Lorraine Akisanya has found her spot at York: it is the Nellie Langford Rowell Library, a little and little-known library upstairs in Founders College. She found it thanks to a new course being offered that helps students adjust to university life.
“It is the best thing because it’s a really quiet library. Scott library is massive, the biggest on campus, but it's also the most busy. Everybody goes to Scott library, right?” the first-year information technology student said, adding since she discovered the space “it has become my hiding spot because it’s quiet, there’s barely anybody there and it's just the best thing.”
The DLLL 1001: University Literacies and Belonging, helps bridges the gap between high school and university for transfer students, including many international students. It piloted with two classes, each in the fall and winter terms, capped at 25 students. The course, emphasizing academic and social support, was developed with a $100,000 ONCAT (Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer) grant.
M.J. Maciel Jorge, associate dean, global and community engagement, said the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) had long aimed to create a course to better support transfer students. Environmental scans showed most institutions offered retreats, workshops, modules or not-for-credit courses.
“Transferring from another institution can be a difficult process for students as they acclimate to their new institution and start anew,” said Maciel Jorge. “It’s very important to assist them in this transition and provide added value to their degree in the form of a for-credit course that counts towards their degree.”
Maciel Jorge said the course is as much about recruitment as it is about retention. “We want students and their parents to know that when they transfer to York, they can actually take a course that will provide them with the tools for success. That’s what University Literacies and Belonging is all about. Students start off on the right foot, enabling them to progress confidently in their academic and personal growth.”
Mona Frial-Brown, director, student success, said the course helps students develop critical thinking, writing, note-taking, exam preparation and research skills. But, unlike other prep courses, this one offers academic credit and “wrap-around student support” by connecting students with campus resources.
Akisanya, an international student from Nigeria, said this support is the course’s most valuable part. She often guides friends to the Writing Centre or career services, acting as their “Google Maps” for York student services.
Her class participated in scavenger hunts around campus to learn about resources such as the Scott Library. Akisanya believes she learned more about York’s offerings in one course than she would have learned in four years of attending classes. The student services impressed her so much she made her final class presentation on that topic.
“I didn't really understand the impact this course had on me,” she said, adding that during her presentation she was “talking about how those services give us skills that we can apply, yes, in our academics but also after school. I spoke about life skills. And I got a little bit emotional because this class has really, really helped me.”
Teaching this course are Jacqueline Ng and Heejin Song, associate professors in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, LA&PS.
Ng said most of these students identify as international, racialized, minoritized, or immigrants This creates a diverse population with various cultural identities, academic disciplines, English proficiency levels and academic skills, as well as a wide range in age.
“Some students, as you can imagine, are young adults. They are transitioning directly from Grade 12. Some students are mature, transferring or returning students. I have one student in my session who is a mom of two. She is picking up university learning after some time being a stay-at-home mom,” said Ng.
Ng and Song work to foster a sense of belonging for the students and “create an inclusive learning environment where all students feel they are equally valued and included.” It’s a challenge in which they succeeded, said Akisanya.
“This class made me feel comfortable. Because I was really anxious,” Akisanya said. “I was like, I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't know how I'm going to fit in. I don't know how I'm going to seamlessly incorporate myself into the student body. And I can confidently say with this class, I was able to do so with ease, and that's something I am grateful for.”
With files from Julie Carl