With 95,000 students across three campuses, the University of Toronto (U of T) is one of Canada’s premier research institutions, offering robust experiential learning and co-op programming. At its Scarborough campus (UTSC), experiential learning and co-operative education are a hallmark of UTSC Management’s mission to provide students with the “experience to lead,” combining academics with real-world experiences in a variety of fields. Supporting UTSC Management’s 3,000 students’ early career journey is Christine Arsenault, Managing Director of Management and Management Co-op, and her team who have been leveraging CSM since 2009.
Situation
Back in 2008, UTSC was tasked with finding a new career services management platform specifically for its experiential learning and co-op programs. UTSC wanted to better communicate with students and employers, and to track student interactions and identify areas of growth. Initially, internal consideration was given to an in-house system that would have pivoted staff responsibilities towards becoming programmers and developers, thus taking them away from their day-to-day jobs supporting students. While other platforms on the market offered some, but not all, of the desired functionality, CSM checked each of the boxes for UTSC. Their collaborative partnership with Symplicity that has continued for over a decade.
"I really love that we are allowed to create an environment that surrounds the students’ interests and goals. Understanding the whole student in such a way is definitely something we didn’t have before."
Christine Arsenault
Managing Director of Management and Management Co-op
Solution
Since adopting CSM, UTSC has streamlined its workflows and systems for tracking students’ experiential learning engagement. Utilizing the notes module to record all interactions with students enables the Management Co-op team to easily follow up with actionable items tailored to every individual. “When a team member meets with a variety of students they, and others in our department, can scan their notes within the system and see the questions, concerns, and progress a student has made at a glance,” said Arsenault. “I really love that we are allowed to create an environment that surrounds the students’ interests and goals. Understanding the whole student in such a way is definitely something we didn’t have before.”
Additionally, with mass e-mail campaigns, a mock interviews feature, and the notes app—all within one platform—UTSC’s experiential learning programs provide a unified experience for all students. With CSM, UTSC can continue to support its students beyond just getting a job and graduating. “As a student becomes an employer or alumnus we have a comprehensive history of how they’ve interacted with our program because of CSM,” said Arsenault. “There are a number of times that this has paid off to help a student.”
"In a world where we are trying to be more inclusive, CSM helps us understand where students are coming from, what goals they have, their interests, and the jobs they’ve applied to. That type of information is very powerful. Leveraging CSM, we can see the whole life cycle of who has applied, who has logged in, how many applications they’ve submitted, how many interviews they’ve gotten, and how many offers they’ve received."
Christine Arsenault
Managing Director of Management and Management Co-op
Success
UTSC is pleased to leverage CSM’s client services team. “I think the people at Symplicity make all the difference. When you are a tech company, you have to understand the people who are using your platform, so I truly appreciate that commitment to building the relationship… It’s a huge competitive advantage for Symplicity that there are humans behind the systems and they prioritize things that can have a big impact,” Arsenault said. UTSC remains confident that CSM will continue to develop and evolve with the changes and needs of the institution, and to offer a personalized approach. “CSM is a committed leader in this market as they work with educational providers to meet our individual needs,” Arsenault said.
“I think the people at Symplicity make all the difference. When you are a tech company, you have to understand the people who are using your platform, so I truly appreciate that commitment to building the relationship… It’s a huge competitive advantage for Symplicity that there are humans behind the systems and they prioritize things that can have a big impact."
Christine Arsenault
Managing Director of Management and Management Co-op
