It is customary for the the Provost & Vice-President, Academic to provide a report to each meeting of Senate outlining plans, priorities, issues and other news. As these reports are already public through the University Secretariat Office, they will also be shared regularly through this memorandum page.

Note that appendices to the report can be found on the University Secretariat Office website.

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Report to Senate of the Provost & Vice-President, Academic – September 13, 2023

Dear Senators,

Welcome back to another academic year at Brock! After an eventful summer, the Brock community is ready to welcome our students back to campus. In this spirit, I would like to highlight a number of activities that took place in late August and early September to help both new and returning students ease back into the University routine and learn more about what Brock’s campus has to offer.

Indigenous students

For our Indigenous students, Brock’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit Centre, Hadiya’dagénhahs, held a welcome back celebration for all students on September 7. Food and cake were on offer, as well as Brock-branded swag. A separate event for first-year students also took place. With the largest incoming class of Indigenous students in Brock’s history this year, Hadiya’dagénhahs will be reaching out to the community to ensure that the supports it offers are well-known around campus.

Graduate students

Led by the two Graduate Student Ambassadors, an onboarding community was created through Brightspace, pairing virtual meetings and information sessions with the weekly release of modules intended to introduce students to campus supports in a timely, self-guided manner.

All new graduate students were also invited to the FGSPA New Graduate Student Welcome and Orientation, which took place on September 5. This event will introduce students to campus supports and provides opportunities to network with other new graduate students.

The onboarding program will continue into the first semester of new students’ graduate programs to ensure a smooth transition. One notable forthcoming event is GRADvantage week, happening at the end of September. Several campus partners have come together to plan a week of activities and workshops aimed at showcasing on-campus academic and personal supports.

Undergraduate students

The majority of Brock’s students are studying at the undergraduate level. The Orientation Planning Committee (OPC), which is chaired by Student Life & Success (SLS), meets monthly throughout the summer and works collaboratively with a wide variety of departments across campus to review, conceptualize, and implement orientation programming for new undergraduate students. In addition, Orientation Planning Update Meetings are held with a campus partners to share information and key updates with the campus community related to orientation.

Strategic priorities for this year’s orientation experience have been put in place to ensure the incoming class of 2023 has a successful transition to Brock.

• Welcome Week Volunteers as Orientation Leaders: For the first time, Brock has developed a program to recruit, hire, and train approximately 100 orientation leaders. Orientation leaders help new students navigate Brock’s campus, connect with their peers, and learn about the resources available to them.
• BU4U Student Services Hub: In September 2023, the BU4U Student Services Hub opened to provide all students with one door to access a wide range of services. This initiative and location will improve awareness and utilization of services for student success and will be marketed to incoming students through orientation activities.
• Centralized/Ongoing Communication: A streamlined communications strategy has been implemented to ensure ongoing communication with incoming students. Communication includes direct email and social media outreach.
• Expanding Access to Programs for All Students: Leveraging lessons learned from previous years and assessment data to implement orientation activities and logistics that meet the evolving needs of the 2023 cohort. Sharing this learning with the campus community to ensure Brock’s orientation activities are relevant, meaningful, innovative, and welcoming to the entire student community.

Orientation for incoming students begins in the summer and extends throughout a student’s first year. Through a series of programs offered by various campus partners, orientation provides students with opportunities to develop friendships, get involved, and learn about the academic and student support services Brock University offers.

Orientation activities include, among others:

• Smart Start: Smart Start is a one-day orientation program for incoming Brock undergraduate students. Led by a team of 17 student ambassadors and supported by the broader campus community, Smart Start is designed to answer all student questions to ease the transition into their time at Brock. Smart Start has long been a staple of the Brock student experience. The program has been running in various forms for over 25 years and has seen approximately 40,000 attendees over that period.

The Smart Start program ran 17 program days throughout the summer of 2023, and saw over 1,000 students visit campus to experience the program. A free online asynchronous version of the program also launched in mid-August, allowing all students, regardless of geographic location, to receive enhanced support as they make their way to Brock.

• LEAP: LEAP is a small-group orientation experience for incoming students who are eager to connect with other new students, student leaders, and campus supports and services. LEAP is available to students in a day and overnight program format on various dates throughout July and August. Both formats provide the opportunity for students to get acquainted to the Brock and Niagara communities, with the overnight option including a stay in Brock’s residence. To date, more than 40 students have participated in the LEAP program, with additional program dates to come.
• BU101: BU101 is an online asynchronous academic skills orientation course for incoming students to complete via Brightspace, ideally prior to beginning classes. BU101 is customized by Faculty for undergraduate students and has been adapted for graduate students. Students learn lessons related to tech skills and assignments, planning their term, preparing for class, academic integrity, and research and writing.

In 2022-2023, 4,970 students registered in BU101, of which 2,456 students completed BU101 in part or entirety. Compared with 2021-2022, registration increased by 42% and engagement increased by 48%. Data for the 2023-2024 year will be collected at the end of the Fall and Winter semesters.

• International Student Pre-Arrival Orientation & Arrival Supports: Brock International provides a variety of virtual workshops for incoming international students, covering topics such as academic culture and success, immigration and work essentials, UHIP and health insurance, wellness, living in Niagara, transportation, getting involved, and important dates. We have also partnered with the iCent App to provide real-time support to students as they arrive to Canada. There is also a comprehensive pre-arrival guide called “Pathway to Success” on Brightspace for all international students, as well as a mandatory online orientation session to provide essential information for their transition to Canada and Brock.
• New International Student Welcome: Brock International welcomed approximately 350 new international undergraduate and graduate students to campus on September 3. The event included a service fair in the Rankin Family Pavilion, which featured stations highlighting various campus and community partners, campus tours, and academic supports.
• New Student Welcome and Academic Orientation: The New Student Welcome and Academic Orientation event took place on September 5 and welcomed the incoming class to the Brock community in Ian Beddis Gym. The opening ceremony included welcoming remarks from campus leaders and an inspirational keynote address. Students were then connected to academic orientation session(s) and additional orientation events (e.g., co-op orientation).
• Welcome Week: Welcome Week took place during the first week of classes (September 2 – 10) and included a full schedule of exciting events and programming hosted by a variety of campus units and the Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU). Welcome Week provides students with opportunities to meet classmates, develop friendships, and learn everything about what Brock University offers.

Orientation initiatives are assessed annually to gain a better understanding of the new student experience. Assessment tools include the New Student Experience survey, facilitates a better understanding of student expectations and possible challenges/worries associated with starting at Brock; the Fall Orientation Survey, which is sent to all incoming students in October; and attendance tracking, which allows us to gauge student engagement with the activities offered.

Sincerely,

Lynn Wells

Provost and Vice-President, Academic