Transform First Year ("Transform") is a free school readiness program designed for incoming first-year students entering the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Transform provides students with the academic skills that they will need to start first-year through a series of modules relating to academic success. In addition, first-year students will be in cohorts, known as homerooms, led by an upper year student leader and will attend and participate in school spirit activities, online discussions and team challenges, mentor meeting sessions, mock evaluations, and other workshops and presentations relating to student success.
Program highlights:
- Develop the academic skills for academic success during first-year through a variety of fun activities.
- Experience first-year simulations and mock university evaluations.
- Connect and meet other students.
- Be mentored by an upper year student.
- Participate in fun school spirit activities and challenges.
- Compete with other homerooms to win the Transform Trophy Cup.
- Be exposed to Microsoft Office, BlackBoard Learn, UWinsite Student and other instructional technologies used at the University of Windsor.
- Enter to win a UWindsor sweater.
Transform Winners
2022: Homeroom Natively Creative from the Creative and Performing Arts
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the Transform program, students should be able to:
- Identify the four common learning styles.
- Devise an effective plan to reduce procrastination.
- Discuss the importance of being an independent learner.
- Construct professional emails.
- Describe the different programs within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and their career paths.
- Identify the experiential learning programs at the University of Windsor.
- Discuss the importance of academic integrity.
- Describe plagiarism and the academic misconduct process.
- Classify the student support services as either career, academic, social, financial, or health-related.
- Define stress and burnout.
- Create a student health and wellness plan.
For more information about Transform, please email the FAHSS Student Experience Coordinator at transformfirstyear@uwindsor.ca.
Testimonials from Transform Student Participants
"I chose to do Transform because it immediately appealed to me to learn the ropes of how university functions and how I can be the best possible student I can be. University is also a time where there is a higher chance of meeting your lifelong friends and creating connections. This is something I hope to gain by the end of Transform. Would I recommend it to others? Of course! Transform gives all incoming FAHSS students the facts on how to best prepare and expect what university will be like. I have learned so much, especially the importance of being an independent learner and what it takes to LEAD in this next stage of our lives." - Catie from Film Production
"I chose to do Transform to help me feel more comfortable coming to University! I would recommend it to others! Especially if they are nervous or anxious about starting University. Transform is an amazing program, and I'm happy to be a part of it!" - Emma from French Studies
"I felt unprepared to go to university. I only knew a few people from my faculty, roughly understood how the university systems worked, and had only stepped foot on campus once before Transform. The idea of university was overwhelming to say the least. That changed after starting Transform. I met so many people both in person and online. I had the opportunity to learn about the university, the opportunities, and the services it provides! Being able to come in person to a class almost every week also just helped me feel more comfortable with the idea of being a university student. I would definitely recommend Transform to my peers, as it has given me a much greater sense of confidence regarding my next steps in university." - Aysha from Psychology
"I chose to do Transform because personally I thought that I needed to be more comfortable around campus. I wanted to meet students and staff in the school! I would totally recommend others to join because it's an awesome learning experience and you get to make new friends!" – Jasmine from Communication, Media and Film
Testimonials from Transform Leaders
"Transform has helped my leadership development immensely, due to the experience that I am gaining through it. My supervisors, colleagues, and students have given me an opportunity to improve my leadership skills, whether it is through regular meetings regarding professional development or situations I run into. I recommend other to apply to be a Transform Community Leader next summer because of the nature of the position. It is a great chance to build connections, mentor others who may be anxious about university, and develop your leadership skills." - Mariam from Psychology
"Transform has helped me continue to build on my personal leadership development by teaching me how to set goals and work to achieve them within my own community. At the beginning of the summer, I was able to set goals with my Transform mentees that we work on each week so that we may improve when school begins in September. Together we work on ways to study, ways to make new friends, ways to get involved, and more. Having these goals allows my group to be accountable for their own learning because they know that they are working towards something that they want to achieve. For me, as their mentor, it allows me to be involved with their learning journey, check in with them, and cater what we do to what they want to learn, which I believe are important qualities of team leaders." - Alyssa from History and Education