OISE Student Success Centre (OSSC)
About the OISE Student Success Centre
NOTE: The OISE Student Success Centre is only offering online appointments until further notice.
The OISE Student Success Centre (OSSC) is an academic skills and support centre that offers OISE graduate students the opportunity to book one-on-one appointments with an OSSC advisor to improve their abilities in a wide-range of areas. Our advisors have a range of professional and academic experience. Students are encouraged to consult the advisor profiles as a guide when booking appointments for a specific subject.
Services Offered/Contact
Advisors at the centre will be able to provide support to students in the following areas:
- Academic Writing
- French
- English Language Development
- Graduate Student Writing Groups
- Literature Review
- Presentation Skills
- Resume and Cover Letters
- Mock Interviews
- Teacher Skills Development
Please note:
We do not provide academic support for Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grant and Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) scholarship applications. Please inquire with your department about workshops and resources on these award competitions.
We do not provide editing or proofreading services; instead, we work with students to give feedback and work together through the writing process to develop your skills long-term.
Address:
OISE Student Success Centre
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
University of Toronto
202 - 8th Floor, 252 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5S 1V6
Contact:
Ghayas Shams (Primary)
OSSC and Career Coordinator
416-978-1599
ghayas.shams@utoronto.ca
Jeananne Robertson (Alternative)
Assistant Director & Student Success Counsellor
416-978-2448
jt.robertson@utoronto.ca
Advising Schedule
Fall 2022
Monday, September 12
to Friday, December 16, 2022
Winter 2023
Monday, January 2
to Thursday April 20, 2023
Summer 2023
May to August, 2023
(exact dates TBD)
Holidays
We are closed for Holidays as per University of Toronto Holiday Schedule.
Advisor Profiles
Amina Yousaf
Christos Orfanidis
Claudio Jaramillo-Yanquepe
Diana M. Barrero
Elena Danilina
Fiona Purton
Gabrielle Breton-Carbonneau
Ghayas Shams
Hoda Gharib
Jasmine Pham
Lucy El-Sherif
Michael Koslowski
Sana Abuleil
Stacy Alexandra Costa
Susan He
Ty Walkland
Velta Douglas
Wenyangzi Shi
Ximena Martinez Trabucco
Frequently Asked Questions About Online Appointments
Log into the WCONLINE system approximately five to ten minutes before the start of your appointment. Then, open your appointment and click "Start or Join Online Consultation".
In situations where we/you are encountering technical difficulties with the online booking system, your advisor will email you with Zoom instructions.
- For your online appointment, make sure you have a working webcam and microphone, and a quiet space.
- Ensure that your local internet provider has not put up any firewalls for modes of this form of communication. Firefox and Chrome browsers usually work best for online appointments on the WCONLINE system.
- Be sure that you have the latest version of your browser installed.
- Bring the rough draft of the assignment you would like to work on, your questions and ideas.
- Please note we do not review your work outside of appointment times.
- If this is a course assignment, the assignment instructions and/or syllabus.
- For in-person appointments, feel free to bring your laptop or a print out of the assignment.
If there are any accommodations we can provide in order to better facilitate your learning during an appointment or improve your experience in the writing centre, please contact Ghayas Shams or Jeananne Robertson.
Students can have two active appointments at a time, and book up to five a month. Each appointment lasts 50 minutes.
We do not allow back-to-back appointment bookings as we feel students should have time to reflect on the appointment, and suggested changes or revisions before booking their next appointment with an advisor.
WCONLINE provides a legend (i.e. colour blocks) to easily identify when appointments are available, booked, online etc. For easy viewing, please see the legend below which is also available on the appointment booking system
- White: Appointment(s) available
- Yellow: My appointment(s)
- Purple: Not available
- Blue: Unavailable (in person) appointment
- Red: Unavailable (online) appointment
If you need to cancel an appointment, please do so as soon as possible but at least 12 hours in advance. This will allow other students to plan ahead when booking an appointment.
If you fail to cancel your appointment within the required time or miss the appointment twice, it will result in a "missed appointment" and you will be blocked from booking further sessions.