Provost Douglas Kneale’s latest Question of the Month addresses residence life at the University of Windsor.
Most of the University’s hundreds of students living in on-campus residences are first-year students from outside Windsor-Essex. Many local students forgo residence life in favour of staying at home with their parents.
While a number of factors make this a reasonable lifestyle decision, Dr. Kneale says, students who choose to live in residence immerse themselves in the full university experience.
“They enjoy a greater level of independence, meet interesting new people, form a stronger bond with the University, and even set themselves up better for academic success,” he says.
A growing body of scholarship suggests that students who live in residence in first year have a greater sense of “belonging, engagement, and openness to diversity” (NSSE). They also have a higher first-year grade point average, a higher retention rate from first year to second, and a higher graduation rate (Academica Group 2017).
Perhaps, Kneale suggests, attending UWindsor and living on campus in first year represents the best of both words for local students.
So, the Provost’s Question of the Month for January 2018 follows:
If you are/were a first-year local student in residence, why did you choose to live on campus?
And if you wanted to encourage someone else to do what you did, what would be your top three selling points?
As always, the author of the most compelling response will win a fantastic and warm University of Windsor hoodie from the Campus Bookstore!
While this month’s question is primarily addressed to a specific cohort of UWindsor students, all students, faculty, and staff who feel their experiences are relevant to the topic are welcome to participate.
Send your response to vpacademic@uwindsor.ca by January 31. For more information, visit uwindsor.ca/provost/provosts-question-of-the-month.
Respondents share thoughts on teaching and learning
Before the winter break, the provost’s previous Question of the Month explored “Innovation in Teaching and Learning Excellence,” one of the key priorities of the University’s Strategic Mandate Agreement with the Province of Ontario. Kneale asked students and instructors to share their best experiences in teaching and learning. The question was designed to uncover the most effective pathways to student success in UWindsor classrooms.
Not surprisingly, responses ran the gamut from experiences in in-person classes led by dynamic lecturers to completely online courses. Learning at university today is a multi-modal, technologically mediated experience. Many enjoyed the interactive aspect of being taught by a real human being in the classroom, while others liked the scheduling freedom that online courses provide.
For most respondents, a blend of pedagogical approaches worked best. Some of the University’s most successful classes, according to the student sample, feature a knowledgeable and enthusiastic lecturer, robust opportunities for meaningful small group work, and value-added online resources. Intelligently deployed multimedia tools also improve student experiences, as do varied methods of assessment and “hands-on” experiential education components, when appropriate.
Jody L. Ralph, associate professor in the Faculty of Nursing, submitted the winning response from a faculty member, while Talysha Bujold-Abu, a second-year student in the School of Creative Arts’ Master of Fine Arts program in visual arts, won the student prize.
To read their responses and consult a helpful list of steps the University is already taking to improve teaching and learning on campus, Kneale encourages you to visit the Question of the Month response website (http://www1.uwindsor.ca/provost/question-of-the-month-november-2017).