Katie Babcock / en Planning for the future: 吃瓜爆料 launches new student timetable builder app /news/planning-future-u-t-launches-new-student-timetable-builder-app <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Planning for the future: 吃瓜爆料 launches new student timetable builder app</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/_methode_sundaytimes_prod_web_bin_721e093e-f4e2-11ea-a6c6-cfdce9efa370.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=EgWuaL_o 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/_methode_sundaytimes_prod_web_bin_721e093e-f4e2-11ea-a6c6-cfdce9efa370.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=nh8HSp2z 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/_methode_sundaytimes_prod_web_bin_721e093e-f4e2-11ea-a6c6-cfdce9efa370.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=PNihckMV 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/_methode_sundaytimes_prod_web_bin_721e093e-f4e2-11ea-a6c6-cfdce9efa370.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=EgWuaL_o" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-06-29T16:01:43-04:00" title="Wednesday, June 29, 2022 - 16:01" class="datetime">Wed, 06/29/2022 - 16:01</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(Photo via ITS)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-music" hreflang="en">Faculty of Music</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/its" hreflang="en">ITS</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/john-h-daniels-faculty-architecture" hreflang="en">John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">吃瓜爆料 Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">吃瓜爆料 Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Selecting the right courses, scheduling around personal commitments and balancing life as a University of Toronto student&nbsp;just became easier.</p> <p>The university鈥檚 new&nbsp;<a href="https://ttb.utoronto.ca/">Timetable Builder application</a>&nbsp;provides a convenient location for students to search for courses and easily create, optimize and share their intended course schedules.</p> <p>Enterprise Applications &amp; Solutions Integration (EASI) released the application earlier this&nbsp;month after a successful pilot at 吃瓜爆料 Scarborough and&nbsp;extensive consultations across all three campuses.</p> <p>鈥淭he previous timetable systems each provided students with partial information, forcing them to consult multiple sources,鈥 says <strong>Rodney Branch</strong>, manager of client services and process integration, Student Information Systems. 鈥淭he new Timetable Builder combines the best functionality from the earlier pilot with U of Scarborough, divisional applications and the now retired Course Finder.鈥</p> <p>Using the new application, students can search for courses across divisions with greatly improved filtering and can view near real-time information about course sections. They can also manually or automatically generate a visual course timetable based on their preferred course sections and time preferences.</p> <p>To date, the application has been released to 吃瓜爆料 Scarborough, 吃瓜爆料 Mississauga, the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, the Faculty of Music&nbsp;and the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. In the future, it will be released more broadly across the university.</p> <p>User experience was a major focus leading to the success of the project. EASI鈥檚 user experience and process design team conducted university-wide interviews with students and created several prototypes for usability testing.</p> <p>鈥淎t the beginning of the project, we conducted an environmental scan within and outside of 吃瓜爆料 to see what timetable applications students were using,鈥 says <strong>Stefanos Kythreotis</strong>, junior user experience designer with EASI. 鈥淚t was challenging because each tool was unique and each division had its own requirements. To create an effective application, it was important to fully understand the student and staff perspective.鈥</p> <p>In addition to the student facing application, staff can use the Online Administrative Student Information System (OASIS) to access the administrative interface. This interface gives academic divisions the ability to create a 鈥渓egend鈥 of division-specific information that will be displayed with each of its courses, as well as functionality to create and edit course or section-level notes individually or via a batch file upload.</p> <p>Over the course of the project some potential future improvements were identified by the team and participating divisions. These include exporting a created timetable into a student鈥檚 ACORN enrolment cart, and the ability to pre-populate the timetable with courses a student has already enrolled in for the current session.</p> <p>鈥淭he greatest benefit for students and staff is that they will only need to go to one place to search for courses across 吃瓜爆料,鈥 says Branch. 鈥淚 want to thank all of the divisions for their input and helping to optimize the application. We look forward to releasing this more broadly across 吃瓜爆料 and streamlining the planning process for all students.鈥</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 29 Jun 2022 20:01:43 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 175380 at 吃瓜爆料 to launch new accommodated testing services platform /news/u-t-launch-new-accommodated-testing-services-platform <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">吃瓜爆料 to launch new accommodated testing services platform</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT17957_UofT_interior_web-190.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=6cqifnyQ 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/UofT17957_UofT_interior_web-190.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=PEEAnrQq 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/UofT17957_UofT_interior_web-190.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=F44DAwZX 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT17957_UofT_interior_web-190.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=6cqifnyQ" alt="Close up photo of a hand holding a pen above a multiple choice test sheet"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2020-06-15T09:41:21-04:00" title="Monday, June 15, 2020 - 09:41" class="datetime">Mon, 06/15/2020 - 09:41</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">ATS co-ordinates quiz, term test, and final exam accommodations for students on the St. George campus, but is exploring the idea of expanding the platform to 吃瓜爆料 Mississauga and 吃瓜爆料 Scarborough (photo by Stephen Dagg)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/student-experience" hreflang="en">Student Experience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/accessibility" hreflang="en">Accessibility</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Since 2010, the University of Toronto has seen a 146 per cent increase in accommodated test bookings 鈥 from quizzes to tests and final exams. To deal with the growing demand and success of the program, <a href="https://www.ace.utoronto.ca/ats/">Accommodated Testing Services (ATS)</a> is creating a new streamlined process for students, instructors and staff.</p> <p>ATS and Enterprise Applications &amp; Solutions Integration (EASI) began designing a new system in March of 2019 to ease instructors鈥 and administrative work loads and support students on their academic journey.</p> <p>鈥淭he existing processes and technology supporting accommodated tests were implemented in 2010 when we received less than 9,000 accommodation requests per year,鈥 says&nbsp;<strong>Steven Bailey</strong>, director of Academic and Campus Events.&nbsp;鈥淭oday, we receive nearly 22,000 requests per year with a steady increase each year.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲e鈥檙e moving from an outdated, email-based process to a system that will help us deal with the complexities of co-ordinating tens of thousands of unique bookings.鈥</p> <p>ATS is responsible for co-ordinating quiz, term test, and final exam accommodations for students with documented disabilities who are registered with Accessibility Services on the St. George campus.&nbsp;However, ATS and EASI have also consulted 吃瓜爆料 Scarborough and 吃瓜爆料&nbsp;Mississauga about extending the new process 鈥 designed to be transparent, seamless and intuitive, providing easy online access to information through existing 吃瓜爆料 platforms 鈥 to all three campuses.</p> <p>鈥淪tudents will be able to easily log in to ACORN to create bookings with a modern, user-friendly interface,鈥 says <strong>Mark Johnston</strong>, a product manager with EASI. 鈥淭he Course Information System will replace an email-based system for instructors and will provide secure online submission and storage of test details and documents. ATS staff will also use a newly designed application to co-ordinate and manage all requests.鈥</p> <p>In addition to the new platform, ATS changed its name from the previous Test and Exam Services in January.</p> <p>鈥淲e鈥檙e refocusing our service on the people rather than the process and figuring out what instructors, students and staff need while aligning our goals around a common purpose,鈥 says Bailey. 鈥淗aving that word 鈥榓ccommodated鈥 is a multi-dimensional word 鈥 accommodating community needs about academic integrity, efficient work, efficient use of technology and process flow.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>Accommodating different users during the pandemic has also been a central focus for ATS.</p> <p>鈥淭he pandemic is a perfect case in point for why we need to create an infrastructure that is agile enough and is able to pivot as new things emerge,鈥 says Bailey. 鈥淣ew technology around accommodation, new approaches, new assessment and all of the work we鈥檙e doing is laying the foundation for us to incorporate this in the future.鈥</p> <p>The project is part of the Next Generation Student Information Services (NGSIS) program, which creates and deploys technological solutions to help students engage in rewarding learning experiences and achieve academic and personal success. It also helps to provide faculty and staff with a rich and supportive educational environment.</p> <p>The evolution of the process has involved close consultations with a cross section of students, instructors, staff and senior leadership.</p> <p>To date, the instructor module has been piloted with the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education and the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science. Following these pilots, the project team plans to roll out the new online modules to all students and instructors on the St. George campus, and the new administrative system to ATS staff this summer.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淥ur goal is to ensure that all 吃瓜爆料 students have equal opportunity to write tests and exams,鈥 says Bailey. 鈥淲ith the new platform, ATS will be well positioned to provide excellent service to students and their instructors. They鈥檒l have modern tools and technology at their fingertips to anticipate and respond to any challenges that come their way.鈥</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 15 Jun 2020 13:41:21 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 164967 at 吃瓜爆料 rolls out 'one-stop shop' for student awards /news/u-t-rolls-out-one-stop-shop-student-awards <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">吃瓜爆料 rolls out 'one-stop shop' for student awards</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT119_20120327_UTSC_ComputerLab_002-lpr.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=tJUy22dB 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/UofT119_20120327_UTSC_ComputerLab_002-lpr.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=MfPjG_a0 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/UofT119_20120327_UTSC_ComputerLab_002-lpr.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=DWJXQo4E 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT119_20120327_UTSC_ComputerLab_002-lpr.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=tJUy22dB" alt="students looking at computer screens in a computer lab"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2020-03-02T13:20:37-05:00" title="Monday, March 2, 2020 - 13:20" class="datetime">Mon, 03/02/2020 - 13:20</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">吃瓜爆料's Award Explorer is a hub that gives current and prospective students access to thousands of needs- and merit-based financial supports (photo by Ken Jones)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/enterprise-applications-and-solutions-integration" hreflang="en">Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/financial-aid" hreflang="en">Financial Aid</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/school-graduate-studies" hreflang="en">School of Graduate Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">吃瓜爆料 Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">吃瓜爆料 Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The University of Toronto&nbsp;has launched the first phase of <a href="https://awardexplorer.utoronto.ca/">Award Explorer</a> 鈥 a public-facing, centralized awards repository that gives current and prospective students access to thousands of awards, prizes and medals. &nbsp;</p> <p>Undergraduate and graduate students can easily look for, and apply to, awards in a single location using a combination of keyword searches and filters, including award type, campus, college, faculty, citizenship and more.</p> <p>鈥淭he University of Toronto has a wide range of need- and merit-based financial supports for students,鈥 says <strong>Richard Levin</strong>, 吃瓜爆料鈥檚&nbsp;university registrar and executive director of enrolment services.</p> <p>鈥淎ward Explorer is a one-stop shop that will make it much easier and faster for students to find the information they need. At the same time, it will streamline the back-end experience for staff.鈥</p> <p>The new tool,&nbsp;<a href="https://easi.its.utoronto.ca/award-explorer/">the result&nbsp;of a partnership between Enrolment Services and Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration</a> (EASI), centralizes the comprehensive annual&nbsp;support made available to 吃瓜爆料 students. That includes nearly 4,500 admission scholarships, 6,000 in-course scholarships&nbsp;and close to 19,000 bursaries to undergraduate and second entry programs. That鈥檚 on top of 16,000 combined awards, fellowships and bursaries to graduate students.</p> <p>鈥淚n the past, students searched for awards on multiple sites and they weren鈥檛 always sure what they might be eligible for,鈥 says <strong>Donna Wall</strong>, the director of financial aid and awards at Enrolment Services. 鈥淲ith the launch of Award Explorer, we鈥檙e moving toward a consistent user experience for students and staff. It鈥檚 the beginning of building greater awareness of the wide range of need- and merit-based supports available.鈥</p> <p>Awards continue to be added to the repository daily by department and faculty administrators. During this transition, current award information will continue to reside on divisional and departmental websites to ensure this information continues to be accessible to the public. Students can also access the tool through ACORN鈥檚 鈥淎wards and Aid鈥 page.</p> <p>鈥淪ince 2016, we鈥檝e been gathering input and feedback from the academic divisions and other stakeholders,鈥 says <strong>Farah Ally</strong>, the Award Explorer project manager.&nbsp;鈥淓ngaging closely with our key users, such as <strong>Laura Stathopoulos</strong>, director of financial aid at the School of Graduate Studies, has contributed to the institutional success of this project.鈥</p> <p>Award Explorer is now the primary source of award information at 吃瓜爆料 and its functionality will continue to expand. Future phases are already in progress, which include automatically matching students to awards, allowing students to apply for awards online and notifying them about funding decisions and payment information. They will also be able to track the status of their applications, track award payment history and access their award letters.&nbsp;</p> <div> <p>鈥淭his project will transform award administration at 吃瓜爆料 and make us a leader in award administration nationally,鈥 says Wall.&nbsp;鈥淲e want to continue to attract the best and the brightest students.鈥&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 02 Mar 2020 18:20:37 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 163171 at New 吃瓜爆料 exams app saves time and trees /news/new-u-t-exams-app-saves-time-and-trees <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">New 吃瓜爆料 exams app saves time and trees</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-04-30-exam-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=r9kyW6Ui 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2018-04-30-exam-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=qgmomcql 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2018-04-30-exam-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=w_qSlG9M 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-04-30-exam-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=r9kyW6Ui" alt="Photo of students taking exam"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>noreen.rasbach</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2018-04-30T00:00:00-04:00" title="Monday, April 30, 2018 - 00:00" class="datetime">Mon, 04/30/2018 - 00:00</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">A new 吃瓜爆料 app will help to ease anxiety by speeding up exam attendance, improving student tracking, and enhancing the overall staff and student experience</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">吃瓜爆料 Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">吃瓜爆料 Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>It's the&nbsp;most stressful time of the year 鈥 final exams.</p> <p>But a&nbsp;new University of Toronto application will help to ease anxiety by speeding up exam attendance, improving student tracking, and enhancing the overall staff and student experience.</p> <p>The application, called Exam Invigilation, was recently tested with more than 500 students at the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science. It was developed by 吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration (EASI).</p> <p>鈥淚n the past, staff used the small photo on the TCard to confirm a student鈥檚 identity, and they relied on a paper-based registration process,鈥 says <strong>Vik Chadalawada</strong>, senior manager of student information systems with EASI. 鈥淣ow, they can quickly scan the student鈥檚 TCard, confirm their identity on a tablet that displays large photos, and accurately track student information.鈥</p> <p>The technology relies on a Bluetooth scanner that links to the tablets and connects to Student Life鈥檚 TCard photo database. During its recent pilot with the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, the application saved staff over half the registration time&nbsp;compared with the previous process.</p> <p>鈥淥ur goal is to let students focus on writing their exams, which is the culmination of a lot of hard work,鈥 says <strong>Christine Babikian</strong>, associate director, scheduling and examinations at the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science. 鈥淚n the past, staff would walk around the examination room and ask students to sign a registration sheet. Now, they can avoid interrupting students by silently scanning their TCards.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>As a backup, if students forget their TCard for their exam, staff can manually register them by checking a piece of official identification against the TCard photo database.&nbsp;</p> <p>The application also allows staff to track student information in real time. It shows how many students have checked in for the exam and who is&nbsp;late or absent. Staff can view a student鈥檚 entire exam history to see patterns of absences or lateness, and it can track seat numbers, helping staff to investigate possible academic offences.</p> <p>鈥淎ny approved staff can easily log in to the student information system and follow up with students who didn鈥檛 write the exam,鈥 says <strong>Paul Day</strong>, an information systems analyst and client services representative with EASI. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no longer any paper-based back and forth between the exams, registrars and academic integrity offices.鈥&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The application is based on a model originally developed by the University of Toronto Mississauga with <strong>Cesar Mejia</strong>, associate registrar of scheduling and systems management. This version was instrumental in helping EASI to develop an enterprise-wide solution for 吃瓜爆料.</p> <p>And the University of Toronto Scarborough was the first to pilot it in 2016 and 2017. The EASI team initially worked with <strong>Naureen Nizam</strong>, associate registrar and director of systems and operations at 吃瓜爆料 Scarborough, to use it with 1,106 students in courses ranging from chemistry and biology to psychology and sociology.</p> <p>What鈥檚 next for Exam Invigilation? The Faculty of Arts &amp; Science plans to use it in large examination locations in December. The team at EASI also plans to incorporate information from Accessibility Services so staff know which students are writing exams at different locations.</p> <p>鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about how this application could be implemented for all other divisions having similar challenges within 吃瓜爆料,鈥 says Chadalawada. 鈥淚t is yet another area of systems innovation that we are proud to have within our solutions portfolio at EASI.鈥&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 30 Apr 2018 04:00:00 +0000 noreen.rasbach 134368 at Streamlining OSAP: Making tuition and financial aid info easier to process for students /news/streamlining-osap-making-tuition-and-financial-aid-info-easier-process-students <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Streamlining OSAP: Making tuition and financial aid info easier to process for students</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-04-26-ACORN.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=l-2QMM_o 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2018-04-26-ACORN.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=1ssDdTco 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2018-04-26-ACORN.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=i5GVWCgo 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-04-26-ACORN.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=l-2QMM_o" alt="student on laptop"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2018-04-26T12:23:05-04:00" title="Thursday, April 26, 2018 - 12:23" class="datetime">Thu, 04/26/2018 - 12:23</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(photo by iStock)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/financial-aid" hreflang="en">Financial Aid</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-commerce" hreflang="en">Rotman Commerce</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>From tuition and financial aid to fees and incidental costs, many students struggle to figure out the actual cost of university.</p> <p>An online statement will make the process&nbsp;easier for University of Toronto students who will soon be able to see the net cost of tuition and fees, including the amount they&nbsp;may owe to&nbsp;the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;all in one place.</p> <p>Starting in July, students will have access to a simple snapshot of their net cost of tuition and fees in ACORN.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淭his statement gives students easy access to their OSAP aid amounts,鈥 says<strong> Farah Ally</strong>, project manager with Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration (EASI). 鈥淚t helps them know how much government financial aid they are eligible for before they register, and it gives them a comprehensive picture of the actual cost of their education before the start of the school year.鈥</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__8172 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/net-cost-january-2.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 700px; margin: 5px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> The changes were mandated by Ontario鈥檚 Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, and EASI is partnering with Enrolment Services and others across the university to bring them into reality.</p> <p>鈥淢aking these changes has truly taken a team effort. They don鈥檛 just affect OSAP administration, they&nbsp;affect business processes within Enrolment Services, Student Accounts, EASI, and the academic divisions,鈥 says <strong>Donna Wall</strong>, director of&nbsp;financial aid and&nbsp;awards at Enrolment Services. 鈥淚t was important to have expertise at the table from all of these areas.鈥</p> <p>Wall also participates in a Council of Universities working group, which advises on this and other sector-wide issues.</p> <p>As part of the changes, 吃瓜爆料 and all other Ontario postsecondary institutions will directly receive students鈥 OSAP funds to apply against student tuition and other fees. This streamlined process will save students the extra step of paying their 吃瓜爆料 fees after receiving their OSAP funding.</p> <p>To make sure the changes are&nbsp;effective, EASI interviewed and conducted tests with students.</p> <p>鈥淲e went through several rounds of testing with students to design something that works well,鈥 says <strong>Laura Klamot</strong>, a user experience designer with EASI. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an iterative process 鈥 we keep simplifying and refining the design to make sure we communicate the clearest possible information to students.鈥</p> <p><strong>Ibraheem Aziz</strong>, a third-year Rotman Commerce student, says the changes will make the process easier.</p> <p>鈥淲hen I receive OSAP it can be difficult to get a realistic estimate about the cost of attending university,鈥 he says.&nbsp;鈥淚t will save so much time to see all the information in one location at the same time.鈥</p> <p>Ally agrees.</p> <p>鈥淲e want students to be focused on their academic studies, and anything we can do to make financial planning easier for them is a priority for us. This is an exciting initiative that will help to provide clarity and transparency about the out-of-pocket cost of tuition.鈥</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 26 Apr 2018 16:23:05 +0000 ullahnor 134163 at Farewell to ROSI, 吃瓜爆料's student web service /news/farewell-rosi-u-t-s-student-web-service <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Farewell to ROSI, 吃瓜爆料's student web service</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-02-05-ROSI-RESIZED.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=ICu2xhBe 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2018-02-05-ROSI-RESIZED.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=4sMRuyRs 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2018-02-05-ROSI-RESIZED.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=8UpaKE-- 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-02-05-ROSI-RESIZED.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=ICu2xhBe" alt="Photo of ROSI mascot"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>noreen.rasbach</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2018-02-05T12:40:04-05:00" title="Monday, February 5, 2018 - 12:40" class="datetime">Mon, 02/05/2018 - 12:40</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The ROSI mascot from orientation in 2004 (photo by Katie Babcock)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/information-technology" hreflang="en">Information Technology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/innis-college" hreflang="en">Innis College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>After 19 years, ROSI Student Web Service&nbsp;will officially be retired on Feb.&nbsp;15. In its place, ACORN has now become the primary student web service since launching in 2015 鈥 with more than&nbsp;12 million logins in the past year.</p> <p>吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration (EASI) kept the two systems running concurrently to help students make the transition. Now,&nbsp;ACORN is ready to take over.</p> <p>But how did we make the leap from long lineups and paper-based registration to technology that revolutionizes the student experience?</p> <p>When ROSI was nearing the end of its lifecycle, the project team decided to rewrite the code with contemporary best practices and student expectations in mind. These included using inclusive design principles for accessibility, improving mobile usability, and making the process of planning and enrolling in courses more helpful and personalized to each student.</p> <p>The team engaged hundreds of students through interviews, usability tests and other research activities.</p> <p>鈥淥ur goal was to improve the student experience using the web service in a number of different ways: planning for and conducting course enrolment, understanding and accessing financial information, as well as increasing the visibility and engagement with student life services,鈥 says <strong>Michael Clark</strong>, manager of user experience and process design with EASI.</p> <p>鈥淎CORN provides a cohesive experience that helps students navigate an otherwise complicated network of resources across the university.鈥</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__7498 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" height="453" src="/sites/default/files/2018-02-05-scarborough-lineup_0.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="451" loading="lazy"></p> <p><em>Students register for classes, using paper, at 吃瓜爆料 Scarborough in 1969 (photo courtesy of University of Toronto Scarborough Library, UTSC Archives Legacy Collection)</em></p> <p>The ACORN project team within EASI partnered with Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions and with Information Security and Enterprise Architecture to launch the service.</p> <p>鈥淎CORN is a more highly polished and functional website than ROSI could be during its time. Students can see if there鈥檚 room in a course and how long a wait list is 鈥 there鈥檚 much more transparency to the process,鈥 says <strong>Karel Swift</strong>, who was 吃瓜爆料鈥檚 university registrar and led the functional development and implementation of ROSI. 鈥淔ees can also be paid in the same place as course and program selection 鈥 it truly is a one-stop shop.鈥</p> <h2>The past</h2> <p>Before 1974, students registered through an entirely paper-based system.</p> <p>The university moved from this system in 1974 to enter students鈥 paper-based course selections into computers. In 1978, staff transcribed 31,400 students鈥 selections.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__7492 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" height="453" src="/sites/default/files/2018-02-05-other-lineup-resized.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="603" loading="lazy"></p> <p><i>&nbsp;Students waiting in line outside of Woodsworth College, formerly the Drill Hall, to register for classes in 1988 (photo courtesy of Richard Chow)</i></p> <p>鈥淚n the 1980s, students used to wait in long lineups to have their paper course selections processed in the computer system,鈥 says <strong>Rodney Branch</strong>, who worked in college registrars鈥 offices at the time and is currently manager of client services and process integration with EASI. 鈥淭hey would then have to line up separately to pay their fees. The lineups would go out the door, down the hall and onto the sidewalk.鈥</p> <p><strong>Donald Boere</strong>, registrar of Innis College, remembers ACCESS, the Assisted by Computer Course Enrolment and Scheduling System used by the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science starting in the late 1980s.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__7491 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/2018-02-05-IBM-resized.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 389px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image">鈥淚n the summer, students wrote their options for timetable scenarios on paper forms, and all these requests would be typed into IBM dedicated terminals (pictured left) by staff, though in later years, students with touch-tone 鈥 not rotary&nbsp;鈥 phones could enter their own requests through the Student Telephone Service. Resulting timetables were mailed to every student. For changes, there was a second round, called Mini-ACCESS, and students got new timetables during Registration Week. It was pretty cutting-edge for its time.鈥</p> <p><strong>Anil Purandar茅 </strong>was one of those students. 鈥淒uring my first year, I was anxious and pretty naive about the process. New College had a large sign that said, 鈥楧on鈥檛 Worry 鈥 We鈥檒l Help You.鈥 It was lovely to meet people, but increasingly complex registration required a more effective process,鈥 says Purandar茅, now a doctoral registration specialist at the Office of the Registrar and Student Services at 吃瓜爆料's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).</p> <p>鈥淎CORN has made the registration process much more student-friendly. When you鈥檙e anxious, and perhaps naive about the process, that helps a lot.鈥</p> <p>ROSI was introduced in 1999 and was used, along with the ROSI telephone service, to enable 54,132 students to register in real time.</p> <h2>The future</h2> <p>In 2016-17, 88,766 students enrolled at 吃瓜爆料. To accommodate increasing numbers and enrolment complexity in the future, Information Technology Services will implement a new computing platform in 2018. This upgrade will improve system performance and capacity, allowing up to 15,000 students to register simultaneously for classes during peak registration times.</p> <p>ROSI, now called ROSI Alumni Transcripts, will continue to exist in a simplified form for alumni to view their academic history, request transcripts and reset their PIN. Staff will still use the administrator-facing ROSI to manage and maintain students鈥 records, and ACORN will evolve to serve students鈥 needs.</p> <p>鈥淎CORN will continue to be timely, personalized and helpful 鈥 with improved accessibility, mobile optimizations, financial tools and additional complementary tools, including the Grant Application, GPA Calculator and Financial Planning Calculator,鈥 says Clark. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the hub in the wheel of student services and we鈥檒l be strengthening that core to consistently improve the student experience.鈥</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 05 Feb 2018 17:40:04 +0000 noreen.rasbach 128857 at Financial planning calculator helps 吃瓜爆料 students to easily and accurately predict their living costs /news/financial-planning-calculator-helps-u-t-students-easily-and-accurately-predict-their-living <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Financial planning calculator helps 吃瓜爆料 students to easily and accurately predict their living costs</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-10-27-budgeting-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=zC---jqq 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-10-27-budgeting-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Noq-m53G 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-10-27-budgeting-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=JaBTVh1z 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-10-27-budgeting-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=zC---jqq" alt="Photo of woman budgeting"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rasbachn</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-10-27T16:38:30-04:00" title="Friday, October 27, 2017 - 16:38" class="datetime">Fri, 10/27/2017 - 16:38</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Since its launch in February 2016, the financial calculator has helped more than 14,152 undergraduate students. Now the application is available to all graduate and second-entry students (photo by iStock)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/information-technology" hreflang="en">Information Technology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item"> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tuition is just the beginning. Housing, utilities, food, textbooks, transit and recreation costs all add up, and managing expenses can often become an overwhelming task for busy students. But the <a href="https://planningcalc.utoronto.ca/financialPlanner/#/">financial planning calculator</a>, now available to all 吃瓜爆料 students, is helping them easily and accurately predict their living costs for a year 鈥 setting them up for academic and future success.</p> <p>鈥淲hen we interviewed students before developing this application, we discovered that they didn鈥檛 know how to budget, how much to budget or didn鈥檛 have effective tools, aside from calculating everything manually using a spreadsheet,鈥 says <strong>Laura Klamot</strong>, a user experience designer with 吃瓜爆料鈥檚 <a href="https://main.its.utoronto.ca/its-units/easi/">Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration department</a>&nbsp;(EASI). 鈥淣ow students have a simple, customizable tool they can use each year to plan ahead.鈥</p> <p>鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to predict what everything will cost 鈥 especially food and recreation,鈥 says <strong>Yanna Ding</strong>, a first-year student in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science. 鈥淲hen I graduate I don鈥檛 want to have a lot of debt, so I want to manage my finances closely. I鈥檒l also need to develop economic independence, and a tool like this could really help in my future planning.鈥</p> <h3><a href="http://planningcalc.utoronto.ca/financialPlanner/#/">Use the financial planning calculator</a></h3> <h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjp8cBVjG_c&amp;feature=youtu.be">Tutorial shows how the calculator works</a></h3> <p>The tool helps students quickly predict how much it will cost to live in Toronto, an often difficult task for those who are unfamiliar with the area. It is also highly customizable for each individual depending on their program, year of study, residency status and campus. The application will suggest specific resources for awards and financial aid to help them save money and manage expenses.</p> <p>鈥淚f you鈥檙e spending more money on meals, compared to your peers, then the application will notify you and offer resources such as 吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Food Services, and there鈥檚 also information about cooking for yourself,鈥 says <strong>Michael Clark</strong>, manager of user experience and process design at EASI.</p> <p>The team is planning to solicit feedback and make improvements for future releases.</p> <p>鈥淚鈥檓 happy we鈥檙e providing this tool to students as it will help them make informed decisions about their finances,鈥 says Clark. 鈥淲e鈥檙e focused on improving the student experience, and this tool is an example of how we can approach that objective from a different direction and offer value to our community.鈥</p> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 27 Oct 2017 20:38:30 +0000 rasbachn 120162 at Playground superheroes: 吃瓜爆料 research shows kids overestimate physical abilities /news/playground-superheroes-u-t-research-shows-kids-overestimate-physical-abilities <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Playground superheroes: 吃瓜爆料 research shows kids overestimate physical abilities</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-06-27-playground-super-heroes-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=hhrWGHaZ 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-06-27-playground-super-heroes-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=2J6Zs7Eu 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-06-27-playground-super-heroes-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=XzflPucA 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-06-27-playground-super-heroes-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=hhrWGHaZ" alt="Photo of two children dressed as superheroes"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>krisha</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-06-27T10:39:45-04:00" title="Tuesday, June 27, 2017 - 10:39" class="datetime">Tue, 06/27/2017 - 10:39</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Study finds that younger children haven鈥檛 had as much experience moving, and this may be why their perception of what is possible could be less accurate (photo by iStockPhoto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Katie Babcock</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/kpe" hreflang="en">KPE</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-kinesiology-physical-education" hreflang="en">Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>If your child fearlessly flies&nbsp;through the air like a superhero or leaps over large obstacles like an extreme athlete, new research from the University of Toronto shows&nbsp;that young children often overestimate their physical abilities.&nbsp;</p> <p>It鈥檚 a finding that could&nbsp;not only help&nbsp;exasperated parents deal with daredevil children, but it could also create new guidelines for sport training and help children&nbsp;with movement disorders.</p> <p>鈥淚n this study, we measured how accurately kids and young adults could imagine their movements and how well they could perceive what actions were possible for them to perform,鈥 says researcher <strong>Tim Welsh</strong>, a professor at 吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Faculty of Kinesiology &amp;&nbsp;Physical Education. 鈥淲e found that adults tend to estimate their abilities fairly accurately&nbsp;while young children will overestimate these same abilities.鈥 &nbsp;</p> <p>Welsh and his team studied how well 45 individuals&nbsp;between the ages of 7 and 25 imagined, perceived and executed a specific movement. The study was recently published in the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00222895.2017.1327408"><em>Journal of Motor Behavior</em></a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>Past research has shown that the more times a person performs a task the better they become at estimating their abilities to perform that task in the future. Younger children haven鈥檛 had as much experience moving, and this may be why their perception of what is possible could be less accurate.</p> <p>The findings may influence approaches to training athletes.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淎thletes often use visualization as a training tool, and they also learn by watching others and imagining how they would perform the task themselves,鈥 says Welsh. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to understand how this mental practice works so we can help shape learning and coaching environments.鈥</p> <p><strong>Emma Yoxon</strong>, a graduate student at KPE&nbsp;and lead author of the study, has already incorporated some of these findings into practice as a synchronized swimming coach. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲e use visualization a lot because access to the pool can be limited and we want to avoid overtraining. While imagination is an important tool for many athletes, it might not be as effective for younger children 鈥 now I try to get kids moving more.鈥</p> <p>Such mental practice might not only benefit high performance athletes, but it might also help people with movement disorders recover their abilities. &nbsp;</p> <p>Welsh and Yoxon are currently working with scientists at the Movement Disorders Clinic at Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. They want to understand how well these individuals could use their imagination to train while resting as opposed to stressing their systems through constant physical performance.&nbsp;</p> <p>In the future, the team plans to run the same studies in individuals with autism, who may face&nbsp;challenges observing and executing actions.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淣ow that we know people imagine, perceive and execute actions differently, we鈥檙e trying to understand the different brain areas involved,鈥 says Welsh. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to be breaking new ground in this area to hopefully help a wide range of people 鈥 from children to elite athletes and those simply wanting to pick up a glass of water.鈥&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 27 Jun 2017 14:39:45 +0000 krisha 108693 at Five ways to celebrate Pride at 吃瓜爆料 /news/five-ways-celebrate-pride-u-t <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Five ways to celebrate Pride at 吃瓜爆料</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-06-01-pride-flag.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=1Zlr8-6S 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-06-01-pride-flag.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=k4RqbA5n 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-06-01-pride-flag.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=rQptaoKU 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-06-01-pride-flag.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=1Zlr8-6S" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-06-01T13:55:52-04:00" title="Thursday, June 1, 2017 - 13:55" class="datetime">Thu, 06/01/2017 - 13:55</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The Pride flag was raised today at the Varsity Centre as part of Pride Month celebrations (photo by Katie Babcock) </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Katie Babcock</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pride" hreflang="en">Pride</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/lgbtq" hreflang="en">LGBTQ</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Pride flag went up at&nbsp;吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Varsity Centre on Bloor Street today, kicking off upcoming celebrations at the university for Toronto's second Pride Month. &nbsp;</p> <p>The flag&nbsp;signals 吃瓜爆料鈥檚 continued support for the LGBTQ+ community. The university鈥檚 internationally recognized Positive Space campaign, which raises the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community, was started 21 years ago.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Ira Jacobs</strong>, dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE), <strong>Alex Malone</strong>, a Varsity Blues athlete,&nbsp;and <strong>Kelly Hannah-Moffat</strong>, vice-president of human resources and equity, spoke at the flag raising.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淪ince 1999, the university鈥檚 Sexual and Gender Diversity Office and KPE have greatly expanded training, programs and events,鈥 says&nbsp;<strong>Allison Burgess</strong>, the sexual &amp; gender diversity officer with human resources and&nbsp;equity. 鈥湷怨媳 also has so many LGBTQ+ student groups and has a long history of activism 鈥 the first on-campus LGBTQ+ association in Canada was created at 吃瓜爆料 in 1969. So many campus departments and groups, including KPE, have worked to collaborate and increase awareness, knowledge and understanding of LGBTQ+ students, staff and faculty.鈥</p> <p>Among the many initiatives across the university, KPE&nbsp;has developed Athlete Ally, a Varsity Blues program committed to ending homophobia and transphobia in sport. The Faculty also started a student-led group that organizes inclusive initiatives throughout the year.</p> <p>鈥淏y raising the flag high over Bloor Street, the Faculty and 吃瓜爆料 are proud to recognize the beginning of Canada鈥檚 Pride month,鈥 Jacobs said. 鈥淒uring the month of June, we will unite with other organizations along Bloor Street to celebrate our LGBTQ community.</p> <p>鈥淣ot only does this event link to our academic mission and signify the beginning of Pride month, it also shows our dedication to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion at all levels 鈥 in research, education and our broad spectrum of co-curricular physical activity and sport programs, and student-driven initiatives.鈥</p> <p>Here are some more events marking the month:</p> <p><a href="http://sgdo.utoronto.ca/event/2017-u-t-pride-pub/"><strong>吃瓜爆料 Pride Pub</strong></a><br> June 9<br> 4-8 p.m. Community Fair and BBQ<br> 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Dancing Under the Stars<br> Hart House Quad, 7 Hart House Circle<br> Learn about LGBTQ+ resources at our community fair, play games like giant Jenga, make buttons and listen to amazing music.<br> Featuring: Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers, Cozmic Cat (Cherry Bomb, Queer Nation) and Sammy Royale (Yes Yes Y鈥檃ll)&nbsp;<br> This is a family-friendly event. All ages until 9 p.m., 17+ after 9 p.m.</p> <p><a href="http://positivespace.utoronto.ca/event/displayyourpride-2017/"><strong>Display your Pride</strong></a><br> June 22<br> 8 a.m.-11:30 p.m.<br> Show your creative flair and fabulous colours by decorating your office or student space in support of Pride. Be sure to tweet your photos with the #DisplayYourPride and #UofT hashtag (as well as your campus鈥 hastag: #UTSC, #UTM and #StG) and follow online. Don鈥檛 have a Twitter, Instagram or Facebook account? Send photos to <a href="mailto:sgdo@utoronto.ca">sgdo@utoronto.ca</a>, and it will be tweeted&nbsp;for you.</p> <p><a href="http://sgdo.utoronto.ca/event/u-t-participates-pride-run/"><strong>Pride Remembrance Run</strong></a><br> June 24<br> 10-11:30 a.m.<br> Corner of Church and Wellesley<br> The 吃瓜爆料 Pride and Remembrance Run Team will hit the pavement in support of local LGBTQ+ charitable organizations. The 5km run (or 3km walk) circles twice around Queen鈥檚 Park Crescent (once for the walkers) and then finishes back at the corner of Church and Wellesley streets.&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://sgdo.utoronto.ca/events/2017-06/"><strong>Trans March, Dyke March and Pride Parade</strong></a><br> June 23, 24 and 25<br> Represent the 吃瓜爆料 community in Toronto鈥檚 Pride celebrations. Join the Trans March, Dyke March, Pride Parade, or all three.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><a href="http://sgdo.utoronto.ca/events/">Check the Sexual &amp; Gender Diversity Office&nbsp;website</a></strong><br> Look&nbsp;for any updates to this month's&nbsp;Pride calendar.&nbsp;Students can also join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/equitymovement/?fref=ts">the Equity Movement</a>, a student-led group at KPE which&nbsp;organizes inclusive initiatives throughout the year.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 01 Jun 2017 17:55:52 +0000 ullahnor 108019 at Olympic athletes disproportionately white and privately educated, 吃瓜爆料 researcher finds /news/olympic-athletes-disproportionately-white-and-privately-educated-u-t-researcher-finds <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Olympic athletes disproportionately white and privately educated, 吃瓜爆料 researcher finds</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-05-11-biking.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Kb80oRGK 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-05-11-biking.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=_HU6zz5G 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-05-11-biking.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=MjK2ZX_O 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-05-11-biking.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Kb80oRGK" alt="photo of bicyclists"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-05-11T14:23:50-04:00" title="Thursday, May 11, 2017 - 14:23" class="datetime">Thu, 05/11/2017 - 14:23</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">London 2012 Olympic Women's Triathlon Final - Hyde Park (photo by iDJ Photography via Flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/nicole-bodnar" hreflang="en">Nicole Bodnar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/nicole-bodnar-files-katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Nicole Bodnar with files from Katie Babcock</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Nicole Bodnar, with files from Katie Babcock</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/olympics" hreflang="en">Olympics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/kpe" hreflang="en">KPE</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sports" hreflang="en">Sports</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">鈥淎 major barrier to participation in many sports is access to wealth鈥</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>White and privately educated Olympic athletes&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;particularly Winter Olympic Games athletes&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;are over-represented on Olympic teams from Canada, the United States, Great Britain and Australia, a University of Toronto researcher has found.</p> <p>It's the first international study to examine sociodemographic profiles of individual athletes.</p> <p>鈥淧ublic funds are heavily subsidizing Olympic teams that are composed primarily of white and privately educated elite athletes&nbsp;in Canada and in high income countries globally,鈥 said Dr. <strong>David Lawrence</strong>.</p> <p>The study鈥檚 lead author,&nbsp;Lawrence, is a master鈥檚 student in epidemiology at 吃瓜爆料's<a href="http://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/">&nbsp;Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a>&nbsp;and a staff physician at the David L. MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic.</p> <p>Olympic sports and athletes receive significant financial support from the publicly funded federal budget, an investment that is intended to promote health and physical activity, Lawrence said. The Canadian federal government provides approximately $197 million annually to <a href="http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1414510019083">Sport Canada</a>, most of which is directed towards elite and Olympic athletes.</p> <p>A former university rugby player and <a href="http://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/2016/08/rio2016-sports-medicine-physician-leverages-front-row-olympic-seat-to-examine-structure-of-sport-funding-in-canada/">member of the Canadian Health Services Team last summer in the Rio de Janeiro&nbsp;Olympic Games</a>, Lawrence decided to pursue a public health degree after practicing for two years as a sports medicine physician so he could critically evaluate this so-called 鈥渢rickle-down effect鈥 of elite sport to increase physical activity at a population level.</p> <p>鈥淣ot only is the evidence linking elite sports and population health weak, our study found significant access and equity issues that restrict individuals from a lower socioeconomic status, creating a participation parity barrier,鈥 said Lawrence, who received his medical degree from 吃瓜爆料 Medicine in 2013 and trained in sports medicine at St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital.</p> <p>In the study, 'Sociodemographic Profile of an Olympic Team,' published this week&nbsp;in <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/public-health/"><em>Public Health</em></a>, Lawrence and his team collected sociodemographic data from publicly available resources for all athletes representing Canada, the United States, Great Britain, and Australia at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games and the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games.&nbsp;</p> <p>The research team studied information on&nbsp;568 winter and 1,643 summer athletes, using the Olympic committee database, sport organizations鈥 database, school-specific (University, College, or secondary school) databases, personal biographies, media reports and social media profiles. Researchers subjectively classified each athlete as white or non-white based on their photo, determined their secondary school&nbsp;(private, public, or home schooled), and compared the prevalence of white, privately educated athletes with the prevalence in the general population.</p> <p>They found that the percentage of the elite athlete population that is white was much larger than that of the general population. Privately educated athletes constituted 30.3 per cent, and 32.7 per cent of winter and summer athletes, respectively. They found&nbsp;94.9 per cent of winter, and 81.7 per cent of summer athletes were white.</p> <p>From a Canadian perspective, the prevalence of privately educated Canadian athletes was&nbsp;significantly higher than in the general population for both the Canadian Winter and Summer Olympic teams. The prevalence of white Canadian athletes was significantly higher on the winter team, but not for the summer team.</p> <p>While Summer Olympic athletes demonstrated greater diversity in ethnicity and affluence, athletics (track and field), basketball, gymnastics, taekwondo, table tennis and judo were sports found to exhibit the most ethnic and wealth diversity. However, certain sports&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;such as equestrian, sailing, cycling, and rowing&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;consistently favoured white and privately educated athletes.</p> <p>鈥淚 think that Canada and other countries that emphasize elite sport through the diversion of public resources should re-evaluate this practice,鈥 said Lawrence. 鈥淲e know funding elite sport does not provide societal benefit, so governments must invest in strategies to promote health in the general population, such as community runs, access to green space and community centres.</p> <p>鈥淭here have been many anecdotal reports highlighting the potential disparity in participation, but no one has formally studied it. I think the degree to which race and wealth play a role in elite sport might be surprising.鈥</p> <h3><a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/amateur/2017/05/11/canadas-olympians-are-whiter-and-better-off-than-general-population-according-to-study.html">Read the Toronto Star article</a></h3> <p>Lawrence said he hopes the study will shed light on how to reduce barriers to participation and advancement within sport.</p> <p>鈥淎 major barrier to participation in many sports is access to wealth. Participating in many sports is costly and the financial burden only increases with advancement 鈥 whether it鈥檚 equipment, access to facilities or time requirements for both parents and the children.鈥</p> <p>鈥淚nitiatives aimed at increasing physical activity in the general population should target the general population, including increasing access to green space, recreational facilities and public programming,鈥 Lawrence said.&nbsp;鈥淚 want to start an honest discussion about the value we place on Olympic sports and explore more effective ways to get people moving.鈥</p> <p><img alt="photo of Lawrence" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__4573 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/2017-05-11-lawrence-olympics-resized_0.jpg" style="width: 680px; height: 453px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>(photo of Dr. David Lawrence at Rio Games courtesy Dr. Lawrence)</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 11 May 2017 18:23:50 +0000 lanthierj 107504 at