After the first week
Raymond Peart - Student Accessibility Services
Over the last four years, Student Accessibility Services has asked registered students what their experiences were during their first week of school. The responses were helpful because they helped our department to better support students in the present and for the future. SAS wanted to know what students felt made them successful and factors they identified as impeding their success during their first week of class. Over the last four years, student responses were consistent.
SAS has identified the following themes that students told us made them successful during their first week and what factors challenged their success.
· Preparing early as a key contributor to success
· Procrastination as a key barrier to success
Preparing early meant:
· Setting up accommodations before or during the first week of class
· Attending every class on time during the first week
· Getting to campus on time
· Connecting with a counsellor or other human support (e.g. ASD Coach)
· Registering for alternative exams (alt exams) as soon as receiving a course syllabus
· Registering for an assistive lab account in DB 1017
Procrastination meant:
· Waiting until the week of or the week before your test exam to register for an alt exam
· Not showing up for your classes and expecting to catch up without problems
· Failing to take traffic and crowds into consideration
· Not asking for help when you needed it and leaving it until the last-minute and expecting things to get resolves, regardless
· Needing to use a computer or printer in the lab right away and learning it takes 24 hours to set up your account
We have attached an information sheet/checklist and recommend you use this sheet to strengthen your first week experience. After the First Week-Pillars for Student Success
