Student Advising Service
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The University of Toronto has implemented Salesforce, an enterprise vendor application, to support multiple academic divisions in transforming their student advising services. The administrative application has been successfully launched in several divisions on the St. George campus.
Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI) is currently partnering with the Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education (VPIUE) to expand and roll out administrative functionality across additional divisions on the St. George campus, as well as the U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough campuses. This innovative solution will present an interconnected student story, streamline the student and staff advising experience, ensure consistent and transparent service delivery, and increase administrative efficiencies.
What is the Student Advising Service?
U of T has implemented and will continue to expand the Salesforce Student Success Hub for Higher Education platform to enable consistent, best practice advising within and between divisions through effective access to, interaction with, and management of a comprehensive student advising record.
Why Transform the Student Advising Process?
Many current advising practices within the academic divisions rely on manual processes that are supported by a range of tools and varying practices. This poses challenges for students and staff as they seek and provide consistent, timely and holistic guidance regarding critical issues in their journey at the University. Given these challenges in the advising landscape, U of T is implementing the Student Advising Service to make it easier for students to navigate resources in the community and receive help when and where they need it.
BENEFITS
The new Student Advising Service will establish a foundational system capable of meeting both student and advisor needs at its initial launch with the potential for future improvements as the system matures. When complete, the full solution will:
Staff
- Provide insights into the interconnected student journey.
- Consolidate student details through advisor notes and comprehensive profiles.
- Proactively identify issues students are facing, allowing advisors to develop success plans and follow students’ progress.
- Allow advisors to efficiently refer students to Faculty-based and shared services.
- Provide actionable intelligence and insights leading to improved decision-making capabilities.
Students
- Allow students to quickly find the information they need when they need it using a common advising solution.
- Provide multiple ways to seek advising help, including with an advisor, attending a walk-in appointment, accessing the Student Advising Service knowledge base or submitting a support request.
- Provide a supportive environment and equitable access to the opportunities available.
University of Toronto
- Support institutional goals for student success, quality service, and student retention and graduation.
- Advance U of T’s mission to re-imagine and re-invent undergraduate education and demonstrate its commitment to helping students connect to the community and pursue enriching experiences.
- Advance the Institutional Academic and Student Applications program, which creates and deploys technological solutions that help students fully engage in rewarding learning experiences and achieve academic and personal success.
SYSTEM INTEGRATION
The Student Advising Service will provide a comprehensive view of student data sourced from multiple U of T applications.
TIMELINE
- A – Task: User Interface/User Experience Enhancements, Starts January 2025, Ends December 2025
- B – Task: UTM Onboarding, Starts January 2025, Ends July 2025
- C – Task: Student Portal, Starts January 2025, Ends July 2025
- D – Task: UTSC Onboarding, Starts May 2025, Ends December 2025
EXECUTIVE SPONSORSHIP
- Dwayne Benjamin – Vice-Provost, Strategic Enrolment Management
- Swetlana Signarowski – Executive Director, Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration
- Scott Mabury – Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships & Vice-Provost, Academic Operations
- Susan McCahan – Vice-Provost, Academic Programs and Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education
- Bo Wandschneider – Chief Information Officer
- Sandy Welsh – Vice-Provost, Students
- Melanie Woodin – Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science