The University of Toronto Mississauga Career Centre has launched a campus-wide initiative called Project Plans, that allows students to plan the four years of their undergraduate program. The catalogue consists of over 62 degree types, focusing on specialist and major programs.
Each specialist or major program in Project Plans outlines the core courses students are expected to take each year, as well as guidelines and references for academic assistance. In contrast to Degree Explorer, an online tool that tracks the amount of credits a student has earned toward their degree, Project Plans highlights co-curricular and internship opportunities for students based on a student’s registered program.
“The idea is that there’s so many curricular and co-curricular opportunities for students that it’s so hard to find it all in one place,” said Monica Scott, the outreach consultant for the Career Centre.
“It’s intended for the students by the university, resources have gone into it, and we’re trying to pull things together so people have a good experience here,” she continued, adding that the idea for Project Plans came from Queen’s University, which has a similar program and a large support from the students.
The initiative is sponsored by the dean’s office with a steering committee consisting of the Career Centre, Office of the Registrar, Student Affairs, five academic departments, and five additional offices.
The committee was responsible for overseeing the development of the project.
In addition to the steering committee, focus groups comprised of students, UTMSU, and student societies who represented the student body, were consulted on the general layout and the information being presented regarding the initiative.
The project started before the 2016 winter break. Students were asked to give feedback regarding the layout and some of the information within Project Plans in February and in April.
Students can now access the Program Plans under the action button on UTM’s main homepage.
