Things to do first year, first week

Get your university life started right

Imagine this: you are now entering your first year of post-secondary at the University of Regina and you have no idea what to expect or where to start for your first year. Well, here is my opinion on how you should spend your first week in university to ensure you are prepared for classes, starting them off right, making friends, and making memories.  

Let’s start with how you should prepare for classes. The first thing you should do to get ready for your classes is log onto UR SelfService, the website that you used to register for classes. Now, the information you want to find on the website is where and how your classes are located. There are a number of class formats that you can partake in.  

You can take in in-person classes which are just normal classes like you have taken in high school. There are remote classes which typically take place over Zoom. Online classes tend to follow a “teach yourself” style of class. Finally, hybrid classes combine the formats of in-person, online, and/or remote classes to allow students a more flexible learning experience. Based on my personal reflection as I am going into my last year of university, my favourite types of classes are either in-person or remote. I like being able to head into class and listen to my professors, meet them and meet my classmates, and enjoy the class structure. My second choice is the online version where you get more freedom and take the class how you would like to. 

Your syllabus is the outline of the class and it will tell you all the details that you need to know about the class. It will tell you about which textbooks are needed, what assignments are expected and their due dates, the details of the class, how to contact your professor, class policies, and much more. 

Once you have all this information, the next thing I would do is get it printed off and make it into your own schedule version. That way you know what all is in it and what is expected of you. You can highlight it in different colours, grab a calendar and colour code it, or you can write on your laptop or phone calendar. Whatever you do, make sure you have access to the syllabus at all times because you never know when you’ll need it. 

So, you know what kind of classes you are attending, and you know what is expected of you. What is your next step? My next advice to you is to assure the fact that you are staying up with your readings for your class, be it textbook readings, presentations, PDF files, or online articles. With all of that in mind, you should be feeling prepared for the classes part of your first week.  

Let’s move on to the fun part. How should you spend your first week of school outside classes? Well, the University of Regna has a great deal of events happening on campus to get you moving, active, meeting others, and having fun. Every year they run an event called Welcome Week where the University of Regina Students’ Union runs a great deal of activities. This year Welcome Week will be taking place August 30-September 1.  

Now, why they call it Welcome Week when it’s only a few days long beats me, but you can find events like a club fair where you can talk around the greens and join and see all the different clubs/societies/associations that take place on campus. I absolutely recommend you try and join your faculty’s student society as this is usually a place where you can meet people, get learning opportunities, and have more chances for fun throughout the school year. You can as well partake in beadwork, gym time, yoga, coffee, socializing, and countless other activities!  

Welcome Week is a great way to start the year and sometimes has some of the best events on campus. Start your university experience off right being prepared for class, going out, socializing, making friends, and creating memories.