Getting started in your first year

Dear Students, 

Congratulations as you begin a new experience at TMU! You will experience many firsts in university, and we want to help ensure that you are prepared for this new chapter of your life. Attending university is truly a milestone and we hope that you are excited and proud of your achievement. You may be feeling nervous or a bit lost at first, but this is completely normal - check out the First Year Feels video to hear from TMU students just like you. 

We created the Navigate TMU Website as a one stop shop for information that is relevant to your first year. You can use this website as a resource for yourself as you begin to navigate university. Check out what information is available on each of the pages:  

• Getting Started: Learn more about what steps you should take as a new student to get yourself  set up at the university and information to help you understand your academic experience. 
• The Program: This page will explain the specifics of our Navigate TMU program, how to register and what is involved in completing the program. 
• Services: Find the services that you can access for various needs throughout your university journey
• Support: Find information for who you could contact if you want additional support from staff, students or from your faculty or program 

Whether you are coming directly from high school, other post-secondary institutions or a bridging program, you belong here and we are so excited that you are joining the TMU community! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to us at fye@torontomu.ca. We can’t wait to meet you and we are here to support you!

Warm Wishes, 
The First Year Experience (FYE) Team

Dear Parents and Supporters, 

Congratulations to you and the student you are supporting as they begin a new experience at TMU! As parents, family or supporters you are an essential part of  your student’s success as they undertake this new chapter of their lives. We hope that you find value in our website and use it as a resource as you support your student. Check out our tips below for what information you might find helpful on each of the pages. 

We created the Navigate TMU Website as a one stop shop for information that is relevant to first-year students. Check out what information is available on each of the pages:  

• Getting Started: Learn more about what steps you should take as a new student to get yourself  set up at the university and information to help you understand your academic experience. 
• The Program: This page will explain the specifics of our Navigate TMU program, how to register and what is involved in completing the program. 
• Services: Find the services that you can access for various needs throughout your university journey
• Support: Find information for who you could contact if you want additional support from staff, students or from your faculty or program 

Whether your student is coming directly from high school, other post-secondary institutions or a bridging program, we are here to support them with you. If your student has any questions, they can reach out to us at fye@torontomu.ca. We wish you and your student all the best as they begin their  university experience at Toronto Metropolitan University. 

Warm Wishes, 
The First Year Experience (FYE) Team

The Good Food Centre works to reduce the impacts of food insecurity for all Toronto Metropolitan University community members. By building capacity through emergency food relief, skill building, and education, the Food Centre aims to contribute to the TMSU's mission in ensuring equitable access to post-secondary education and building community.

Housing & Residence Life supports students living both on- and off-campus.

Student Financial Assistance

Student Financial Assistance can help provide information on government financial aid programs such as OSAP, out-of-province student loans, and U.S. student loans.

Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)

Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) provides financial aid to students who are Ontario residents and are enrolled in post-secondary studies.

Out-of-Province Funding

If you’re a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person, but are not a resident of Ontario, you may qualify for out-of-province funding. If you’re an international student from the United States, you may qualify for funding through various agencies.

Bursaries and Grants

Bursaries and Grants are non-repayable sources of funding. These include:

Awards and Scholarships

There are many scholarships, awards, and bursaries available to both new and returning TMU students. There are different categories of scholarships outlined below:

• Entrance Scholarships: Open to students entering their first year of undergraduate study.
• Program Specific Awards: Based on each academic program department
• Faculty Wide Awards: Open to all current TMU undergraduate students within each faculty.
• University Wide Awards: Open to all current TMU undergraduate students enrolled in any program of study.
• Special Categories: Open to all current TMU undergraduate students who meet certain criteria such as Indigenous students, first-generation students or students with disabilities.
• External Awards: Many external groups, organizations, companies and foundations offer awards to students attending postsecondary institutions.

How do I get started? How do I set-up my email? When do I get my student ID? How do I change my account password? I just transferred in, how do I get credit for my earlier post-secondary studies?

Find faculty-specific program information for first-year students, including information on academics, co-curriculars, extracurriculars, health and wellness, mentorship and careers.

Orientation Week takes place two weeks before classes begin and gives you the chance to connect with other students, get familiar with your academic program, and get to know your way around campus. Your faculty will also be hosting orientation events to expand your network and discover opportunities at the faculty-level.

The TMU OneCard is your official ID card and displays your name, photo and student number. The OneCard functions as: official TMU Identification, examination ID Requirement, TMU Library card, building/lab access card, convenient purchasing card on campus (for food, printing, copying and more), and identification for TTC monthly transit pass discount at TMU Student Union

Access to TMU’s Wireless network is freely available to the entire TMU community while on campus. If you are in an area where no WiFi signal is available, please report it to wireless@torontomu.ca.

• Add: enroll in a course
• Drop: withdraw from a course
• Swap: drop one class and add a different class at the same time

Dropping classes may affect your OSAP funding. You must report these changes to the Student Financial Assistance Office.

All full-time undergraduate students must take part in the annual course intention process in mid-March for the coming academic year to choose the courses you wish to take in the coming academic year so that the university can produce a schedule for you before open enrollment.

• Lecture: Depending on the size of the program you are in, there could be anywhere from 15 to 500 students in a lecture. The instructor may incorporate presentations, guest speakers, group participation and many other classroom techniques to encourage student engagement.
• Tutorials: Many lectures may have a tutorial scheduled at a different time than the lecture. This breaks down the larger class into smaller groups and encourages discussion and participation. Tutorials may be run by the instructor or by a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Graduate Assistant (GA).
• Laboratory (labs): Some programs may have labs where you work either individually or in a small group to learn and experiment with the course material in a hands-on environment. In many cases labs are mandatory. Please make sure to check the course outline or speak to your instructor for details.
• Seminars: These are often used in graduate courses and are small in nature to encourage a great degree of class participation and class presentations.
• Studio: Some programs may have studio classes in which you execute a design or production related to your field.
• Practicum/Internship/Field Placement: Some programs have a practicum/internship in which you are required to take part. A specific number of hours or days of on-the-job experience is required to gain hands-on insight into what a job in this field would be like. Normally this must be completed before you can graduate from the program. Consult the Undergraduate Calendar and your department handbook to learn if your program has a practicum or internship expectation.
  

• The OneCard is also your library card and can be used for printing or photocopying on campus. You can access electronic resources from off-campus with your my.torontomu account.
• Computer Access: The Ronald D. Besse Information and Learning Commons on the main floor of the Library provides more than 140 computers for student use, as well as printers, scanners and laptops (available on loan).

At the Library: Quiet and group study space is available throughout the Library, with the 10th floor reserved for silent study. You can also reserve Library group study rooms online.

At the Student Learning Centre: 8 floors of dedicated student space catering to different study styles, from individual carrels to open collaborative spaces. Book a Collaborative Group Work Room (CGWR) at the SLC.

Research Help: Research support is available on the Library’s main floor, at the Research Help Desk, one-on-one appointments and the "Ask a Librarian", live chat research help service.

One Stop Course Readings Services: The Library makes it easy to locate your course readings, print or electronic, assigned by your instructors.

• Quizzes/Tests/Exams: These are normally done in class at the end of specific readings, mid-term, or at the end of the term. They may consist of multiple choice questions, true/false statements, short answer questions and/or essay questions.
• Essays/Papers: You can be assigned papers in advance and you are expected to work on them outside of class. For research papers you are expected to use scholarly sources to help write the paper. For reflective papers it is based on your own personal or work experiences to help show what knowledge and understanding you have learned from that situation or event. This may or may not require support from scholarly work.
• Group Projects: Group projects give you the opportunity to learn both new course material and discover ways of working with other people.
• Class Participation: Your instructor may assign grades for class participation. It is important to know what is expected of you in terms of participation so you can follow through. If the course outline is not clear, ask your instructor for clarification.

• All classes at TMU begin 10 minutes after the designated time. For example, if your class runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the class will begin at 10:10 a.m. Many instructors do not allow late students in.
• Attire: There is no dress code or uniform at TMU. Some students and instructors will dress casually and comfortably, some will be dressed professionally and others in accordance with their religious beliefs. Dress codes may apply to placements/internships.

• Connecting With Your Instructor: All instructors have specific office hours allocated for students to drop by and seek help or advice related to the course. Don’t be shy about approaching your instructor, but do come prepared with a list of questions and topics you wish to discuss.
• Turnitin.com - plagiarism prevention: TMU subscribes to the services of Turnitin. This service identifies similarity between a students work and work of other students who have submitted papers to the site, internet sources, and a wide range of journals and other publications.

• Requesting Consideration: You must tell your instructors when you miss work for health or other reasons. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, you should do this before the date of the test or exam, or the due date of the assignment. You must submit all documentation in support of any academic consideration request, (for example, health, compassionate or other unforeseen circumstances) to your program department.
• Religious, Aboriginal and Spiritual Observances 
  • If you need to miss a class, test, quiz, exam, etc. because of a specific religious or spiritual observance you must tell your instructor within the first two weeks of the class or, for a final examination, within two weeks of the posting of the examination schedule.
    
  • The course outline will list your assignments, quizzes, and test dates. If you need to make such a request, please familiarize yourself with Senate Policy 150 Accommodation of Student Religious, Aboriginal and Spiritual Observance and see Essential Policy Highlights.
  • The Accommodation of Student Religious, Aboriginal and Spiritual Observance form is available on the Senate website. The Selected Religious Observance Calendar is updated annually.

• If you believe an assignment, test or exam, either in whole or part, has not been appropriately graded, or a grade has been miscalculated because of an omission or an improper addition, you must contact the instructor to resolve the issue within ten (10) working days of the date when the graded work is returned to the class.
• This is a time-sensitive process. Grades not questioned within this period will not be recalculated at a later date. See Senate Policy 134 Undergraduate Academic Consideration and Appeals for information and instructions.

• Your course grades and cumulative grade point average will be posted to your transcript using Toronto Metropolitan University’s grading scale. Your academic standing is evaluated at the end of each term.
• Understand Grades, GPA and Academic Standing

• You may attempt the same course up to three times (i.e., enrolled initially, repeated once, repeated twice = three enrolments). If you fail a required course for the third time, the university will assign an Academic Standing of Permanent Program Withdrawal. You may choose to repeat a course for the sake of improving on an earlier unsatisfactory grade. The grade earned for the repeated course is substituted for the earlier grade in calculating your grade point average even if the newer grade is lower. 
• Course Replacement (GPA Adjustment): This request applies to courses on the same elective table. Instead of retaking the same course, you may choose to take a different course from the same elective table (example: Professional, Professionally Related, Open Elective, or Liberal Studies course). Timing is important – you must submit the  (google form) GPA Adjustment Form (external link, opens in new window)  before the final date to add a course for the term in which the Course Replacement applies. (See Significant Dates)
• Course Exclusion (GPA Adjustment): If you are taking an extra course that is not applicable to your program requirements and you wish to have this course excluded from your GPA calculation, you may request a Course Exclusion. You must submit the  (google form) GPA Adjustment Request Google Form (external link, opens in new window)  before the final date to add a course for the term in which the Course Exclusion applies.
• Submit the  (google form) GPA Adjustment Request Google Form (external link, opens in new window)  by the deadline published in the Significant Dates.

• As a full-time OSAP recipient, you are expected to maintain successful Academic Progress throughout your time on OSAP at Toronto Metropolitan University.
• Learn more about OSAP Academic Probation and Restriction

Brief definitions of some of the specialized or uncommon expressions and words you’ll see in the course calendar and hear profs and advisors use can be found in the Calendar section. Click on the Undergraduate or Graduate calendar, then click on Glossary.