Starting Point

Posted April 12, 2021

By Kirsty Clarke

New to U of T? Check out Starting Point. It can help you make the most of your U of T experience from day one.

Kira, who signed up early, says, “Enrolling in Starting Point was probably the best decision I made at the beginning of the year. It gave me a guideline, a goal, something to work towards so that I would force myself to be involved “on” campus despite it all being online.”

“The most important thing I have learned through participating in Starting Point,” says Emily, another first-year student, “is the wide array of workshops and involvement activities I have access to through the University of Toronto.”

Starting Point is a build-your-own-experience program that introduces you to what U of T has to offer. It’s flexible (to work with your schedule), gives you opportunities to try new things and helps you stay informed about what’s happening on campus.

Starting Point runs from June to April. Each week you’ll receive an email with information about what’s happening across campus. You can choose to join the workshops and activities that interest you and best fit your schedule.

For Kira, it led to taking on a leadership role: “Thanks to the program, I got into virtual Study Hubs and found them to be super helpful. In fact, just yesterday, I went to the facilitator workshop so that I could host virtual Study Hubs myself! In general, Starting Point made me aware of all these resources that U of T has to offer, such as the Writing Centre, which I have definitely taken advantage of. I attended various workshops, from Social Innovation to How to Optimize My LinkedIn.”

You can register for the program on CLNx, by logging in, and selecting the Starting Point program to enroll. You’ll be added to Starting Point’s weekly email distribution list of available workshops and activities and you can start tracking your progress online. Once you successfully complete Starting Point, you’ll earn Co-Curricular Record recognition.

Emily found the experience helped her learn to use University platforms, and deepened her engagement with the U of T community: “I am now very comfortable navigating CLNx and other platforms that the University uses. The different workshops the program highlighted made me expand upon my goals and construct a future plan of how I can maximize my university experience to the fullest potential. Overall, my fear of reaching out and participating in extracurriculars has been diminished thanks to the guidance of Starting Point.”

As an added bonus, if you register by August 16, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. you’ll be automatically entered into a draw for a chance to win one of two $50 gift certificates to the Bookstore!