• Each location may indicate very diverse educational experiences and levels of academic preparedness.
• Students not from Saskatoon may be adjusting to life away from home and community while attending university.
• Your students are not a homogeneous group and will benefit from the following considerations and measures:
  • Assume that not all students will recognize references to local geography, pop culture, or events.
  • Certain examples from politics, pop culture, religion, or certain economic perspectives will not resonate with all students.
  • Provide diverse examples and if using names within the examples, utilize names that represent diverse cultural backgrounds.
  • Communicate expectations and directions very clearly, verbally, in writing, and in more than one location (e.g. syllabus, course notes, emails).

This graphic reveals the age distribution of students in your class.

• If students are around 18-19 years old, expect that many will more easily recall content and concepts from their high school courses.
• If students are 20+ years old, content and concepts from high school courses may be more difficult for students to remember and draw upon.
• Even if your students are young, do not assume that they are able to use technology effectively for educational purposes.
• It is important to realize that several mental illnesses first present in one’s late teens to early 20s. (e.g. depression, ages 12-19; schizophrenia, ages 16-30, bipolar mean age of 21; suicide, 15-24). This information indicates that we need to alert our students to Student Wellness Center, Student Affairs and Outreach or Access and Equity Services, all available for free on campus.
• Using active teaching strategies allows students to interact with one another (see some options for large classrooms). This contributes to them feeling a sense of belonging at the university and to make help them make positive social and academic connections.

This graph reveals how many of your students may possess English as an additional language (EAL), rather than as their first language.

• The term that used to be used to describe non-native English speakers was “English as a Second Language.” We have come to realize that many learners speak more than two languages, and so we now use the term “English as an Additional Language” to acknowledge proficiency in multiple languages.
• When teaching students for whom English is an additional language, it is especially important to define terms, write key terms on the board, in slides, or in notes, avoid colloquial language and terms, to speak at an even pace, and use a microphone if needed and available.
• Write and state the full name of acronyms first, and then pair the name with the acronym. Acronyms often sound like other words (e.g., “BC” may sound like “busy”, or “AD” may sound like “eighty”)
• Students may benefit from information about the University's Language Centre and Writing Help, provided through the University Library's Learning Hub.
• It is very important to provide opportunities for out-of-class contact; email, office hours, telephone.
• Provide multiple forms of contributing to and participating in class. For example, rather than just oral, full-class discussions, allow students to submit written questions/responses, discuss in pairs/small groups, and/or respond using the Poll Everywhere student response system.
• If you provide audio or video resources, try to include captioning or transcripts.
• Provide students with your class notes for review.
• Use Lecture Capture so students can re-watch the class.
• Note that students who speak English as an additional language will vary in their English proficiency. Even students who speak English very well can still benefit from effective communication strategies.

This graphic provides you with a sense of how many students in your class are considered “first-in-family” university students (e.g., parents, siblings, grandparents, etc.).

• Students who come from families that do not have previous university attendees may be less familiar with the operations, expectations, services, and even the layout of the campus.
• Be sure to inform students of the USSU and other student services, including the University Library's Learning Hub (SLS) and Student Wellness Centre. Encourage students to attend events to get to better know the campus, such as “Smart Start” and Library-organized tours.
• Attempt to de-mystify the university by engaging with students before and after class; be approachable.
• Note that first-in-family students may have more or less than average support from their families to attend university. This will be context dependent.
• Financial and familial responsibilities may feature strongly for many of your students whether 'first-in-family' or not. Many students simply must combine financial and/or family responsibilities with their university study. Rather than suggesting that they reduce these real life commitments, be explicit about the amount of time you recommend students have available for your course and the kind of effort they put in to attendance, note taking, assignments, and exam preparation. This information will help all students including those with multiple responsibilities and commitments.
• First in Family has more strategies for success, such as emphasizing the importance of assignments.

This graphic provides you with a sense of how many students in your class declared their Indigenous identity on PAWS.

• Regardless of the distribution of this graphic, integrate Indigenous worldviews, perspectives, and ways of knowing into our teaching. This is one possible action of many to take in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action.
• Strive to create a safe environment for Indigenous students, as they are underrepresented in our student population.
• Consult with specialists on campus on how to integrate appropriate strategies, such as narrative inquiry, storytelling, and cooperative learning, into your class.
• If you have a small proportion of self-declared Indigenous students, do not single them out or ask them to represent “the” Indigenous perspective.
• You may want to consult with Elders or Knowledge Keepers, and invite them into your class.
• Acknowledge that your class is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis by using personalized land acknowledgement or Council-approved language: “As we gather here today, we acknowledge we are on Treaty Six Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respect to the First Nation and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another.”.

This graphic provides you with a sense of how many of your students are new for the first time to university and how many are continuing USask students or transfers from elsewhere.

• All first-year students are making a transition to university level study that includes understanding new and often unstated student norms, practices, and systems. If you have many new first-time students, then you will want to be especially clear when instructing them on your course expectations, inform them of the importance of intrinsic motivation in their studies, instruct how to properly cite sources in their assignments, and inform them of support resources available through services, such as the USSU, the University Library and  their Learning Hub. Their online tutorial entitled 'Jumpstart your Learning' is quite helpful along with regular sessions and annual events organized throughout the year.
• Express extra effort to build community in class through strategies such as cooperative learning, think-pair-shares, or encourage students to create study groups (formal or informal)
• Instructors vary on how they would like students to communicate with them out of class; provide means of contacting you outside of class time, and set guidelines, if you like, such as “I won’t be responding to emails after 9 p.m.” and/or “address me as Professor ________”.
• "Office hours" and their purpose vary among instructors; explain how students can contact you regarding setting office meetings, and the kinds of discussions you expect students to bring forward in that setting.
• The final exam system is different from regularly scheduled midterm exams and quizzes; explain the level of formality that exists for your assessments and compare that to the setting for finals.
• Frequently “PAWS” and “Canvas” are referred to interchangeably. Showing students your course page on the screen on the first day and the key areas to be able to navigate as they get started will help them use each appropriately and without confusion.
• Withdrawal from a course requires an administrative action by the student. Highlight for your students at the beginning of your course and near the withdrawal date, that no longer turning up does not mean a withdrawal automatically occurs and what the consequences are for not formally withdrawing.
• New students will be novices at interpreting instructor feedback and grade performance. Consider providing the class tips on how to review and incorporate feedback that they receive and what to do next in terms of developing their skills or understanding.
• Matters of academic integrity, honesty, dishonesty, and plagiarism are particularly complex. Be especially explicit about the rules that apply in your course.

This graphic provides you with a sense of the proportion of students you have from each college or school.

• If you have students primarily from one college or school, then you can plan examples and case studies that are particularly relevant to that audience
• If you a large portion of your students from more than one college or school, then provide diverse examples and cases
• Consider the learning activities and assessments that are common within the colleges or schools from which your students come. If you are requiring students to do something that is uncommon to them, then provide them with extra details and instruction around how to do this task, and the related expectations
• You have the opportunity to emphasize the connections that exist between the students' differing disciplines
• If you have students from a college or school that you didn't expect, survey your students or have a discussion regarding their motivation for enrolling in your course. This can better help you meet their goals and motivation for taking the course
• Be aware that some students may be taking your course as a required course, while others are taking it as an elective, and so each of their motivations may be very different from one another
• Students from other colleges or schools may be coming in with very different prerequisite knowledge, and so a pre-test at the beginning of the course, or before major content/concept areas is advisable

This graphic provides you with a sense of the average grade students have received so far in their studies at USask.

• If you have many students with high averages, encourage them to become a Peer Mentor with The University Library.
• Also, students with high averages may be interested in opportunities for summer research positions on campus and/or other supplemental learning.
• If many students have low averages, encourage them to attend tutorials, office hours, and seek support through events and sessions with the Library Learning Hub.
• With a mix of averages, your students will benefit from working in groups, or using "peer instruction" or "cooperative learning".
• Recognize that the students' averages coming in to your course may not reflect how they will perform in your discipline or class.

This graphic provides you with a sense of how many credit units your students have completed.

• If many students have 15 or fewer credit units, this suggests that they may be "New, First Time" students. Please, review the suggestions for the "Student Status" graphic.
• If many students have 60+ of credit units, they likely have experiences to draw upon from a wide variety of courses. This means they have diverse knowledge, skills, and likely have experiences with a wider variety of assessment types. You may want to survey your students to get a better sense of their diverse experiences. Involving these students in discussions in class allows them to share experiences and make connections, benefitting the individual student, and the class as a whole.
• Students with 30 credits or more are likely to be more aware of and connected to campus services and to have more well-established peer groups. Consider this when forming groups in class.

This graphic provides you with a sense of how many of your students are part-time and full-time this term.

• When exploring this graphic, you may also want to review the "Credit Units Completed" graphic to gain a more comprehensive "snapshot" of where students are in their programs
• Consider the reasons why a student is registered in 12 or fewer credits. They may have to maintain a job, or have other significant commitments away from campus, such as familial or community responsibilities.
• Students taking 15+ credits, likely have many midterms exams and assignments. Experiment with offering choice/flexibility around due dates, if possible.
• Students taking 15+ credits will likely have more difficulty finding opportunities to work on group assignments outside of class time and also more difficulty attending office hours (this also applies to students who are employed or who have familial responsibilities). Offer alternative opportunities for students to connect with your for guidance or assistance.
• Students taking 15+ credits may be under more stress. Remind students of the available support services, such as the Student Wellness Centre.

This graphic indicates the proportion of students that have been enrolled in the class previously and are enrolled in it again this term.

• If you have students registered who have previously passed the course, they are likely taking the course to improve their grade, perhaps for admission into another program. These students should be very intrinsically motivated.
• If a number of students are taking the course again, consider ways that the course could be modified. Are there any assignments options that may better engage these students or provide them with a better opportunity to succeed? For example, if the major assignment is normally a written paper, could students represent their learning in a different way? Similarly, if the learning materials are only written, could you provide more audio/visual learning materials? Are there additional ways for students to assess their learning along the way to provide them with earlier feedback?
• Additionally, if you have a proportion of students that are taking the course again, use this to your advantage by allowing for more peer learning and discussions in class. Leverage their previous experience to your advantage as it is likely that the students that are re-taking the course are familiar with the content, especially from the first half of the term.

This graph reveals how many of your students may possess English as an additional language (EAL), rather than as their first language. In addition, it displays how many of your students have taken an English course from the University's Language Centre

• The term that used to be used to describe non-native English speakers was "English as a Second Language." We have come to realize that many learners speak more than two languages, and so we now use the term "English as an Additional Language" to acknowledge proficiency in multiple languages.
• When teaching students for whom English is an additional language, it is especially important to define terms, write key terms on the board, in slides, or in notes, avoid colloquial language and terms, to speak at an even pace, and use a microphone if needed and available
• Write and state the full name of acronyms first, and then pair the name with the acronym. Acronyms often sound like other words (e.g., "BC" may sound like "busy", or "AD" may sound like "eighty").
• Students may benefit from information about the University's Language Centre and Writing Help, provided through the Library Learning Hub.
• It is very important to provide opportunities for out-of-class contact; email, office hours, telephone
• Provide multiple forms of contributing to and participating in class. For example, rather than just oral, full-class discussions, allow students to submit written questions/responses, discuss in pairs/small groups, and/or respond using the Poll Everywhere student response system.
• If you provide audio or video resources, try to include captioning or transcripts
• Provide students with your class notes for review.
• Use Lecture Capture so students can re-watch the class.
• Note that students who speak English as an additional language will vary in their English proficiency. Even students who speak English very well can still benefit from effective communication strategies.

This graphic provides you with a sense of how many students have withdrawn from the course, and which week they withdraw in. Often, student withdrawals occur early in the course or consistent with drop deadlines. You can monitor withdrawals throughout the term to look for patterns.

• Withdrawing from a course, particularly a required one, is predictive of delayed graduation or an incomplete program of studies.
• If you have a high withdrawal rate for your course at certain times, compare these to stressors for the course. Alter assessment timing, complexity, or type, to reduce this issue. Learn to design effective assessments with help from the workshops offered by the GMCTL.
• Student unhappiness with grades and student feelings of not understanding course materials are two of the most common reasons to withdraw, and changes to assessments, particularly providing clear, early guidance about assessments is the most successful way to address these issues. Consider creating a strong rubric to give in advance or a clear, content-based test outline.
• Look at other factors in KYC to see if you can predict withdrawals to see when to target supports, then encourage students to attend tutorials, office hours, and events/sessions with Student Learning Services pre-emptively before those windows of concern. Reaching out supportively to your whole class is the most likely to help students who will withdraw because they cannot see how to get sufficient help to be successful. These students are more likely to be marginalized than the general student population, and your extra support can make a real difference to their success rates.
• If your course is part of a program where most students take courses in a common order, discuss timing of assessments and workload with other instructors and department heads to look for an optimal balance in assessments. You can get support from the GMCTL for projects of this nature.