Langara Student Success Course (LSSC): Guide for Faculty and Instructors

The Langara Student Success Course has proven to be an invaluable tool for the success of our students. It introduces students to what they can expect throughout their studies at the college, from classroom expectations to interacting with instructors and other students. It provides an excellent resource for the supports and services offered at Langara College to help them excel in their studies. Students begin the program with more confidence and the program has seen a decrease in Academic Integrity reports. We continue to offer this course to all new students in the program.

Deanna Pike, Program Coordinator, Supply Chain

It’s so great that LSSC students have a chance to meet with and ask questions directly to faculty and staff from different areas of the college through the LSSC workshops. I’ve loved meeting and connecting with students in our sessions on group work. I know students can sometimes feel nervous about walking into instructor’s offices or asking for help from different service areas at the college, so this safe first introduction is such a great aspect of the course.

Carmen Larson, Curriculum Consultant, TCDC

“Start early and go often” is the advice we give to students to get the best benefits from academic support such as tutoring. While this may seem obvious, the fact is that our students come from a wide range of educational systems in which tutoring plays very different roles. At the beginning of each semester, the Library and Learning Commons is invited to present to students about our resources and services. While we appreciate the opportunity to communicate our message, Q&A is the most valuable part of the session. Questions such as how to find scholarly sources starts a conversation about critical thinking, well beyond the selection of which database to use. The questions from students often remind us that the skills needed to succeed in the academic environment cannot be taken for granted. What is ‘self-evident’ to us is an arrival point of an academic journey. The LSSC is a safe space where students can start that journey which includes gaining the confidence to connect with supports outside the classroom.

Joyce Wong, Associate Director, Library and Academic Success Centre

I'm thrilled by LSSC's impact on students and my classes. I offer 5% bonus marks for successfully completing it and have found that students who complete LSSC are typically more successful in my course, join more extracurricular activities, and get more from their college experience. I worried that LSSC would require extra work but was pleasantly surprised – it shows up automatically in new students' Brightspace course list, and all I need to do is announce it and add the 5% bonus to final grades; everything else is handled by the LSSC team. LSSC offers the wonderful benefits of happier, more engaged students who understand what's expected of them and how to get help. They feel supported, fit in better, and know how to succeed. In my opinion it's one of the best services we offer to our students.

Lucinda Atwood, instructor, Business Management & International Business

In Fall 2021, I was doing a COIL component in my LIBR 1111 course, and some of my students told me that they had taken the Langara Student Success Course (LSSC) and there was a cultural component in that course that was similar to what we were doing in COIL. I asked them how they liked the LSSC, and they all had positive things to say about it. They said it set them up well for beginning their studies at Langara and they recommended it enthusiastically to the other students in the class.

Fiona Hunt, department chair & instructor, Library & Information Technology

I most recently had the opportunity to seek very direct support from the LSSC team as I was involved in the launch of an online cohort of students from Indigenous communities throughout BC. This was a unique initiative, and participating students were very new to the post-secondary learning environment, required skills, technologies etc. The support received from the LSSC team was nothing short of a saving grace.  The cohort was very well supported, and they were made to feel that they fully belonged. Many thanks to Frances, and I hold the entire LSSC team in the very highest of regards. Excellent support, thank you.  

Dan Relihan, Accounting Faculty, Langara School of Management

The Langara Student Success Course has proven to be an invaluable tool for the success of our students. It introduces students to what they can expect throughout their studies at the college, from classroom expectations to interacting with instructors and other students. It provides an excellent resource for the supports and services offered at Langara College to help them excel in their studies. Students begin the program with more confidence and the program has seen a decrease in Academic Integrity reports. We continue to offer this course to all new students in the program.

Deanna Pike, Program Coordinator, Supply Chain

As someone that has graduated from an international university, I found the modules to be very insightful and a great preparation to what is expected at Langara for my first semester. I thoroughly enjoyed the polls and comparing results from others. It was also a nice refresher on calculating my GPA as I haven't done that in a while. Many schools will benefit from having a similar module and online platform to prepare incoming students.

Itcel Arevalo, General Education

Thanks very much for a well-presented module on each learning content. It was a learning tool that provided me with a lot of useful information regarding the course material, instructors, and many more linked with Langara College. All the readings were well presented with colorful interesting videos. I have learned a lot about academic success, academic integrity, how to calculate GPA.
I am excited to pursue my studies at Langara College.

Rajineeta Autar, Associates of Science Biology

It was great initially taking LSSC as a new student and absorbing the knowledge provided by this course to optimize my time and to use campus resources. It acted as a guide for me by iterating the ways I tackle different situations. And eventually being an Ambassador gave me a chance to interact with students closely and guide them through my own experience. It was a great experience to be in touch with LSSC instructors and I’m grateful to them as they helped me to grow on my academic journey.

Harmanpreet Kaur, Health Sciences

I found the LSSC very enlightening and taught me a lot of very useful tools to improve my studying skills and how to be successful in my time at Langara. I believe this course should be taught at every educational level (high school, bachelor, and PDD) for everyone to have a better learning experience with less anxiety and stress.

Maria Moncayo, PDD in Marketing Management

The information provided in this course is very useful for taking advantage of all the resources the college has prepared for us. The course was very easy to follow because it was interactive, and I will never forget the funny videos. Thank you for your help to all the people at Langara, it is nice to know you want us to succeed.

Daniela Matheu Vasco, Internet and Web Technology Certificate

As someone that has graduated from an international university, I found the modules to be very insightful and a great preparation to what is expected at Langara for my first semester. I thoroughly enjoyed the polls and comparing results from others. It was also a nice refresher on calculating my GPA as I haven't done that in a while. Many schools will benefit from having a similar module and online platform to prepare incoming students.

Itcel Arevalo, General Education