A look back at Orientation 2015
Concordia’s Student Success Centre welcomed the 2015-2016 school year by offering free workshops throughout the first week, to around 3,000 new and returning students.
The sessions were designed to help bolster essential academic skills such as navigating library databases, note-taking and creating action plans.
Laura Mitchell, director of the Student Success Centre says this year was the first time Concordia offered a conference-style orientation in the fall, which included a welcome reception for students to connect with each other.
“It went great, it gave students a chance to select the exact workshops they needed, and put together a conference program for their own skills development.”
Student-led tours provided new arrivals with advice on how to manage their transition into university and adapt to Montreal living. Meanwhile, newly added faculty-specific tours connected students with mentors from their respective programs, so they could become acquainted with the facilities and resources they’d be using most.
If you missed orientation it’s not too late to connect with someone from the Student Success Centre, Mitchell points out. “New students can still sign up for a mentor at any point in the year via our website, and they can come by and ask questions at any time by dropping in to the Mentor Program offices (Room H-481 in the Henry F. Hall Building down, and Room AD-101 in the Administration Building on the Loyola Campus).”
One of the bigger novelties of this year’s orientation was ASFA’s rebranding of Frosh into Launch Week, which, along with the name change, required Launch Week participants to attend a mandatory two-hour training session on consent, presented by Concordia’s Centre for Gender Advocacy.
Another frosh first was the introduction of the newly expanded server intervention program. All those serving at Concordia Events had to attend a three-hour training seminar designed to encourage the responsible management of alcohol service on campus.
“We worked with students leaders on how to identify and reduce harm related to alcohol and sexual assault, and we gave them that training early on so they had those principles in mind when designing their events,” says Terry Kyle, manager of Student Life with the Dean of Students.
Kyle says this year’s goal was to make Launch Week more inclusive and engaging to students who not otherwise attend due to perceptions of binge drinking and peer pressure.
The CSU also organized its own student-run welcome events including open-air pubs, off-campus concerts, picnics, and a sports day.
Find out more about the Student Success Centre and meet a mentor today!