New Live Chat service helps students entering UPEI

The First-Year Advisement Centre at UPEI has been bustling this summer with hundreds of new students taking advantage of a wide array of advisory services designed to make their transition to UPEI as smooth as possible. The centre organizes campus tours, assists with applications to UPEI, arranges meetings with deans and professors, and provides one-on-one help to students who need guidance on course selection.

A new program called Live Chat was introduced the last week of July. Every weekday afternoon, between 1 and 3 p.m., UPEI staff answer inquiries from incoming students about all aspects of campus life. There is also an option to submit questions by e-mail.

“Live Chat is proving very popular already. It is just one more of the many ways we provide the personal attention that is so important for new students who are not yet familiar with the university environment,” says Emma Rockett, High School Liaison Officer.

Recruitment Co-ordinator Chris Power says this has been the busiest year ever for the First-Year Advisement Centre. Applications to UPEI continue throughout the summer, so final enrolment numbers are not yet available. However, Power reports that there is definitely a strong trend this year towards early registration.

“One of the services we offer is registration assistance for first-year students to help them get their first choice of courses. We had 570 students take advantage of this opportunity,” he explains.

First-Year Advisement Centre staff discuss students’ areas of interest with them and identify the courses they need for specific programs. If requested, they arrange meetings with faculty members to answer specific questions about their fields of study or they may refer students for career development information. Parents interested in learning more about the registration process and the university as a whole are welcome as well.

“Transition to university can be overwhelming. Many of our new students take comfort in all the supports we have in place to make their introduction to UPEI as positive and rewarding as possible,” says Chris Power.

The First-Year Advisement Centre is located in the Department of Student Services, 2nd Floor North, W. A. Murphy Student Centre. More information is available at (902) 566-0488 or at upei.ca/studentservices.

Photo cutline: Emma Rockett, High School Liaison Officer, and Chris Power, UPEI Recruitment Co-ordinator, work with science student Emily MacAdam of Morell to check out the new Live Chat information service for incoming students.