Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer Supports Postsecondary Learner Mobility at York University
TORONTO, June 19, 2024 – Dr. Adrienne Galway, Executive Director of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) was joined by Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities, and Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan, President and CEO of Humber College, to announce 39 new projects focused on supporting postsecondary learner mobility.
Over the next year, ONCAT is flowing over $2.8 million to support learner mobility projects at 35 colleges, universities, and Indigenous Institutes in Ontario. These projects aim to empower learners by recognizing previous education and professional experiences and facilitating smoother transitions between programs and institutions. At York University, this funding supports the following projects:
The Transfer Student Experience Hub: From Mobility to Success
This project develops resources and programming to support the success of transfer students and enhance their experience. Content will include academic skill building, career development and wellbeing components that are designed specifically for the strengths and needs of transfer students.
Set for Success for Transfer Students
This project will develop and implement a course with wraparound supports for incoming transfers students. The course takes a preventative approach to addressing challenges and will build academic skills and campus connections that will set students up for academic and personal success.
“Empowering learners with accessible pathways to navigate their educational journey is key to helping them achieve their professional and academic goals,” said Dr. Galway. “The increased funding will promote improved transitions between institutions and programs, helping learners get where they want to go.”
“The Ontario government is proud to support ONCAT’s important work to make it easier for learners of all backgrounds to pursue their educational goals,” said Minister Jill Dunlop. “By facilitating smoother transitions and recognizing the wealth of knowledge gained through previous experience, we are fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment to advance student success in Ontario.”
“York continually strives to provide a broad sociodemographic of students with access to a high quality education at a research intensive University committed to serving the well-being of our communities. The student-centered access and mobility projects announced today will help us deliver targeted support that many students need to succeed. Strengthening and increasing the pathways to university education is critical and thanks to the ONCAT and Ontario government support, I have no doubt more students will be able to pursue their dreams and achieve their goals,” Rhonda Lenton, president and vice-chancellor, York University.
In Fall of 2023, ONCAT initiated calls for projects for greater accessibility and impact within the postsecondary sector. This call was met with an unprecedented number of applications from postsecondary institutions, demonstrating a growing interest to support greater learner mobility, expand access to postsecondary opportunities and improve pathways to the labour market.
Established in 2011, the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer plays a pivotal role in supporting learner mobility, working to reduce barriers for students seeking to transfer among the province’s public colleges, universities, and Indigenous Institutes. For more information, visit www.oncat.ca. ONCAT is funded by the Government of Ontario.
