Our Mission

Student Life promotes learning that has a lasting and transformative impact on students and society.

Awards and Accolades for Student Life 

We are proud of our standing as national leaders in delivering innovative programs and services that are regarded as best practices in the field of Student Affairs. Our staff team is also committed to sharing their professional expertise on campus and beyond, volunteering their time on various boards, helping local political candidates, supporting grassroots organizations and delivering workshops, leading training activities and facilitating retreats and discussions.  In Fall 2011, the Student Life staff team was awarded the United Way Spirit Award for exceeding its fundraising goal, achieving a minimum five-per-cent increase in participation, and demonstrating enthusiasm and creativity in its fundraising efforts.

Several of our programs have received national recognition, including:

Project Serve

Recipient of the 2001 Program of the Year award from the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS).  Lauded for its cutting-edge approach to engaging students in the civic life of their community, this program has involved over 6000 students and contributed more than 30,000 volunteer hours since its inception.

SLIC

Student Leaders Interacting and Collaborating annual conference - recipient of the 1999 Program of the Year award from the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS).  This conference has provided hundreds of newly elected and appointed student representatives with leadership training, role-specific support, and opportunities to network with administrators, alumni and students since it was established in 1995.

What Can you Do? 

Poster series - recipient of a 2002 CACUSS Innovation grant, this series of thought-provoking posters was designed to encourage students to serve the greater good - as citizens and as learners - and to extend their civic commitment beyond our borders and their undergradute careers.

Peer Helper Program

Our Peer Helper Program has served as the blueprint for several successful paraprofessional helping programs, including those at McMaster and Memorial University.  Our staff are regularly consulted due to their expertise in experiential learning pedagogy, community-engaged learning, and leadership education. 

Project Serve Canada and International

Since its inception, Project Serve has spawned two highly regarded programs that extend our reach beyond the local:  Project Serve Canada and Project Serve International.  Grounded in community-engaged learning principles, these programs provide opportunities for students to address real needs identified by community partners, and to deepen their learning.  To date, universities such as the University of Calgary and Wilfrid Laurier University have developed civic engagement programs drawn from our cluster of Project Serve programs.  When the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration visited the campus in the Winter of 2009, Project Serve was highlighted as a best practice that promotes voluntarism, civic engagement, and a life-long commitment to the public good (see The Ontarion article).

START Online 

Launched in 2002, this virtual pre-arrival orientation program paved the way for similar programs at Canadian universities.  Designed to introduce newly admitted students to the Guelph campus community prior to arrival, to expose them to the range of resources and supports available to them, and to facilitate important connections between and among new students, this program continues to play a pivotal role in supporting the transition of new students at the University of Guelph.