Enhancing the student experience at the University of Toronto is an ongoing priority requiring constant feedback and innovation. In 2010, the University sought to explore in depth aspects of the U of T student experience by delving further into areas that students themselves identified as being in need of attention. That project developed into the most comprehensive qualitative assessment of the University of Toronto student experience in recent years and resulted in a report called In Their Own Words (2010).
Last year, the Council on Student Experience, chaired by the Vice-Provost, Students, formed working groups to consider the themes that emerged from In Their Own Words. Seven working groups looked at the issues that came up most frequently in the focus groups: Co-Curricular Participation and School Spirit, Mentorship, Orientation and Transition, Quality of Service, Student-Faculty Interaction and Communication. The groups produced reports and a series of approximately 50 recommendations addressing co-ordination, best practices and innovation in these areas. These are set out in U of T’s Response to in ‘In Their Own Words (2010)’. To read the report, visit http://www.viceprovoststudents.utoronto.ca/uoftresponse.htm
The Council on Student Experience will be working on the implementation of many of the projects identified in the report during the coming year, as well as organizing pilots for some of the projects that are best tested in smaller communities before being instituted across the three campuses. Some of the recommendations are already in operation – including the new St. George Campus Map and the Flex-Dollars campus-wide meal plan options which allow students to use their meal plans at 40 dining establishments around the University.