The Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre (RGASC) at UTM is enhancing support for students returning from suspension by adding learning strategy mentorship to support academic re-entry and progression. The project builds on the Promoting Academic Skills for Success (PASS) Program, which supports students on probation or suspension to develop academic skills during their time away from classes. While PASS helps students prepare to return, many students report that the transition back to coursework after a break can be challenging. This initiative adds targeted mentorship after students return and focuses on applying learning strategies in real time when academic challenges arise and when support needs are often highest. UTM is pairing returning students with ongoing learning strategy guidance to reduce overwhelm and improve student’s likelihood of returning to good standing in the first session back. The initiative will track participation and academic standing outcomes to understand what supports make the biggest difference for successful re-entry.
Outcomes
This initiative is intended to improve academic re-entry outcomes for students returning from suspension. Connecting students returning from suspension to mentoring in their first academic session after suspension is intended to establish an approach that can be replicated across the University of Toronto once efficacy and an efficient delivery model are confirmed. Outcomes from the project will be used to assess whether post suspension mentoring supports students’ transition back to coursework and to inform on the scalability of this project.