The feedback sessions were a three-day multi-campus event that took place in the first week of August which I facilitated when I worked at the SSU.
The goal of these events was to gather student feedback on a wide range of topics including transportation, mental health, jobs, services, events, and marketing.
These topics were selected due to them being common pain points students have brought up recently. Gathering student input and analyzing common trends allows for informed decision-making regarding planning for events and initiatives throughout the year.
Students were asked multiple open questions on each topic for an hour and a half throughout the three different sessions. Any students currently enrolled could come and participate. Notes were taken assigning each student a number to protect identities and allow them to remain anonymous. This is the summarized report of how the users (the students) use the services the SSU offers.
Topic 1: Transportation
Many students face barriers when accessing transportation. Students rely on transportation whether is the bus, driving, or riding a bike to be able to get on campus. If they are unable to be on campus it makes accessing the Union’s supports and resources difficult.
One of the barriers students face when it comes to transportation is being able to afford it. The Presto Post Secondary Discount reduces 40% on GO Public transport (bus and train). This is an initiative that helps reduce the financial burden on students and make transportation less stressful.
By promoting this discount to students via our marketing and through events we can increase student awareness and ideally lessen the burden placed on them financially.
Adding the presto discount to the website is a passive way students can learn about this program. We can also host pop-up events where students can sign up with their email on an iPad or simply scan a qr code.
Another barrier students face when accessing public transportation is the unpredictability of the schedules due to weather, accidents, etc.
This is an issue as students can end up stranded, late, or having to take a more costly trip.
50%
of students said they have had to deal with bus cancelations and route changes to accommodate the weather.
Especially throughout the winter months due to the show and ice. A potential support that could be put in place to address this barrier would be implementing a carpooling service at each campus. For example, Rideshark offers a program for setting up carpooling at a post-secondary campus. Not only is this environmentally friendly, it is also an affordable option for students. This addresses the issue as cars can be driven more easily through poor weather and can be more reliable for scheduling.
Topic 2: Jobs
One of the most common issues students anywhere face is surrounding jobs.
The pressure students face when searching for employment can affect their mental health and academic performance. Steps to employment are not always equitable or clear. The SSU hires many part-time student staff as well as offers services like Hire up to help with this.
A barrier some students face is when accessing the union’s website to find open job positions.
The main source of confusion is when the job link goes to Dayforce as they found it non-intuitive and complicated.
The main source of confusion is when the job link goes to Dayforce as they found it non-intuitive and complicated.
International students face many barriers when attempting to enter the job market.
Already tackling having larger expenses, this causes them stress. 30% of students would like more international job supports from the union. The supports they would like are:
Topic 3: Mental Health
Postsecondary is a period of change and growth for most students.
It can be a large strain on anyone’s mental health. Balancing classes, jobs, taking care of yourself, and still having time to socialize is a challenge for any student.
30%
of students said they had difficulties accessing the counseling services. This was due to the portal for booking having no availability for weeks at a time.
A barrier our students face when dealing with their mental health is treatment. For students facing a mental health crisis, this is a very large barrier to being able to get help.
Many international students have large expectations and internal pressure placed on themselves which can drain them mentally.
60% said they want more in-person initiatives to help international students with their mental health. By having more community-fostering events international – and domestic students can feel connected and supported which can have a positive effect on their mental health.
Another potential solution is exposing international and domestic students to hobbies and external activities to help them focus on other things besides studying – this may also help with preventing burnout.
Topic 4: Services
Students need support in many areas.
The union offers a wide range of services to address these needs to make student life easier. When students are navigating post-secondary many of them are facing new challenges. Finding housing, navigating the law, etc are all new, and without services, they can feel overwhelmed.
A barrier our students face when trying to access union services is awareness of the existence of these services. The SSU offers 18 services and on average when asked what services they were aware the SSU offered our students could name 3 services. The services most often named:
However, empower me, perks, grad photos, and dress for success were also mentioned. A potential solution that can be put in place for the specific barrier is increased marketing surrounding the services that we offer. This can look like social media posts or even just physical pop-up events to direct students toward a service.
Another barrier students are running into when trying to access the Union services is being unclear on which service is the colleges and which is the unions. When asked, 20% of students were unclear which services were the SSU and which were Sheridan. This can be rectified by making. sure that the Union services are marketed and branded differently than not the colleges and also potentially cracking down on cross-promotion on platforms.
Topic 5: Events
Events can have a positive impact on student‘s mental health as well as their physical and emotional well–being.
Events can be a very wide range of things with different outcomes. These can be anything from job fair, community celebrations or even parties. These opportunities are something that students wouldn’t necessarily have if the union wasn’t able to offer them.
A barrier students face when trying to attend the wealth of events that the union offers is transportation. It is one of the biggest barriers that students face. In fact, 50% of students said the biggest barrier they face for attending events is transportation.
The main source of confusion is when the job link goes to Dayforce as they found it non-intuitive and complicated.
The main source of confusion is when the job link goes to Dayforce as they found it non-intuitive and complicated.
Events help our students connect with other students, which can help them lessen feelings of isolation.
When asked what sort of events students would like to have at the ssu, this is what they said:
A common theme when discussing events was students said they would like more female-only programming. Having women’s only events and spaces can help female students feel safer to participate. There were three examples of what they would like to see be offered as a women’s only segment: gym access, yoga and self-defense.
60%
of all students want more frequent self-defense classes. They all agreed when it took place last year it was something most students were interested in.
However, as with any popular event, there were limited spaces. Students would like to see this event return as it helps them feel empowered and learn a new skill. The following are three other active events students suggested:
Many students have difficulties in attendance at events due to scheduling. Students have midterms and exams around the same time each year. 40% of students said a barrier to attending events is when they are scheduled near exam time. This is due to committing their time to studying and otherwise preparing for their exams.
Topic 6: Marketing
Marketing is vitally important to student life as it raises awareness of supports, events, resources and much more.
The Unions social media and website are one of the most important tools for students to be able to learn about and interreact with staff and peers.
International students especially those who don’t speak English as a first language, can struggle when coming to Canada and trying to access the SSU website and socials. One thing that can help to overcome this barrier is creating videos of previous events. For example, International students may not know what the word gala means.
By showing a video from previous galas (or other events), it gives them the context of why they should come to the event and what they could be partaking in at the event.
Another potential solution to be able to get marketing messages across to international students is creating more posts that are in a different spoken language, for example, Hindi or Punjabi. This helps make the union’s socials more accessible.
One barrier students have when on campus is finding specific locations and spaces.
When the students can’t find our spaces, that means they can’t access the resources or opportunities that we are providing for them in those spaces. This lack of awareness can cause anxiety and it can potentially prevent them from attending classes or asking for help. It’s imperative that we help students with finding the union building.
There’s a common trend that students are much more receptive to videos over written content. It was mentioned that they would like to see more additional promotions on the Sheridan TV at the Davis campus especially.
Having video walkthroughs of the Union Buildings on each campus, as well as how to find them from landmarks like the giant S at each campus, would be greatly beneficial at helping reduce students anxieties around navigating large campuses for the first time.
Conclusion
I loved doing this project. Student advocacy and struggles in post-secondary is an important issues close to my heart. Going through all the data and putting together this formal report was a big project and it took me a few weeks to get it all done. I like to think this report could be shared to help develop the student experience at Sheridan or even on a wider scale by giving insights into the pain points students have on and off campuses.