Community Connections Intensive Experience
Helping incoming students make meaningful connections and feel prepared for university life prior to arriving at Western.
Program Lead: Partnership between Student Experience’s Transition, Leadership & Enrichment team, and Residence
Project Status: Complete
The Community Connections program is designed to help incoming students make meaningful connections and feel prepared for university life prior to arriving at Western. The program is built on research suggesting that incoming students who make an early connection with staff and resources are more likely to succeed in their first year of study. It offers incoming students a variety of activities that support students in discovering their strengths, establishing relationships, identifying key mental and physical health resources, and feeling a sense of belonging on campus.
Parr Centre funding was allocated to build and augment this signature program into an overnight, two-day intensive experience for incoming students and their guests. Expanding this program from one to two days provided added capacity to enhance the program to address the following topics:
- Gender-based violence education (‘Undressing Consent’ training, an in-person workshop that dives deeper into the skills and behaviours surrounding consent, sexual violence, sexuality, and its impact on our campus community)
- Alcohol and other drugs education
- A full campus tour with particular attention paid to locating key academic, mental health and physical health resources at Western
- A faculty panel, where professors spoke about their work and respective academic programs, and students were able to ask faculty members questions to feel more prepared for academic life at Western
- An overnight residence stay, with roommate – along with debrief and facilitated reflection with Housing colleagues providing an opportunity to experience residence life and introduce students early to transitional issues they may face
- An expanded guest program – introducing parents to topics, and preparing them for conversations with their students around topics such as consent, alcohol consumption, normalizing the concept of help-seeking behaviour, etc.
In summary...
- Between July 9 and August 12, 2022, 674 total students participated in the Community Connections program, as well as 449 guests. With the Parr Centre support, the two-day program was created and approximately half the students (335) engaged in the expanded, immersive learning experience.
- Of the 106 guests who completed the post-program survey…
- 96% strongly agreed or agreed that they are familiar with the challenges and joys their student may experience in their transition to Western.
- 96% strongly agreed or agreed that they know the supports available to their Western student
- 92% are confident in their role as a champion for their student.
- The most common theme that emerged from guests’ reflections about the most valuable aspect of this program: learning about the resources available to their student
- Of the 257 students who responded to the post-program survey…
- 93% were 18 years or younger
- 97% strongly agreed or agreed that as a result of the program they can identify at least one program or support that will enhance their academic success as a Western student
- 95% strongly agreed or agreed that as a result of the program they can identify at least one program or support that will enhance their personal success/well-being as a Western student
- 95% of survey respondents who participated strongly agreed or agreed that they made at least one new friend
- 98% of survey respondents who participated strongly agreed or agreed that they feel more connected to the campus community
- 98% strongly agreed or agreed that they understand the full spectrum of what constitutes sexual violence
