Brock’s Faculty of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (FGSPA) recently received the 2023-24 Award for Excellence in Enhancing the Graduate Student Experience (GSE) for its new student onboarding program.

Presented annually by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies, the GSE Award honours institutions demonstrating excellence and innovation in their efforts to improve the graduate student experience.

Launched in 2022, Brock’s student-centred graduate onboarding program was developed by the FGSPA engagement team in collaboration with graduate ambassadors and the Graduate Students’ Association.

“Overall, the program has had a significant impact on student engagement, retention and success,” says Suzanne Curtin, Vice-Provost and Dean of Faculty of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs. “It has strengthened partnerships across departments and transformed the way we welcome and support graduate students at Brock.”

With the goal of ensuring students feel represented, Curtin says the program hired a team of student ambassadors who have helped to shape the program based on their own onboarding experiences.

The program’s success also stems from its comprehensive communications strategy, which prioritizes centralized online resources and continuous feedback opportunities.

Graduate ambassadors maintain a dedicated Brightspace site for the program — where incoming students can navigate resources at their own pace before classes begin — and host drop-in sessions and other events in response to information most requested by new students.

Applied Health Sciences PhD candidate Katrina Carbonara (BSc ’19) says serving as a graduate ambassador from 2022 to 2024 was “an incredible experience.”

“Using my own experience and insights from others around me, I helped develop a resource that prepares incoming students and eases their transition,” she says. “Hearing how the program has supported students and made their transition smoother has been incredibly rewarding.”