Sheridan’s Well Series is a program that helps students in the all-important transition through their first-year postsecondary experience
Whether attending virtual, in-class or both, students can use online tools to help them get started as successfully as possible, says Joan Sweeney Marsh, Associate Vice Provost, Academic at Sheridan College. The program includes a combination of self-directed online modules, live chat with advisors and opportunities to meet other Sheridan students. “It covers the whole student experience, from start to finish of their studies and beyond,” says Marsh.
Following the typical student lifecycle, students begin with early pre-arrival support (Start Well), then move into the weeks leading up to the term’s start and through first year (Transition Well). From there, students engage in all-important learning strategies and supports (Learn Well) and career and work readiness (Work Well). Land Well is aimed at international students who have some distinct needs when they land in a new and possibly unfamiliar environment.
A “secret sauce” of the Well Series, says Ms. Sweeney Marsh, is Teach Well. It provides faculty with innovative, interactive and multimedia course materials that deliver novel learning strategies to increase student engagement and motivation.
Across the series, Sheridan has purposefully included what it calls “mindful redundancies” for students. These repetitions focus on four main themes: creating community; navigating Sheridan services and supports; elements of well-being and a mindful approach to the academic journey; and various academic preparedness components. Sweeney Marsh says no matter the module, these redundancies serve to tie together the journey.
“These power skills help students to learn now and understand how they can be used in their educational journey and beyond,” she says.
Research demonstrates the transformative impact on students. Assessments show a high use of the programs during the 2020-21 year, with 54,000 student views of the Learn Well module, 10,500 user interactions in the virtual communities and 750 students booking tutors through the portal.
“Start Well allowed me to be ahead of the game,” wrote Ganyo Soh, a student in Social Service Worker Gerontology. As a result, she achieved a 4.0 GPA, because it “eased away any types of struggles or unnecessary self-talk in my mind because I was prepared.”
Start Well
Begin your Sheridan journey with a series of one-on-one peer connections, workshops like financial aid, and supportive orientation activities to ensure your transition to Sheridan is welcoming and informative.
Transition Well
Designed to prepare you for the Sheridan learning environment before your first semester, the Transition Well workshops help you brush up on academic skills, learn to navigate the online course platform, meet new classmates and boost your postsecondary readiness.
Learn Well
Complete modules embedded in one of your program’s first semester courses to learn quick tips for academic success and learning strategies that will set you up to succeed. We guarantee these modules will help you at Sheridan and we offer a certificate when the modules are completed.
Work Well
Get support for your co-op or internship experience or for your industry field placement and plan for your future career. These modules are designed to get you workplace ready.
Land well
International students can build the foundations for success in Sheridan’s learning environment with Land Well. These interactive modules will familiarize you with the Sheridan community, identify available learning services, and build key discipline specific academic and interpersonal skills to set you up for success.
Teach well
Designed for Sheridan’s exceptional teaching faculty, Teach Well includes a virtual community of practice, modules and synchronous sessions on a variety of themes such as online course design, teaching strategies and interactive technologies.
