Transitions: From High School to University

1. Transitions:From High School to University Presentation to Guidance Counsellors of Ontario Shannon Payne, Learning Skills Counsellor Counselling and Development Centre

2. Goals for this presentation • To reacquaint guidance counsellors with aspects of the transition to university • To encourage high-school staff to begin to address the issues with students when and where they can • To underscore target outcomes of transition programming

3. Contents • Changes that students face • Beginnings: transitions from high school • Continuations: transitions to university • What to include in transition programming • Target outcomes for transition programs • Resources

4. Changes that students face • Students undergoing the transition to university face changes in many life areas • Academic • Personal • Social • Cultural

5. Changes that students face • Academic • larger classes, with potentially less contact with instructors • change to lecture format • reading load and volume of learning increase • responsibility: “nobody’s going to take attendance” • time outside class increases & time inside classes shrinks

6. Changes that students face • Academic (cont’d) • need to structure own time and study • need to balance work, school and social life • essay writing issues (e.g., academic honesty, citations, the writing process, argument versus exposition etc.) • understanding how ideas of the course go together and how they will be examined • learning how to study effectively

7. Changes that students face • Academic (cont’d) • learning how to read and listen actively • need to develop critical and analytical thinking skills • changes in ways of knowing and with it a change in the meaning of learning and education • consequent change in perception of their own roles, the roles of teachers, and the level of difficulty of school work

8. Changes that students face • Personal/Social/Cultural • entering new phase of adulthood; relationships with parents and peers change towards interdependence • being/studying away from home • life, career, and academic goal setting • “freedom” issues – drinking, social activities, time, etc.

9. Changes that students face • Personal/Social/Cultural (cont’d) • developing awareness of the new environment • fitting in and making new friends • navigating the help sources available on campus • becoming comfortable with size and diversity of campus

10. Changes that students face • Personal/Social/Cultural (cont’d) • new institutional processes (e.g., services offered in the GUIDANCE office now divided into Counselling, Advising, Student Affairs, Career Services, etc. ) • changes in the way learning is institutionally organized • potential lack of connectedness on the larger campus; feeling like a number

11. Changes that students face • Personal/Social/Cultural (cont’d) • understanding the “culture” of post-secondary education • encountering new ideas in an environment that challenges students’ beliefs • reflecting on values and lifestyles and connection of education to career paths • deciding on a belief system that is personally valid • developing social responsibility • beginning as the first-year student again after being the high school senior

12. Beginnings: transitions from high school

13. Beginnings: transitions from high school • Students report being concerned about: • Eligibility for post-secondary study • Choosing the right program and the right school • Finances: tuition fees, scholarships, bursaries • Relationship of academic study to career aspirations • Influences from others regarding what/where to study • Knowing what to expect

14. Continuations:transitions to university

15. Continuations:transitions to university • Students report being concerned about: • Finding their way around, fitting in, making friends • Being successful, meeting the expectations of the university • Understanding course requirements and degree regulations • Balancing school, work, and social time • Locating and using supports on campus • Relating to their professors and instructors • Are they taking the “right” program

16. What to include in transition programming

17. What to include in transition programming • Transition programming typically involves some of the following: • Academic skills • Skills for living • Knowledge about purpose of higher education

18. What to include in transition programming • Academic Skills • Note-taking • Preparing for exams & test-taking • Effective reading • Research and library skills • Time management and planning skills • Self-regulatory skills (emotional, academic, motivational) • Writing skills

19. What to include in transition programming • Academic Skills (cont’d) • Public speaking skills • Critical thinking • Understanding learning styles • Computing skills • Connecting with faculty

20. What to include in transition programming • Skills For Living • Career exploration • Learning in diverse community • Health and wellness • Self knowledge and personal awareness • Relationship and interpersonal skills • Stress and anxiety management

21. What to include in transition programming • Skills For Living (cont’d) • Values clarification/decisions • Goal setting • Listening skills • Volunteerism and community service • Awareness of current societal issues • Conflict resolution • Money management

22. What to include in transition programming • Knowledge About Higher Education • Purpose of higher education and institution • Value of liberal arts and pure and applied sciences • Concept of disciplines and inter-disciplinary studies • Value of community involvement

23. What to include in transition programming • Knowledge about About Higher Education (cont’d) • Location of campus resources and facilities • Policies, procedures, regulations (e.g., dropping courses) • History of the university/college • Institutional traditions

24. Target outcomes for transition programs

25. Target outcomes for transition programs • Any transition model should aim to provide students with as many of the following outcomes as possible...

26. Target outcomes for transition programs • an eagerness to attend, take part, and get involved on campus • a sense of belonging and connectedness to the university • an ability to identify those skills that will lead to success and a commitment to use them • an awareness of success-supporting resources on campus and how to access them • an openness to change and exploration

27. Target outcomes for transition programs • an acceptance that they are not alone, that others are experiencing the same kinds of changes • the confidence that they can be successful • the knowledge that success doesn’t just happen, but that success largely depends on them taking responsibility for their learning • an inkling of some of the differences between high school and university • an understanding that the transition isn’t a singular event in time, but that it takes place over time

28. Transition Program Models

29. Transition Program Models • Facilitating students’ transitions to university: • Person to person models • One-day and Extended campus visits • Visits to Graduating Classes • Orientations • Early Start Programs • Prep Courses • 1st-Year Experience Programs • Web-based resources

30. Transition Program Models • Person to person models: • Guidance staff, Admissions and Liaison staff sharing their understanding of the transition to university • Informing students about the various support services their institution has to offer

31. Transition Program Models • One-day campus visits: • Students and their families visit prospect campuses during March Break to tour facilities, and ask questions about the programs available • School visits to tour facilities • The impression they develop from the visit fosters thinking and discussion about the pros and cons of the various schools • They get a sense of the differences between high schools and universities

32. Transition Program Models • Extended campus visits: • Some high schools arrange with a college or university to permit students an extended visit (e.g., one week) on campus • Typically, such visits occur during May after the conclusion of the regular Fall/Winter academic term • Students stay in residence, visit classes or attend specially designed programs that give them a snapshot of what it is like to live the student experience

33. Transition Program Models • Visits to Graduating Classes: • Westview Project - an initiative put together by a team of people at York University to reach out to students at feeder schools under-represented in the first-year cohort • In the spring of each year, a number of academic skills and post-secondary school awareness sessions presented for students in the graduating class as part of their ongoing final-year courses

34. Transition Program Models • Orientations: Don’t Crash Courses • One- or two-day series of workshops on academic skills and orientation to the university environment • Work with students transferring from community college programs or from high schools • Emphasis on their expectation for differences, and equipping them with resources and knowledge about how to succeed in the university environment

35. Transition Program Models • First Year Orientation: • In its ideal form, orientation: • Combines both the academic and social components of university life • Equips students with knowledge of important resources • Helps students to feel at home on the large campus

36. Transition Program Models • Early Start Programs: • Senior students enroll in one course for credit at York University while completing their final year at high-school • Gives students first-hand experience of learning at university and blends directed support for learning with immersion experience • Extensive support for students exists at the high school, including campus orientation, advising and course selection assistance, study skills training and time management training

37. Transition Program Models • Steps/University Prep Programs: • These kinds of programs offer admission to students whose grades would not typically earn them entrance to a university, and offers additional advising and supports • Usually, students in these programs take a reduced course load (usually 60%) and among that load is a first-year course focused on developing the basic and critical skills needed at university • Some programs admit students only upon successful completion of the prep course

38. Transition Program Models • 1st-Yr. experience courses & York’s Foundations model: • Especially popular in the USA, first-year experience courses are offered for credit to incoming students • In some cases the course is mandatory • The curriculum of the course focuses on the kinds of study skills, critical thinking and writing skills, and life skills essential for success at university

39. Transition Program Models • Computer/web-based transition resources: • Canadian university web sites host various web pages set up to enable students to find the information they need • Included among these materials are academic skills information, tips on making a smooth transition, links to help sources on campus, organizations, and so on

40. Resources • Downing, Skip. On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life -- A Guided Journal Approach. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1996. • Ellis, David. Becoming a Master Student. Canadian Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. • Fleet, Joan, Fiona Goodchild, and Richard Zajchowski. Learning For Success: Skills and Strategies for Canadian Students. Toronto: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1994.

41. Resources • Fraser, Lisa. Making your mark. 5th Edition. Port Perry: LDF Publishing, 1996. • Gardner, John N., Jewler, Jerome A., and Robb, Andrew. Your First-Year Experience: Success Strategies for Canadian Students. Toronto: International Thomson Publishing, 1995. • Kolb, David. Learning Style Inventory. Boston: Hay McBer & Company. 1985. • Holkeboer, Robert. Right from the start: Managing your college career. 2nd Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing, 1996.

42. Resources • Nemiroff, Greta Hofmann. Transitions: Succeeding in College and University. Toronto: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1994. • Pauk, Walter. How To Study In College 5th Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1993. • Rehner, Jan. Practical Strategies for Critical Thinking. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1994. • Ruggerio, Vincent R. Becoming a Critical Thinker. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1996