What few students realize, says Brian Poser, director of the Atkinson Centre for Mature and Part-Time Students, is that next week's Fall Co-curricular Week offers a perfect opportunity for students to gain those extra skills that go a long way to ensuring a successful time at university.
There's a wealth of activities planned, both fun and serious, and all are designed to build connections, develop important study skills and gain valuable knowledge on how to succeed in university.
Right: Brian Poser
Poser, who is part of the planning team for Co-curricular Week, is the first to admit that many students view the week of Oct. 11 to 14 as something of a holiday. "What they don't realize is that they can have the best of both. They can take part in Fall Co-curricular Week events and have a long weekend at home," he says. "York University is open for business and we've planned a great week of activities for students that are designed to give them that extra edge."
It's about this time in the term that students – first-year students in particular – feel the impact of the increased workload and academic expectations which are all part of postsecondary education. "Students have assignments they need to get done; midterm tests, papers, presentations and lots of reading and it can be very overwhelming. They also feel they need to go home and check in with their families and friends," he says. "The drop-in nature of next week's events and workshops means they can go home and have a visit with their families and then come back and get caught up as well as getting those important skills to cope with the increasing workload and expectations."
The week of events and workshops has been planned by York University’s Retention Council, in partnership with the University's colleges, faculties, student clubs and governments on campus. The result is a calendar brimming with interesting events. To help students navigate through the slew of offerings and fun events, organizers have developed a checklist to help students plan their Co-curricular Week. Each point in the checklist is designed to help students identify their specific goals. From there, students can choose learning skills workshops, social events and career-building seminars best suited to their needs.
Poser says that to be successful in university, students must have a balance of activities both inside and outside the classroom. He notes that the week is not just for first-year students, there are also activities aimed at fourth-year students and graduate students. "For example, there are sessions for graduate students about overcoming writer’s block and doing graduate-level research in the libraries," says Poser, "and there are sessions on applying to post-graduate degree programs for those undergraduates looking ahead."
There's also an array of sports events, club open houses and varsity sports.
Fall Co-curricular Week is a pan-university effort with events scheduled on both the Keele and Glendon campuses. In fact, the number of events is growing daily and the best part is that all the events are free and are provided on a drop-in format.
For an update, check out the Fall Co-curricular Week website.