“Vertical Peer Mentoring: Undergraduate Research as a Strategic Strength of the University of Windsor”
The University of Windsor is facing a difficult recruitment challenge. With Western 2 hours away sitting astride our access to the rest of the province, our local recruitment catchment area is restricted to the tricounty. As demographics suggests that the population of graduating high schoolers continues to drop in the region, the University needs to compete provincially, nationally, and internationally with other institutions for any growth. This is especially relevant due to the change in the budgetary allocations made by the administration.
Dr. Trant discussed with us his findings which showed that the Faculty of Science does however have unique strengths. The student: faculty ratio of 15:1 is extraordinarily low, and this can be leveraged by involving students in research early in their academic careers. “Students in the sciences want to do science” he expressed himself as his lab team was proudly attending the session. Another strength of our faculty is unique balance of size and research activity makes us an ideal institution to integrate students into our research labs. He explained how his Vertical Peer Mentoring makes the best use of resources, both financial and time.