3 minute read
Vic One Students Routinely Outperform Their Peers. What’s the Secret?
By Joe Howell
Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery. It’s been 20 years since Victoria University launched the Vic One program, in which students spend their first year at Victoria College being taught by prominent academics and public figures in small, seminar-style classrooms focused on one of eight streams. Designed to jump-start the academic journeys of exceptional new students, the program has been so successful it’s been replicated across U of T’s three campuses.
In 2022, about 83 per cent of Victoria College graduates who went through the Vic One program graduated with distinction or high distinction (a CPGA above of 3.2 or 3.5, respectively), compared to 74 per cent of the broader Vic population and 59 per cent of all students graduating from the Faculty of Arts & Science. These figures are not a blip, says Principal Angela Esterhammer: “Year after year, the numbers show that students who participated in Vic One are significantly more likely to excel academically than their peers.”
“Vic One grounded my undergraduate experience, connecting me to a wonderful community of peers and challenging me academically to strive for excellence,” says Catherine Brown Vic 1T0, now an associate medical officer of health. “The Stowe-Gullen stream awakened my curiosity for medicine and started my path.”
Holly Johnstone Vic 2T2 was in the program’s Gooch stream before doing her master’s at the University of Oxford. “Vic One was the perfect estuary between the smaller, more intimate classes I was used to in high school and the academic rigour of university classes,” she says.
It’s no wonder that the rest of U of T—and beyond— has looked to Vic One as a model. We sat down with former Victoria University president Paul Gooch and former Victoria College principal David Cook, to hear about what inspired their creation of the program.
“It was the conviction of the importance of personal education that motivated us,” says Professor Gooch. “We wanted to ensure that in first year, at least one faculty member actually knew your name and not just your student number.”
He says that even the best students benefit from this individualized approach: “Those who do very well in high school often come from smaller schools, where they had a lot of attention. Throw them in a large classroom environment and it can be an anxious time,” says Professor Gooch.
“Over the years, Vic One has attracted a certain type of student: those who are going to profit from the seminars, the close contact with the professors and with their colleagues in the classroom,” says Professor Cook. “That may be the most important part of the Vic One experience—bringing together great individuals.”
Earlier this year, Vic One had its 20th birthday bash. Students and faculty past and present reunited for a variety of events, including a conversation between Vic One professors David Wright, former ambassador to NATO, and the Honourable Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations.
“Education is really about igniting curiosity,” says Professor Gooch. “The way to do that is to have committed faculty members who love their subjects, and students who have the desire to know. I think that message has gotten out.”
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Donations to Victoria College make it possible to engage professors who combine scholarly accomplishment with remarkable skills as educators. To contribute and help students Defy Gravity, visit vicu.utoronto.ca/giving.
Click here for the full-length version of the story. Read student testimonials, hear more from professors Gooch and Cook, and watch our short highlights video from the 20th-anniversary celebrations.
