Lakehead University has been chosen to be part of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer’s (ONCAT) second MapIt Learning Collaborative with nine other colleges and universities.
The MapIT Project aims to examine the entire transfer process: the steps students take when transferring schools in Ontario and the ‘behind-the-scenes’ workflow steps post-secondary institutions (PSIs) take when receiving applications.
Participating PSIs connected through knowledge-sharing sessions and received a collated map of the transfer journey – from both staff and student perspectives – to reveal pain-points, bottlenecks, and other opportunities for improvement to administrative and communications activities.
“Often the student transfer experience is different from what is imagined by the services facilitating that process,” said Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu, Associate Vice-Provost Academic. “Led by Nick Chamut, Associate Registrar of Undergraduate Admissions, Lakehead will gain a better understanding of how our processes work and improve them to ensure a better student experience.”
In this round, after gathering feedback from participants, ONCAT is casting a greater focus on faculty decision-making processes (i.e., credit assessment) and is re-adjusting its approach due to COVID-19.
After gathering feedback from the first cohort, ONCAT confirmed the next group of PSIs in December 2020: Lakehead University, Centennial College, La Cité collégiale, Northern College of Applied Arts and Technology, Sault College, Sheridan College, Trent University, the University of Guelph, and the University of Windsor. HESA (Higher Education Strategy Consultants) will return as a consultant.