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February 17, 2009

By: Lesley Mak, Student Success Specialist

Starting this year, the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering will offer a new non-credit program geared to help struggling first year students who are ineligible to continue into second semester studies.

The program, called ReFresh, is fee-based and aims to help students reflect on how they could improve their first semester academic performance. It will teach students how to learn in a university context. Some of these students will be eligible to return to U of T Engineering the following fall to repeat their first year. However, some students will not be eligible to return to U of T Engineering, and this course should enable them to reflect upon their goals and motivations in order to evaluate what their next step might be, while developing a better understanding of core first year science and engineering concepts.

ReFresh includes lectures and tutorials in Physics, Calculus, Linear Algebra, Computer Programming and Chemistry. The Instructors and Teaching Assistants will build upon high school fundamentals until the students understand complex first year concepts with which they may have struggled.The life and learning skills that are key to success will also be integrated into the curriculum in addition to one-on-one advising and support for students.

ReFresh is coordinated by Leslie Grife, First Year Counsellor, and Lesley Mak.Nicole Adoranti, Admissions Officer and Undergraduate Student Counsellor (Years 1 & 2), is assisting with one-on-one advising, Barbara McCann is providing advice on program delivery and logistics and Professor Susan McCahan is involved with the supervision of teaching and curriculum that is delivered by the Instructors and Teaching Assistants. The eight-week course began Monday, February 2, 2009.

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Fahad Pinto
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416.978.4498