The Student Support Centre (SSC) is a new department at UFV, located in room S3127 in the Student Union Building (SUB). The SSC was created to help students who are in need of extra assistance getting connected to the various on-campus resources that are available for them.
With plenty of resources available to assist students, like the Academic Success Centre, Counselling Centre, Advising Centre, student food bank, and plenty more, students who are struggling with academics and/or personal issues may not know that there are all of these resources available or how to access them.
Before the Fall 2019 semester began, UFV alumni, Amara Gelaude and Bryanna Anderson, got hired on as the university’s new student support coordinators.
“The Student Support Centre exists to serve all UFV students who are looking for any type of assistance. We serve as the connective tissue between the resources on campus and the students,” Gelaude said.
Before the creation of the SSC, the Priority Access to Student Supports (PASS) program was in charge of connecting students to resources, similarly to the SSC. UFV faculty are able to refer students who example concerning behaviour (like appearing to be distressed, not showing up for more than three consecutive classes, and/or disruptive behaviour in class) through the PASS program page on UFV’s website. From that referral an email would be sent to Student Services to reach out to the student. There were no specific staff wholly devoted to running the program. Now with the creation of SSC there are two staff dedicated to connecting students to resources.
The SSC is different than the PASS program because, alongside helping students get connected with resources on campus, they provide one-on-one support.
“I think the one-on-one connections that we help build with these students to then facilitate all of the other services is perhaps a gap that was in the system before,” Anderson said.
Students can be referred to the SSC through the PASS program website. Referrals are done by the university’s faculty if they see a student in need of extra assistance. Students are also able to refer themselves to SSC or even a friend who’s in need of extra help by emailing studentsupport@ufv.ca.
Anderson and Gelaude meet with students to build individualized plans and goals for success with those who are interested.
“We’re here to meet with students, figure out what they need, help them get whatever they’re looking for, and help them get to where they want to go,” Gelaude said.
Anderson and Gelaude find that often, students in need of help are rarely there for solely academic assistance, but also to get to the bottom of why their academics may be suffering. They ask about what’s going on in the student’s life that contributed to their current academic results.
The SSC boasts not a specific service, but a holistic approach for students in need of accessing additional on-campus resources. The duties they perform cover a wide range and every student’s needs are different.
Anderson described a student suffering from anxiety, who had made several appointments with Academic Advising but never went. That’s where the SSC steps in.
“Sometimes it’s getting through the door that’s the most difficult part,” Anderson said.
The student coordinators were able to walk with the student to Academic Advising and wait with them until their appointment began.
Since it’s a new department, the university does not have any information about the SSC online, but more information will be available soon. If you know of someone in need of assistance please email the department at studentsupport@ufv.ca.
