By Christian Durand
As staff and faculty are well aware, the move to an online university has been challenging for the student population. When the fall term kicked off, students were filled with questions as to how to access Concordia's numerous services in a virtual environment.
To help answer the high volume of student inquiries, the Student Success Centre teamed up with the Dean of Students Office to create an online Student Service Station. The idea was to funnel students to a centralized location where they could get the information they need instead of each unit hosting individual drop-in sessions.
How it works
The Student Service Station is a weekly Q&A hosted live on Zoom where students can pop in and out to learn more about a relevant service. Inspired by the Ask a Librarian initiative, staff members triage students into service-specific break-out rooms where they can connect with individual units and get the answers they need in a timely manner. A typical session sees 20 to 30 students participate in various rooms.
"The goal of the Student Service Station is to provide a human connection and friendly faces in these unprecedented times," explains Laura Mitchell, executive director of Student Services.
"We also wanted to avoid students bouncing around too much. This is an excellent one-stop-shop for those who want to learn more about what's out there. It is also beneficial to staff members because it allows them to learn about what services other units offer, and get updates from colleagues across the university"
Sai Kiran, a Master's student in civil engineering, found accessing the Student Service Station helpful on numerous levels.
"I got insights about various resources that were new to me, like the Institute for Co-operative Education and the Student Success Centre. I look forward to going to more sessions."
- Participating units include:
- Birks Student Service Centre
- Campus Wellness and Support Services
- Dean of Students Office
- GradProSkills
- School of Graduate Studies
- Institute for Co-operative Education
- International Students Office
- Student Success Centre
- Recreation and Athletics
- Library
- Faculty of Arts and Science: Academic Advising
- Faculty of Fine Arts: Academic Advising
- Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science: Academic Advising
- John Molson School of Business: Academic Advising
With the exception of Friday, January 15, Student Service Stations will be offered every Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during the winter term. Please refer any student who you think would benefit from attending.
