New Initiatives for Improving Student Experience

Two Faculty projects are currently being funded by the Student Experience Fund, which was created in spring 2006 to support projects that enrich the U of T undergraduate student experience. Improvements will be made to the Engineering and Computer Science Library in Sandford Fleming Building and the functionality of the Engineering Computer Facility (ECF). The Student Experience Fund supports projects that enhance undergraduate student experience, which was a top priority item identified both institutionally and at the Faculty level.

The Engineering and Computer Science Library space services the Engineering and Computer Science community of approximately 5,000 undergraduate students, 1,600 graduate students and 290 faculty members. Every day, 1,300 people enter the Library, most of whom are undergraduate students. With funding from the Student Experience Fund, renovations will be made to create a more pleasant environment for students, with increased study space, additional seats and improved access to reference services.

The renovations will be a dramatic enhancement to the current conditions, and they will provide additional space for students to work together on group projects. These renovations directly link to the Faculty’s goal to enhance learning experiences for academic programs.

The Engineering Computer Facility (ECF) will also see several improvements through the Fund. ECF, which has three networks accessible by the Faculty from hundreds of terminals, was created to provide a computing environment for Engineering students to access the specialized computer equipment and software needed to complete course requirements. This project will see the acquisition, installation and software implementation of five servers that will provide remote access for the application software, so that students will be able to connect to ECF computers remotely from their homes, dorms, or any place with wireless. More than 4,100 out of 4,400 undergraduate students in the Faculty will benefit from the proposed application environment.

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