, A: 42%), that the links provided for each topic were helpful (SA: 48%, A: 32%), that the layout and graphic design throughout the course was of high quality (SA: 50%, A: 30%), and that their experience with GLO was positive (SA: 50%, A: 41%).

Figure 1: Students’ Pre & Post Self-Reported Knowledge on Five Domains COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 17

Overall, students reported a positive experience with GLO, including the actual content and aesthetics of the course offering. Moreover, the pre-post data indicates that knowledge of critical information and resources for graduate students increased significantly after completing GLO, highlighting the effectiveness of this short onlineorientation method. Of note, knowledge of progress reporting had the largest overall increase (68%), a very encouraging finding as an internal McGill report found that over half of graduate students had reported not completing progress tracking despite it being a mandatory requirement.

Moving forward we will incorporate student feedback from the survey to expand GLO. Specifically, we will aim to create two new videos in time for the entering graduate class in September 2016, which will cover the following topics: (1) financial support and (2) co-curricular involvement. Moreover, we will aim to have GLO be a mandatory pre-arrival component of the graduate school curriculum for the entering class of September 2016. Based on the positive results from the survey, as well as the nature of the content, we are comfortable requiring students to use GLO and are confident in its efficacy. Certain technical adjustments will also need to be made, such as embedding videos directly into the LMS (to circumvent YouTube’s ban in certain countries where students may be living prior to coming to McGill).

Meeting the unique needs of McGill’s growing graduate student population is challenging. GLO is one of a variety of initiatives to better acclimatize graduate students to the support services and expectations at McGill. GLO has been received positively by the graduate student population at McGill and has proven to be an efficacious method for delivering crucial academic and support information and encouraging success in their respective programs.

Elizabeth Cawley-Fiset is the Mental Health Strategy Consultant at McGill University and a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychiatry. Elizabeth can be reached at elizabeth.fiset@mcgill.ca Mitchell Miller is the Student Life Coordinator and Student Communications Advisor for Student Services at McGill University. Mitchell can be reached at mitchell.miller@mcgill.ca References Di Genova, L. & Romano, V. (2013). Student Psychological Wellbeing at McGill University: A report of the findings from the Counselling and Mental Health Benchmark Study. McGill University.

Mason, R. (2010). Orientation and First-Year Services. In Cox, D. H., & Strange, C. C. (Eds.). Achieving student success: Effective student services in Canadian higher education. (66-76). Canada: McGill-Queen’s Press.

McGill University Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies Office & The Post Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University. (2013) [Graduate Supervision Surveys].

Unpublished data.

Poock, M. C. (2002). Graduate Student Orientation: Assessing Need and Methods of Delivery. Journal of College Student Development, 43(2), 231-45.

Rosenblatt, H. S. & Christensen, C. (1993). “Welcome to the whole family”: A graduate student orientation. College Student Journal, 27(4), 502-505.

Turner, C. S. V., & Thompson, J. R. (1993). Socializing Women Doctoral Students: Minority and Majority Experiences. Review of Higher Education, 16(3), 355-70.

Queen’s Major Maps Orienting Students to University, Majors, and Careers

by Miguel Hahn

J

ust like geographic maps that help us get familiarized with our surroundings and find direction, Major Maps help students get oriented to the university experience and find their own way to meaningful career outcomes.

This past year, Queen’s University created a set of 44 degree-specific “Major Maps,” the first of their kind in Canada. The maps help students see the big picture and make connections between academics and careers, encouraging earlier career engagement and addressing multiple university priorities such as increasing experiential learning, internationalization, and student wellness.

What are Major Maps?

Major Maps are visual maps for students that provide academic, co-curricular, and career messaging specifically targeted for each undergraduate program area.

Each major map lays out a four-year timeline, suggesting activities and strategies students can use each year to make the most of their student experience and prepare for careers after graduation. The maps can be seen online at careers.queensu.ca/ majormaps. They are the first of their kind in Canada, building on the original Major Map concept from Georgia State University with innovations in content, design, accessibility, and layout.

While the maps are full of suggestions about careers or activities, they are not meant to be prescriptive. Students are encouraged to find their own unique path through education and beyond, including creating their own maps with the My Major Map tool that provides a blank template for interested students.

The maps can help prospective students choose a program of study, assist current students with identifying career options and potential learning opportunities during their degree(s), and guide graduating students as they think about ways the skills they developed at university can be transferred to the workplace.

Student Patterns of Career Engagement Encouraging early involvement in career exploration is an on-going challenge at universities. It is not uncommon for students to put off dealing with career considerations until their final year. In a recent study from the Education Advisory Board, approximately 25% of undergraduates regretted not taking more classes to prepare for careers, starting their job search earlier, and getting more experience before they graduated (University Leadership Council EAB, 2012). These patterns of late engagement leave many students uninformed about opportunities and options, unintentional about their career exploration and job searching, and unprepared in terms of gaining experience and job search skills.

What would early career engagement look like? Research shows us that early career engagement can have multiple cascading benefits for students. By getting involved in extracurricular, experiential learning, or international experiences,

18 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

students build social capital that helps with support during their students as well as networking connections that help with their job search (Hu & Wolniak, 2010).

These experiences also help them to build skills and marketable experience (ASHE, 2007), as well as discover talents and interests outside of their major (Bourner & Millican, 2011). If engaged in experiential learning or service learning, there is often a reflection component that facilitates the development of self-awareness and future career planning (Thompson, Clark, Walker, & Whyatt, 2013). Ultimately all of these experiences also provide the opportunity for growth and success that gives feelings of satisfaction and confidence (ASHE, 2007), leading to positive identity and higher retention (Berger & Milem, 1999).

If early career engagement is so desirable, then why doesn’t it happen more commonly? There are a number of potential barriers that stand in the way. Initially, there is the significant transition to university in a student’s first year, an experience that finds many students on their own for the first time, lacking a plan or clear first steps, and often lacking confidence (Schreiner, 2012). While some generic four-year plans have been created to attempt to address these gaps, students frequently have trouble relating to their general approach and complain they are not specific to their area of study (Education Advisory Board, 2012). When students do seek advice about academics and careers, they are often directed to different departments, which may make sense from an administrative perspective, but not for students who see these realms as highly interconnected (Education Advisory Board, 2012).

Initial Results Within two months of the January 2015 launch, the online maps had received 10,000 hits, 6,000 copies were distributed across campus, and Queen’s has been fielding inquiries from universities and colleges across the country, and from the media. This summer, the maps have been newly updated with a sleek new look that incorporates more content of interest to prospective students, one of the biggest users of the maps.

Additional copies of the maps will be printed to accommodate the anticipated demand and to allow for distribution at outreach and recruitment events.

Initial student response has been enthusiastic. They have said the maps reduce their feelings of being overwhelmed, by providing a sense of what to expect and a “roadmap to a well-rounded education.” In a recent survey, 88% of students felt the maps helped them feel more confident in making informed decisions about program and career plans. The most common comment from upper-year students? “I wish I had this when I was in first year!”

Miguel Hahn works as a career counsellor at Queen’s University Career Services and is concurrently completing his Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. Before moving to Kingston, he worked for seven years at the University of Toronto Career Centre in a variety of roles. Miguel can be reached at miguel.hahn@queensu.ca.

References Berger, J. B., & Milem, J. F. (1999). The role of student involvement and perceptions of integration in a causal model of student persistence. Research In Higher Education, 40(6), 641-664.

Bourner, T., & Millican, J. (2011). Student-community engagement and graduate employability. Widening Participation & Lifelong Learning, 13(2), 68-85.

Education Advisory Board. (2012). Next Generation Advising: Elevating Practice for Degree Completion and Career Success. Washington, DC: The Advisory Board Company.

Project Development and Strategic Priorities The Major Map idea was first developed by Georgia State University in 2006, and they were most generous in supporting us in the development of the idea here at Queen’s in its initial stages in the fall of 2013. The development of the maps was a collaboration across units, led by the university’s Career Services unit in the Division of Student Affairs. A Career and Academic Advising Committee provided guidance and input from academic advising and career advisors working within Faculties and Student Affairs. A project team with an Academic Advisor from the Faculty of Arts and Science, a career counsellor from Career Services, and student members provided the central oversight. Throughout the process, staff, faculty, and students were consulted and provided valuable input. This consultation not only served to improve the final tool but also engaged the stakeholders and increased ownership and investment in the project campus wide.

In addition to supporting our goal of better integrating career and academic advising for students, the Major Maps support several other university priorities. The section “Get Thinking Globally” encourages students to internationalize their degree, whether on campus or by going abroad. The section “Get Relevant Experience” connects students to the growing number of experiential learning opportunities on, and connected to, campus. Also, to support a broader focus on student wellness, the final side of the maps includes a graphic highlighting the range of student services available at the university. The Major Maps takes a complex landscape of opportunities and supports for students that are tied to a variety of university priorities, and presents them in an easy-to-use and deceptively simple tool.

Hu, S., & Wolniak, G. (2010). Initial Evidence on the Influence of College Student Engagement on Early Career Earnings. Research In Higher Education, 51(8), 750-766. doi:10.1007/s11162-010-9176-1 Impacts of Student Engagement in Research and Creative Activities. (2007). ASHE Higher Education Report, 33(4), 33-43.

Queen’s University. (2012). Student Mental Health and Wellness: Framework and recommendations for a comprehensive strategy. Retrieved from: http://www. queensu.ca/cmh/index/CMHFinalReport.pdf Schreiner, L. (2012). Thriving in Transitions: Beyond Survival Tactics. Presentations available at http://www.thrivingincollege.org/publications-and-presentations/ Thompson, L., Clark, G., Walker, M., & Whyatt, J. (2013). ‘It’s just like an extra string to your bow’: Exploring higher education students’ perceptions and experiences of extracurricular activity and employability. Active Learning In Higher Education, 14(2), 135-147. doi:10.1177/1469787413481129 Note: Excerpts from this article are based on a presentation at Cannexus 2015 and the Careering article “Helping Students Find Their Way.”

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 19

Improving Life

Homewood Health can help you support the health and well-being of your students and campus community.

Every day post-secondary students cope with varying degrees of stress and anxiety.

Some struggle with addiction, mood disorders, and eating disorders – these issues can negatively affect quality of life and lead to a lack of success at school.

Homewood has over 132 years of experience in mental health and addictions and offers a national network of expert, confidential support and treatment with our Employee and Family Assistance Programs, our outpatient Homewood Clinics, and our inpatient treatment facilities, the Homewood Health Centre in Guelph, and 360°dtx in Montreal.

We create, innovate, and collaborate every day to improve life for our patients, clients, employees, managers, insurers, and organizations.

We’re here for you.

info@homewoodhealth.com

homewoodhealth.com

Zen September: One Team’s Approach to Fostering Resilience and Defeating the Busyness Myth

by Krista Lambie

“

W

ithout doing anything, things can sometimes go more smoothly just because of our peaceful presence. In a small boat when a storm comes, if one person remains solid and calm, others will not panic and the boat is more likely to stay afloat,” writes Thich Nhat Hanh. This fall, we took a cue from this Zen master and global spiritual leader.

Our Student Affairs team entered into Orientation with an unusual commitment: We were not going to be unduly stressed or busy. Our playful mantra was “Zen September.” For anyone who has experience working at the ground level of student services, you will know just how out of touch with reality this pledge may seem.

Perhaps you found yourself, over the past months, responding to inquiries about your state of being with a single word: “busy.” Sometimes, we even wear this word like a badge of honour; our work is valuable if we are constantly in demand and on-thego. As a member of a very small Student Affairs team, in which each member wears multiple hats and tackles all manner of issues, I am guilty of the aforementioned habit. However, the thinking, work, and play that our team did over the summer months led us to a point where we wanted to debunk this practice.

The seed that grew into “Zen September” was planted over a year ago, when we undertook revamping our Orientation. Using design thinking principles, we interviewed stakeholders (e.g., parents, student leaders, non-joiners, mature students, etc.) to hear their stories of coming to Quest or parallel experiences of transition.

From these narratives we teased out key themes, the most prevalent of which was that people felt rushed, as if there wasn’t space for organic connections, saying goodbyes, and settling into a new home. We developed a new aim to design an Orientation that creates space and opportunities for authentic connections between incoming students and returning students, parents, staff members, faculty members, support services, resources, and on-campus groups. We went to work paring down our weekend program, moving crucial information into pre-arrival webinars in order to capitalize on summer time excitement. Our Orientation activities switched from large-scale events aimed at attracting all incoming students, to smaller-scale events that maximized one-to-one interactions and integrated returning and incoming

students. In hindsight, this planning created the suitable conditions for a wellexecuted Zen September.

Every spring, our Student Affairs team comes together to spend some time in retreat, reflecting on the year past and envisioning the year ahead. During this process, we map out a timeline of the upcoming academic year: charting major events, points of student stress, times of joy, and so on. While unique in its use of the block plan, Quest University Canada, like any other institution, has its semi-predictable ebb and flow.

Whether myth or reality, members of our community make known the fastpaced nature of the block plan program, in which students complete one course at a time, each in three and a half weeks. In a day, students complete the class time and course work that would take a week in a semester-based school program. In addition, we have a highly engaged student body (that one is definitely not a myth, as demonstrated by our top ranking in Maclean’s assessment of student engagement).

The majority of students spend six-to-nine hours, outside of class time, involved in group academic work and co-curricular programming. We are proud of both our academic program and our high levels of student engagement but also recognize that there has emerged a general frenetic ethos. What are the effects on student health and wellness? To what extent are we, as Student Affairs professionals, contributing to this manic quality by touting our own busyness? Should we not model the balance we hope our students to practice?

A second major theme arose from our retreat dialogue: a need to foster increased resilience. We have since explored this theme in short and interactive sessions with faculty, staff, and students. We realized that, at times, our advising, teaching, and supporting can take on the tenure of fixing instead of coaching. The latter paradigm demands that we believe each student is the best person to set their own goals and resolve their own conflicts, but require the accountability and support of another person to do so. We know, from current literature, that caring relationships that foster self-determination and competency can contribute to increased student resiliency.

So what does this have to do with Zen September? Many of us have entered this profession because we are helpers, and find ourselves addressing crises big and small, perceived and real. When we are calm and relaxed, we are able to take the time to coach students (and even fellow staff members) toward their own resolution. This method may take longer upfront, but will equip students with self-management skills so that they can resolve their next conflict independent of our support. Ultimately, this Zen approach benefits staff, faculty, and students alike.

The following are some of my practical commitments that have helped me keep September “Zen”: • Avoid using the word “busy” to describe your work life.

• Ask yourself, “Is this a crisis?” Sometimes, in our line of work, there are actual crises where human lives are at risk. However, most of our everyday interactions are not of this sort. If the answer to this question is “no,” take the time to coach the student toward their own resolution.

• Use the words, “I will think about it.”

• Ask “Have you thought about how you might address this issue?” and “Do you have people and resources that can support you in achieving this goal?”

Krista Lambie is the Manager of Accessibility, Equity, and Career Services at Quest University Canada in Squamish, B.C. Quest is Canada’s first independent, notfor-profit, secular university. Krista can be reached at krista.lambie@questu.ca.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 21

The Full Circle of Orientation

by Laura Mitchell, Laura Glover, and Monica Boulos

O

rientation is, of course, in its very essence about beginnings. For our new students, it marks a significant transition in their identity and the start of many more changes to come.

Over the course of our events at Concordia this year, however, we saw big steps in a developmental trajectory being taken in another group of students: our upper-year Student Success Mentoring team. Not so long ago arriving from across the country and the globe to start out as new students themselves, their growth and success has led them to a point where they can now welcome, guide, and support those who are just arriving. Witnessing the impact of the opportunities for these 22 students was a great reminder that while orientation exists for the incoming students, being intentional and mindful of what it can also provide for the more experienced can Photograph credit of Concordia University help us cast its benefits even wider.

Our mentoring team at Concordia contains both undergraduate and graduate students from our four Faculties, and new students are automatically assigned a mentor if they register for orientation. At present this support is specifically for the first year, although any student can drop in to the Mentoring Office and ask a question.

The responsibility of providing a welcoming, useful, and relevant introduction to university life means that orientation is a crucial piece in the full cycle of leadership development of our mentors themselves. Whether acting as team leads for events catering to hundreds or delegating tasks to one or two others, the execution of orientation requires our team to step up and demonstrate their leadership skills.

Also an extremely valuable teambuilding experience, a greater sense of cohesion is fostered over this week, as well as a sense of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and capacity to work together. We’ve also been able to see how this leadership development opportunity enlivens the mentors’ passion for their role, which in turn impacts their dedication to their work throughout the year.

As a ‘launch into the job’, as one of our team members described it, orientation also creates a space wherein our newer peer mentors can begin to practice mentoring skills, such as active listening and boundary-setting, which are developed during their training and that we hope will serve them throughout their professional lives. To see our students rise up to new (and commonly perceived as terrifying) challenges brought about the greatest pride in their professional staff colleagues.

Emceeing large-scale events and facilitating warm-ups and icebreakers in big crowds 22 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

at 9:00 a.m. on a Monday required significant courage, in addition to flexibility, interpersonal skills, and warmth.

For our own planning and design of orientation programs, the engagement our mentors have with the incoming cohorts help us to remain relevant. For this reason – tiredness notwithstanding! – consistent feedback channels and debriefing the mentors’ own experiences during orientation has become one of our priorities.

In a highly diverse student community like Concordia, the varied backgrounds of our mentors is also key; we know that new students see themselves in student leaders and are more likely to seek support from them for that reason.

For us as a unit and as a part of Student Services, orientation was also a reminder of how our goals are very much part of and in line with those of the University as a whole. A strategic directions initiative over the past year has outlined what’s next for Concordia and our guiding principles to get there, and it’s exciting to see what we provide in our community as central to these: to deepen learning and effect change outside the classroom, to facilitate intellectual mixing and collaboration, and to take pride in celebrating success and be purposeful in building a legacy.

Orientation helps new students get connected to their peers, their peer mentors, as well as the key players in their academic departments and student services. While students may be going through a major multi-faceted life transition, it was our greatest pleasure this year to see our peer mentors receive them warmly and help build a sense of community for them right from day one.

Dr. Laura Mitchell is the Director of the Student Success Centre at Concordia University and can be reached at laura.mitchell@concordia.ca.

Laura Glover is the Coordinator, Services for New Students at Concordia University Student Success Centre and can be reached at nspcoord@concordia.ca.

Monica Boulos is the Counsellor, Services for New Students at Concordia University Student Success Centre and can be reached at monica.boulos@concordia.ca.

DID YOU RECEIVE A COPY OF THE

2014 - 15 ANNUAL REPORT? This 12-page document highlights award winners, organizational achievements and goals from the past 12 months. It is an excellent resource if you want to catch up on all things CACUSS! It is available for download at: http://www.cacuss.ca/about_board_reports.htm

An Opportunity to Educate at Frosh: The Student Perspective

by Raumina Rezai

W

ith five years of Frosh experience, including three years as a Frosh Coordinator, I’ve had a lot of experience working to create an incredible Orientation Week for new students. More recently, for the past two years I’ve had the experience of leading trainings for Frosh Leaders, interacting with hundreds of student volunteers and learning a great deal along the way.

Orientation Week is an important part of the new student experience at McGill University, comprising of a weeklong mix of academic and social events, including Frosh. Frosh is a multi-day event jam-packed with activities that help students become familiar with their own Faculty and the students in it, the larger community at McGill, and the beautiful city of Montreal. There are a number of factors that make our Frosh particularly amazing in my eyes: the sheer size of it (over 5000 new student participants, 750 leaders, 350 logistical volunteers, and 80 student coordinators), the ability for us to have created a safe environment for alcohol consumption, and the tremendous amount of positive changes that have happened the last few years.

What I think is most significant about our Frosh is the strong presence of student involvement. There’s something very special about having students working for other students to create a positive, welcoming, and fun first week.

Not only do student leaders from all Faculties at McGill work to create Orientation Week, but we also help prepare and run a series of training sessions for all our Frosh Leaders and O-Staff (logistical volunteers). We spend all summer working to ensure that all our events are inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcome, and we want to make sure that our Leaders are entering with the same expectations. I have felt so lucky to have been a Frosh training facilitator the past two years, having had the ability to help structure the training students receive, but beyond that having had the amazing chance to individually interact with hundreds of Orientation Leaders. I’ve gained so much from this experience, and I’d love to share some of it: Sense of Ownership and Pride #HeyLookWhatIDid As a student in the Faculty of Education, much of my degree is spent learning how to speak in front of groups of people, but there’s something infinitely more special about leading these training sessions. I think a large part of it has to do with having spent all summer working on Frosh. It becomes a large part of your identity, so much so that when my fellow Coords & I spend time with others not planning Frosh, we’re often told that the “F-word” (Frosh) is banned (because otherwise it’d be all we’d want to talk about). It feels very personal then to in turn train the Leaders, to say this is something that is very special to me, and I’m training you so please don’t mess it up. As a Frosh Coordinator, I appreciate how important our Leaders are, for better or worse. No matter how long you spend planning an event for thousands of students, ultimately their individual interactions with their Leaders will be what shape the new students’ experiences, and much of these interactions will be shaped by the training the Leaders receive.

Coordinators haven’t always had the ability to hand over Frosh to the Leaders like we do today. One of the shifting changes in Frosh at McGill has been switching the responsibility of training Leaders from student volunteers (who may or may not 24 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

have Frosh experience) to McGill staff/subject-matter experts to now, for the past two years, student Coordinators that have been planning the event all summer. As someone who has been at McGill long enough to see the change, I know that it has been an incredibly positive one. (Our post-training survey results also attest to the positive change: In 2011, when student volunteers facilitated training, Leaders rated the session 2.58 out of 5; in 2014, the Coordinator-facilitated session receiving a 4.28 rating, a 66% increase.)

Two years ago when the idea of Frosh Coordinators doing the training was first introduced. I had my own reservations about whether the crucial serious tone would still be maintained, but have been so pleasantly surprised to find the amount of respect students have for their Coordinators who have planned Frosh. I think ultimately the students can tell from the way the Coordinators talk about the various topics how important it is for them, an authentic voice that volunteers and McGill staff could never have.

Creating Community during Frosh and Beyond #WeAreAllBestFriends I always ended each session I ran with a huge smile, telling students that I now considered them lifelong friends and expected them to say hi anytime I saw them during Frosh and beyond. What has surprised me is how many did, and how many continue to do. Although it’s been more than a month since the end of Frosh 2015, I still have someone come up to me every couple of days from one of my training sessions; it’s a really great feeling.

There was also a sense of community created between the Coordinators who came together to present these sessions. For each co-facilitated session, we were matched with someone outside of our Faculty, which meant we offered different views on the questions students asked, but also showed the students that although we had different Faculty Froshes, we were one big McGill Family in the end. There’s a unifying factor in having to come together with someone to present topics that can be difficult or challenging – topics surrounding inclusivity, alcohol, or consent –and there requires a certain amount of trust between you and your co-presenter. I can honestly say that one of my co-presenters is now one of my best friends.

Reconfirmed My Love & Appreciation for My #McGillFamily There was this one magical moment during one of my training sessions this year where my co-facilitator and I had presented our group with a scenario surrounding alcohol use that we wanted them to further explore. We gave them time to think, and then brought their attention back to lead a discussion on the scenario. Not only did they speak about all the important points we wanted to emphasize but also added to one another’s viewpoints with such a respectful air that I had one of those ‘I really want to cry of happiness but shouldn’t because it’ll be too embarrassing’ moments.

There’s a certain fear that your fellow students won’t care about what you have to present, but over the past two years the Leaders have continued to surprise me with the amount of respect they show for their presenters and fellow Leaders, the incredible opinions they give on topics or questions, and above all the magnitude of love they have for the new incoming students.

Not only do I end each session telling students that they must come say hi next time we meet, but I also always make a point to look at each student and say, “I am already so proud of what you’re going to do for these new students. I know you are going to do an incredible job and be amazing Frosh Leaders.”

And guess what? They do and are.* *Note: May or may not be because of my incredible training skills.

Raumina Rezai is an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Education at McGill University. 2015 was her third year being a Frosh Coordinator. She is also a VP for the Education Undergraduate Society and a Communications Assistant for Student Services’ Campus Life & Engagement office.

So Many Questions!

by Josh Hass

T

here is nothing more quintessentially “student life” than the beginning of a new school year. All of us are ready to welcome our new students, direct those who are lost, answer the same questions a few hundred times, and spend a lot of time on campus. Orientation is one of those times of the year that remind us student life folk that we sometimes have very different lives than our colleagues and friends that exist outside the post-secondary bubble.

And despite how we try to explain our part in this massive production, the same questions are still inevitable: “But it’s the long weekend, what do you mean you’re working?”

I’d love to come to your Labour Day BBQ, but I’ve got 700 Orientation Leaders to train. Can you save me some corn?

“Orientation? Like Frosh Week? Do you, like, party with everyone?”

Ummm, no.

CACUSS 2015 Photo Album Now Available on Facebook!

“Will you be home late tonight?”

Just like yesterday and Tuesday, I will be home late again tonight. But don’t worry, I still live here. Please don’t sell my stuff!

“So I guess you’re pretty busy in September, eh?”

Visit www.facebook.com/cacuss to look back on the great memories we made in Vancouver in 2015.

You’re an accountant, right? It’s pretty much tax season. Oh, you’re a caterer! In that case, it’s four weddings and a bar mitzvah all in the same weekend.

“It sounds like a lot of work. Do you enjoy it?”

Definitely. It’s the best time of the year!

Josh Hass is the Student Life Coordinator (Orientation & Transition) at the University of Toronto and Co-Chair for the Orientation, Transition & Retention CACUSS Community of Practice. Reach him by email at josh.hass@utoronto.ca or on Twitter @JackHass.

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 25

Home Away from Home: Creating Intentional Communities for Out of Province Students

by Nicola Paviglianiti and Aanchal Ralhan

I

nternational. First Generation. Aboriginal. Out of province? University campuses are becoming more diverse and are experiencing increases in nontraditional student populations (due to financial pressures and institutional goals), including new Canadians, students with disabilities, and students from different socio-economic background, just to name a few. While the changing face of post-secondary is positive in that access is increasing, it also has brought about new challenges to successfully transition students, create equitable learning outcomes, and create inclusive environments.

As out-of-province students ourselves, we experienced immense personal struggles attending university far from home and also witnessed our peers struggle in the same manner. What many people do not realize is the unique challenges we face attending university, and the fact that we self-identify as a unique cohort of students. Out of province students often have no family or friends within a close proximity, and at times travel greater distances to attend university than international students. We often do not have the luxury of a quick weekend trip home for groceries, family support when sick, or a hug from mom when an exam did not go as planned. Additionally, we can testify to the fact that out-of-province students face academic difficulties due to diverse high school curriculums and cultural differences. Based on our struggles, we had a vision for change and a need to foster an inclusive and supportive environment for the population of out-of-province students at Western University.

The formal “Out of Province Student Association” (OPSA) was proposed and formed to address the unique transitional needs of students on both a social and academic level. Under the Western Student Success Centre, OPSA is going on its successful third year and has built a community for over 1500 undergraduate and graduate students at the institution from outside Ontario. OPSA is student-run and organized, and the grassroots group addresses issues that matter to them. An extensive peer-mentorship program has been established in order to connect, over summer, incoming first-year students with an upper-year student from their home province.

Furthermore, OPSA provides social events, volunteer initiatives to orient students to London, and administers academic help sessions based on specific province needs.

Based on the success of OPSA and the hundreds of students who are engaged and involved, a student executive committee of nine other students was established in order to expand our capacity and address the unique needs of each Canadian region.

As leaders of the initiative, we have also experienced the importance of being a voice lobbying administration to provide enhanced awareness for all students at our university. For example, there has recently been the introduction of new student financial bursaries recognizing the cost of travel within Canada, and for the first time campus facilities now remain open during holidays for individuals who cannot go home. OPSA has also started to support Western recruitment efforts and orientation, in order to ensure out of province students feel at home from the start.

26 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

When prospective students have the opportunity to connect with students from their home province/city prior to accepting their offer of admission, a strong connection can be made, which can positively influence students’ decisions to attend Western.

The most effective cultivation of campus community comes from harnessing grassroots student engagement and identifying the person-environment interactions that affect students’ experiences and opportunities to thrive. The capacity of students as a resource to respond creatively to challenges is limitless, when they are empowered and given the opportunity for change. We believe OPSA should be noted as a possible model at other institutions for students to organize a grassroots “home away from home” and create an inclusive community for all students. For example, the solution of first-year peer-mentorship programs can be utilized to guide successful transitions, promote leadership opportunities, encourage personal growth, deliver support resources, and ignite engagement. This proactive approach would facilitate immediate belonging and inclusion, and would also provide students direction to already established services that are often hard to find and navigate.

We have seen first-hand that there are many learning benefits for students, staff, faculty, as well as the larger local community when a diverse student community is understood, cultivated, and empowered to thrive. What could it do for your institution?

Nicola Paviglianiti is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Western University and can be reached at npavigli@uwo.ca. Aanchal Ralhan is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Western University and can be reached at aralhan@uwo.ca.

Reflect and Restore: Come to the Camino

by Tricia Seifert and Karen Cornies

A

s student affairs professionals we can easily lose parts of ourselves in the deadlines, tasks, expectations, and responsibilities our jobs entail. We are often a noisy, frenetic profession in a culture that author Arthur Boers describes as “disconnected, disembodied and disoriented.” In that context we make decisions about what to do and not do, how to use our time, and how involved to get in any project or relationship. If we aren’t grounded in our decision-making or don’t have a clear sense of meaning and purpose, we may find it difficult to continue our work.

To find wholeness in our context requires room for focal practices and inner reflection. And yet, it can be difficult to find the place for silence and contemplation.

It can be challenging to find space for our own questions. How can we stay grounded in the midst of the intensity of our work? We may find ourselves talking about the importance of educating the whole student and forget that we are also on a journey towards wholeness. It is critical that we learn to focus and find practices to help us maintain that focus. It is difficult to bring our authentic selves to our work if we have not taken the time to reflect, ponder, wonder, and wander.

The Camino de Santiago has provided a path to wander and wonder for centuries.

To the pre-Christians, this road followed the path of the Milky Way, and took its travellers to the end of the earth. Centuries later, it was used by the Moors to reach

Disclosure in the Graduate Environment

by Chelsea E. Mohler, Emily M. Duffett, and Mahadeo A. Sukhai

I

ntroduction: Disclosure in the Graduate Environment

Spain’s northern outposts, only to be pushed back along it by Charlemagne, and it served as an arterial route for the establishment of the Roman Rite and the purging of its Hispanic predecessor. Today it is used by tourists, travellers, and explorers, as well as by confirmed Catholics and the spiritually curious as a place and space in which to engage in a moving meditation.

This spring, take a break from your everyday chaos and join your CACUSS colleagues in walking the Camino de Santiago. Combining the coolest time of the walking season with the greatest affordability, we will depart Toronto on Sunday, May 15 and land in Porto, Spain the following day. From there, we will take ground transportation to the Camino and hike for 11 days with distances that range between 16 and 30 kilometres per day. Like the thousands who have walked the Way before us, we will culminate the journey in Santiago de Compostela, returning to Toronto on Monday, May 30.

Lodging for the trip will be in simple hostels, referred to locally as albergues or refugios. We will generally sleep in rooms with ten to fifteen single beds, but there will be some nights in larger hostels and some nights in smaller rooms. Lunch will be on your own and allow you to try the local cuisine along the trail.

The trip cost is $2,600 (CAD) round trip from Toronto, with a $100 (CAD) discount for early booking by February 1. The cost includes airfare, lodging, ground transportation, and breakfasts and suppers along the Camino (excluding meals in transit and in Santiago de Compostella).

Suggested spending money ranges from 200-300 euros.

For those interested in experiencing the Camino de Santiago for academic credit, Tricia Seifert is offering a course titled, “Educators’ Search for Purpose and Meaning” through the Adult & Higher Education program at Montana State University (MSU).

The three-credit graduate-level course uses a blended format in which the class will meet asynchronously using the Desire2Learn LMS platform and synchronously using WebEx several times from January through May. Interested students should contact their graduate advisor to ensure transferability of course credit from MSU to their home institution.

For more information, please contact Karen Cornies at kcornies@redeemer.edu or Tricia Seifert at tricia.seifert@montana.edu.

Tricia Seifert is associate professor in the Adult & Higher Education program at Montana State University. You can follow her @TriciaSeifert. Karen Cornies is Dean of Students at Redeemer University College.

In most institutions, the provision of academic accommodations in the context of graduate education is reliant upon an individual service provision model, which requires disclosure of a disability of accommodation need by the student.

In graduate school, disclosure of a disability or accommodation need is a process rather than an event. A student’s needs will evolve throughout a student’s course of study as curriculum demands, the student’s research program, and/or the student’s disability(ies) change over time. Many students may choose not to disclose to the disability services office (DSO) first (or at all). Students may also make the decision not to disclose or to self-accommodate. Institutional complexity, particularly as relevant to graduate education, means that disclosure of accommodation need by the student may occur to several individuals (faculty, department heads, etc.) before the accommodations can be discussed by a team. The student and DSO (if involved) must work within the policies and procedures (if extant) of academic departments, faculties and the institution in order to organize accommodations. However, students are often unaware of these policies. DSO staff may have little to no experience assisting a graduate student to access accommodations within the program and/ or be unfamiliar with the requirements of a specific graduate program. Necessary knowledge of policies and practices that may help graduate students with disabilities may therefore be lacking. As well, policies and practices for accommodating graduate students can translate into a lag between identification of an accommodation need and implementation, potentially interfering with milestones that students are expected to meet during graduate programs.

Disclosure in the graduate environment is a complex process that involves the student and those essential to the student’s education (including DSOs, supervisors, faculty, deans, department heads) implementing a flexible accommodation plan. As the number of students with disabilities in post-secondary education is increasing, there is a need for “new approaches to provide accessible and effective instruction” to this population (Scott, McGuire, and Shaw, 2003, p. 370), as well as a need to better understand the disclosure process and the impact of doing so.

Graduate vs. undergraduate education The decision to disclose is made more difficult in graduate education due to systemic differences between the graduate and undergraduate environments. Graduate education is more independent, research-focused, and driven by timelines and milestones. For professional-stream graduate programs, there is also the issue of certification and accreditation post-completion. Professional-stream programs have the added nuance of having to complete the program within a certain time frame, often not allowing for a reduction in course load. Research-stream graduate education is often less coursework-focused, instead focusing more on research, fieldwork and writing. There are expectations that graduate students conduct much of their learning outside the classroom. There is a greater focus on discussion, learning in groups, informal seminars, and guest speakers. Many students do not realize these differences upon entering graduate education, and may struggle to find their way.

Research-stream graduate programs are less structured and rely heavily on the mentorship relationship between the student and their supervisor. The lack of structure and formality, and variety of environments encountered adds to the complexity of the graduate student environment and to the continual need for novel accommodations throughout a program. For example, a student with hearing loss has to interact with many people to figure out how to utilize FM system technology COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 27

in many different environments. Since graduate learning often happens with peers and faculty informally or in discussion groups, a student with a sensory disability is also likely to have to disclose to their peers much more often than in a lecture-based or course-based program.

In graduate education, the student may have different needs that arise or needs they may not know about until a certain point in their program. For example, a student may need a fieldwork assistant or someone to help format their thesis, whereas in undergraduate education they needed a note taker and tutor. When a student requires an accommodation for a core competency of their program, disclosure to department heads, deans, and other individuals becomes necessary (Roberts, Sukhai, Mohler, 2014). The supervisor may not have the final say in accommodations for core competencies. For example, if the student needs more time or a different format for a clinical or comprehensive exam, the supervisor will not be the decision maker in that request for accommodation.

The relationship with the supervisor can greatly influence the success of graduate education. Students must decide what is best for them in terms of disclosure, based on their interaction with the supervisor, their own comfort level, their needs, and the other supports available to them.

The choice to disclose Disclosure of invisible disabilities poses unique implications for students (Johnson, 2006), in the form of labels that carry significant stereotypes and societal stigmatization. Students with visible disabilities must also decide on disclosure during the application process or during the first meeting with their potential supervisor(s), advisor(s) or departments. All students with disabilities face the questions of how much to disclose and disclosing a need for accommodation rather than disclosing their disability.

Self-advocacy is often a major issue for many students (Johnson, 2006).

Self-advocacy and appropriate disclosure are ultimately the responsibility of a postsecondary student. The student knows their disability and needs best, and is in the best position to speak to their accommodation needs. Students need only disclose to faculty, deans, and department heads a need for accommodations as they relate functionally to work in the context of their graduate programs. However, in order for students to receive accommodations, DSO offices must receive proof of disability or diagnosis. This diagnosis is confidential and is not shared with faculty; rather, the accommodation is shared (Johnson, 2006). (For some highlights of the benefits to proactive disclosure in one’s academic journey, as well as the negative aspects, please refer to the disclosure matrix concept recently published (Roberts, 2014).)

Disclosure as Advocacy Some students, whether at an undergraduate or graduate level, choose to disclose their disability publicly in order to promote greater inclusivity and better accommodation for themselves and others. The decision to go public is highly personal and is therefore undertaken for varied reasons as suits each individual. Using disclosure as part of a process of advocacy can be enacted in any number of ways. For example, students have engaged in public lectures for other students, faculty, or staff about their disability and educational experiences to enhance awareness, promote acceptance, or improve accommodation for that particular impairment or for those with disabilities in general; have participated in committees advocating for greater accessibility or better access to accommodations on campus or in the broader community; have worked closely with DSOs to advance knowledge about particular disabilities or effective strategies for accommodation; or have lobbied specific institutions, faculties, or programs for implementation of accommodations, among other actions. Such advocacy is often undertaken for altruistic or political motives with the goal of being involved in improving the educational experience for themselves but also, more importantly, for other students who may have similar or other disabilities. Such disclosure allows the student advocate to apply personal knowledge of discriminatory gaps to lobby for systemic improvements. The challenges inherent in disclosing one’s disability in order to educate and advocate for more equitable treatment is often chosen by those singular students who find that the difficulties they encounter are balanced or even surpassed by the positive personal outcomes that they perceive flow from acting as an advocate.

28 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

Conclusions Within the graduate environment, it is important to put a plan in place for appropriate and accurate disclosure. Students, disability service providers, and faculty must realize that there is a difference between disclosing a diagnosis and the need for an accommodation. With an increased number of students with diverse needs, understanding disclosure is critical. Given the sensitivity of this issue, it is important for different university departments to work collaboratively to create an inclusive graduate education environment. A proactively designed, universally accessible graduate education environment is an ideal that requires the engagement of service providers, academic departments, schools of graduate studies and other faculties, as well as the full participation of both individual faculty members and students with disabilities.

Emily M. Duffett (emily.duffett@neads.ca) holds an MA in Sociology from Acadia University, and is Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Educational Association of Disabled Students.

Chelsea E. Mohler (chelsea.mohler@neads.ca) holds an MSc in Occupational Sciences from Western University, and is a Researcher with the National Educational Association of Disabled Students.

Dr. Mahadeo A. Sukhai (m.sukhai@utoronto.ca) holds a PhD in cancer genetics from the University of Toronto, and is Chair of the NEADS National Graduate Experience Taskforce.

References Dawson, T. ed. (2004). Universal instructional design: Creating an accessible curriculum. Teaching and Learning Services and AccessAbility Services, University of Toronto Scarborough.

Johnson, A. (2006). Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education: Barriers to Success and Implications for Professionals. VISTAS Online. Retrieved from: http:// counselingoutfitters.com/Johnson.htm National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability. (2014). The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities. Retrieved from: http://www. ncwd-youth.info/411-on-disability-disclosure Roberts, B. (2013). A lifeline for disability accommodation planning: How models of disability and human rights principles inform accommodation and accessibility planning. (Doctoral dissertation). Kingston: Queen’s University. Available at: http:// hdl.handle.net/1974/7806 Roberts, B. (2014) The disclosure question: a matrix for decision making.

Communique: Canadian Association of College and Student Services, Fall ISSN 1206-8500 p.29 Scott, S., McGuire, J.M., & Embry, P. (2002). Universal design for instruction fact sheet.

Storrs: University of Connecticut, Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability.

Shaw, R. (2011). Employing universal design for instruction. New Directions for Student Services, 134, 21-33.

Sukhai, M, Mohler, C, Doyle, T, Carson, E, Neider, C, Levy-Pinto, D, Duffett , E, and Smith, F. (2014). Creating an accessible science laboratory environment for students with disabilities: Council of Ontario Universities. Retrieved from: http:// www.accessiblecampus.ca/educators/accessible-science-laboratories/ Woodcock, K, Rohan, M, and Campbell, L. (2007). Equitable Representation of Deaf People in Mainstream Academia: Why Not? Springer. (53) 359-379.

Open Letter Regarding CACUSS 2015 Conference

by Katie Allan

I

am writing this letter to share the discouraging experience I had as part of the closing panel at CACUSS Conference 2015. In doing so, I hope to shift your perspective on how to better engage students on our campuses. Before I begin, I would like to say that I have now attended CACUSS four years in a row and have always had an enjoyable experience both personally and professionally. I have respect for CACUSS as an association and the people involved. I do, however, feel that we can do a better job engaging students in ways that allow them to share their stories and be valued in the process.

When asked to sit on the closing panel, I was very excited to represent the student voice. Since I had been an undergraduate student for seven years, while working in student services for three of those years, I felt that I had good experiences and perspective to share. I had previously sat on a provincial conference panel discussion and found it to be a rewarding experience. This was not the case at CACUSS 2015.

All panelists were asked to prepare bios of under 100 words to be posted on the website. I was very careful to craft a bio that fit the requirements and was surprised to see all of the other panelists with bios well over the word limit. While I understand that my fellow panelists have held many more positions, roles, and titles in their professional careers, it set the tone for a power-imbalanced panel right from the beginning.

This tone was reinforced as the panel session began. All panelists were instructed to prepare a three-minute response to the question “How do we create healthy campus communities?” I was told to go first and was very careful to speak for the allotted time in order to allow for others to present their views. Unfortunately, each other panelist spoke for much longer than three minutes, which didn’t allow for a very lengthy discussion or substantial audience involvement. Furthermore, I was not included in the discussion and did not get the chance to speak after my initial response.

Now, I feel it’s easy to say that I should have asserted myself or stepped up to voice my opinions. Normally I have no problem doing so and quite frankly, being on a panel, I was expecting to do so. Yet I sat there frozen, stuck feeling uncertain, passed over, and embarrassed.

It was very disheartening to put so much energy into respecting the panel process and then feel completely disrespected in response. What resonated with me most is that this is too often how students feel when we try to “include them,” be it in meetings, discussions, or committees.

And herein lies the real problem (in my eyes): we often focus on “who to bring to the table,” but what I think needs more attention is “how to meaningfully involve the people we bring to the table.” We can often do more damage than good when bringing folks to our table with no real thought for their involvement. When we fail to truly respect their presence, we send a strong - though often unintentional - message of indifference and disrespect that cannot be undone.

We can’t claim that we’ve done our job by simply checking off the “student was present” box, or even directly asking, “Hey student, what do you need?” Sometimes students don’t know! Working with students to really understand them and respect where they are coming from is what builds a community of appreciation and openness. From personal and observed experience, I know that students often feel that their opinions don’t really matter and that they don’t actually know what they’re

talking about. When this attitude is present, we are not working as a community; we are actually disregarding the student experience.

Too often in the day-to-day life of student affairs professionals, we lack student interaction. Bogged down by budgets, deadlines, high workloads, and strategic plans, we can completely lose sight of the student. We may not intend to, but we often do. We forget that in any given day there are hundreds – if not thousands – of students on our campuses with diverse backgrounds and needs who just want to feel connected to something. If we truly want to build healthy communities, it means interacting as people – not as experts or teachers or authorities. At the end of the day, we aren’t that different.

How do we do that? It’s easy! Walk through campus, feel and experience what students do on any given day. Talk with students like you would with a colleague; you shouldn’t have to treat them differently. By treating students with equality and equity, we begin to build actual relationships, learn from, and empower each other.

The most powerful experiences I had, as a student and young professional, are those where I felt heard and that somebody actually cared enough to listen. As student affairs professionals, we need to challenge ourselves in all contexts to meaningfully listen to other voices – whether it’s at a national conference, or in a boardroom, or in a library.

In closing, I am grateful for the experience that I had, as it taught me a valuable lesson about what healthy communities really are. Healthy communities acknowledge differences and work to include and validate people regardless of that. Moving forward, I encourage you to create processes that empower students to speak and pay close attention to what support the student voice may need.

Sincerely, Katie Allan Katie Allan is the Team Lead Involvement at the University of Alberta Students’ Union and can be reached at katie.allan@su.ualberta.ca.

Immigrant Students Can Have Disabilities: We Just Don’t Know About It

by Evelyne Marcil, Christine Vo, Mary Jorgensen, and Catherine Fichten

A

recent Canadian survey demonstrated that completion of a higher education degree is a determinant factor in employment. The survey revealed that the link between completing a higher education degree and employment was strongest for immigrants (Statistics Canada, 2015). It is therefore very important to help immigrant students, including immigrant students with disabilities, complete their studies.

However there are barriers to overcome.

Research by the Adaptech Research Network established that immigrant students are less likely than Canadian-born students to declare having a disability or to register for disability services (Catherine Fichten and Mary Jorgensen, 2015, personal communication). Similar findings were reported in a study of elementary school children (Morgan et al., 2015), with immigrant students being less likely to be identified as having a disability.

Part of the problem with not declaring that one has a disability is neglecting to register for campus-based disability-related services. Data show that among college students, students with disabilities who were registered for disability services were COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 29

as satisfied with their college experience as students without disabilities. Least satisfied were students with disabilities who had not registered for access services (Jorgensen, Fichten, & Havel, 2012). In addition, the research has demonstrated that satisfaction with college experience is related to academic persistence.

Since registration for disability services, if there is a need, seems to be an important contributor to satisfaction with college life and with academic persistence, making sure that immigrant students register for the necessary disability services, if they need to, is crucial. These services can include preferential registration, extended time for exams and assignments, and note-takers. A question then arises: How can we, as professionals, ensure that immigrant students with disabilities get access to the services they need to be successful in academe?

There are many reasons why few immigrant students with disabilities declare having a disability and register with their school’s disability center. Disabilities, in general, can be seen as a taboo, or in some cultures having a label related to disabilities is seen in a negative light. Furthermore immigrant students may hide their disabilities to prevent being a hindrance to their families. Another reason for immigrant students with disabilities not to register for needed disability services is lack of knowledge about disabilities and about the useful disability services that can be made available to them. They may view the disability as a permanent sentence without hope.

Professionals should inform parents about their rights and their role in their child’s education so that they know that they have power inside a system that can be intimidating for newcomers (Al-Hassan & Gardner III, 2002). For many immigrant families, the concept of family involvement in the educational process of their young adult child is new and can be disorienting (Lai & Ishiyama, 2004).

Making sure that the family understands that they may be a part of their child’s educational process is crucial. Also remember to be careful with word choice when informing immigrant students and their families about the possibility of a disability, since this is a topic that is taboo in some cultures. Instead of opening the conversation with the topic of disability, talking about unusual behaviours and difficulties, and services available to assist students would be preferable.

It is not always easy for professionals to work with students with disabilities, nor is it to work with immigrant students. But when the two are combined, the challenge can seem overwhelming. It is by understanding the particularities and challenges associated with both situations that professionals will ensure the best possible outcome for such students.

Evelyne Marcil is a Research Assistant at Adaptech Research Network and Teacher at Dawson College and can be reached at emarcil@dawsoncollege. qc.ca. Christine Vo is a Research Assistant at Adaptech Research Network. Mary Jorgensen is Research Associate at Adaptech Research Network and Research Associate at CRISPESH. Catherine Fichten is a Co-Director at Adaptech Research Network and Teacher at Dawson College.

References Al-Hassan, S., & Gardner, R. (2002). Involving immigrant parents of students with disabilities in the educational process. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34(5), 52-58.

Jorgensen, S., Fichten, C.S., & Havel, A. (2012). Are students who are satisfied with their college experience more likely stay in school? Links between satisfaction, grades, gender and disability. Pédagogie collégiale, 25(4), 1-7. Retrieved from http://www.adaptech.org/sites/default/files/JorgensenCie-Vol_25-4 (eng).pdf

In the optics of a systematic approach, involving the family of the immigrant student with a disability in the educational process can be beneficial. The first thing to address is language. Language is one of the main obstacles to family involvement in the immigrant student’s educational process (Lai & Ishiyama, 2004). Language not only prevents the family of the immigrant student from understanding the documentation required by the school, it also prevents the family from communicating effectively with the establishment (Lai & Ishiyama, 2004). One way for the professional to bridge the language barrier is to have an interpreter present at meetings between the immigrant student and their family and the professional, if language is thought to be a potential issue. Professionals should also provide information both orally and in a written form to the immigrant student and to their family to ensure that information is accessible (Al-Hassan & Gardner III, 2002).

30 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015

Lai, Y., & Ishiyama, F. I. (2004). Involvement of immigrant Chinese Canadian mothers of children with disabilities. Exceptional children, 71(1), 97-108.

Morgan, P. L., Farkas, G., Hillemeier, M. M., Mattison, R., Maczuga, S., Li, H., & Cook, M. (2015). Minorities Are Disproportionately Underrepresented in Special Education Longitudinal Evidence Across Five Disability Conditions. Educational Researcher, 44(5), 278-292.

Statistics Canada. (2014). Further postsecondary education and labour market outcomes, March 2014. (Catalogue number 11-001-X). Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Released in The Daily. Retrieved September 15, 2015 from http://www.statcan. gc.ca/daily-quotidien/150911/dq150911b-eng.pdf.

Honouring Mark Chytracek

I

t is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Mark Chytracek, Director, Student and Residence Services at the Augustana Campus, University of Alberta. Mark passed away October 9, 2015 from a heart attack. Mark is survived by his wife Brandi; children Jon (Angela), Amanda (Will), and David (Jessi); grandson Noah; and the rest of the Chytracek family. In the brief time since Mark’s passing, his legacy only grows with each memory and story shared.

For 33 years, Student and Residence Services was Mark’s vocation. This might even be an understatement; Mark and his wife Brandi lived and raised their three children on-campus, in residence, for 17 years. Whether on campus or off, Mark and Brandi welcomed staff and students into their home and in the process redefined the concept of family. Mark breathed life into Augustana’s residence and student services programs and raised the bar for what we can do for students. He was integral in the development of Augustana and truly had a profound impact on many lives.

Beginning as a Residence Life Coordinator when he first joined Augustana’s Camrose Lutheran College in 1982, Mark quickly progressed through various positions and incarnations until his final role as Director, Student and Residence Services. While he more than fit the bill, his influence reached far beyond his title. Mark played a huge role in shaping the student experience at Augustana, including helping guide the merger with the University of Alberta in 2004. Ultimately, Mark’s quiet service leadership and focus on students helped Augustana grow into the vibrant, cohesive, proud community it is today. He truly led by example with dedicated service year after year, and his profound impact on the way student and residence services are run is a lasting legacy. Regardless of the challenges, Mark always found a way to make things work and ensured students had access to the programs and services they needed to thrive. From Aboriginal students to international students, academic skills

to accessibility issues, Mark had a hand in making sure students were supported and felt a part of the community.

It’s not surprising that his influence went well beyond Augustana. Mark was a founding member of the Residence Life Professional Association (RLPA) and served as its President in 1993-94 and again in 2008-09. He also served as a Board Member for a number of ACUHO-I, CACUSS, and SASA committees. He was recognized for his contributions and dedication to student services through the RLPA’s 2003 Josie Lamothe Memorial Award for Outstanding Service and the Alberta Student Services 2008 Dean Stetson Award for long-term service to students.

While his influence on Augustana and the student affairs profession over the years has been tremendous, his greatest impact was always on those around him.

Students, staff, and faculty have all learned from his example, his advice, and his leadership. He was Augustana’s biggest champion and advocate, and whether it was choral music, drama, or athletic events, Mark could be seen cheering students and applauding their talents. He truly believed that Augustana is one of the finest institutions a student could choose and was quick to share many success stories.

Countless student affairs professionals credit Mark for the supportive and inspiring influence he had on their career.

Mark valued the people and relationships in his life in a way that few people do.

He touched students’ lives on a personal level; it wasn’t just a job, and he genuinely cared for every one of his students. He approached each conversation with patience, never rushing, always listening intently, and making those around him feel like they were important and respected with warmth and sincerity. And no one will ever forget his legendary hugs, for which he was never the first one to let go.

We will all miss Mark terribly, just as we are all tremendously grateful for the time we had with him. He leaves a wonderful legacy and remains an inspiration to us all.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions will gratefully be accepted for The Mark Chytracek Endowment for Leadership and Community Engagement, which will support both student awards and programming initiatives at Augustana inspired by Mark’s example. For information on how to contribute, please visit www.augustana.ualberta.ca/giving/how.html.

Submitted by Sarah Wolgemuth and Jason Cobb

WE WANT YOUR STORIES! To submit for the 2015-16 editions of Communiqué magazine, please check the submission guidelines on our website and note the following submission deadline dates: Winter 2016 Spring 2016

January 15, 2016 March 1, 2016

www.cacuss.ca/communique_submissions.htm

COMMUNIQUÉ / VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / FALL 2015 / 31

CACUSS CONFERENCE JUNE 19-22, 2016 - WINNIPEG, MANITOBA The annual CACUSS conference brings together Student Services professionals from across Canada to share best practices, engage in educational opportunities, and network with colleagues.

Hosted by Red River College, the 2016 conference will be heading to Winnipeg, Manitoba. The conference will explore the theme of Muddy Waters, Blue Skies.

We look forward to seeing you in Winnipeg in 2016!

Call for Reviews & Call for Proposals Opening Early November Call for Reviewers Closes January 15 Call for Proposals Closes January 25 Registration Opening in late February

For more details please visit: CACUSS.CA/CONFERENCE 32 / COMMUNIQUÉ�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ / TOME 15 / NUMÉRO 3 / L’AUTOMNE 2015