Success Space for gathering student services

The investment in the renovation of the building, called Espace Réussite, amounts to $1.1 million.

Often, students did not know which services to turn to when they needed them. Since the resources were scattered throughout the college, it was difficult for them to find an answer.

Success Space solves this problem. “What we wanted was to bring together support services for students, both in terms of their learning and in terms of psychosocial issues or their life in general or their mental health or support. “The idea then was to create a safety net that would allow a student who was not doing well, for whatever reason, By coming here and receiving care,” Gabriel explains from the beginning. Espace Réussite during an interview with Daily.

According to their needs

An on-call worker will always be on-site to welcome, assess and direct the student to the service that suits them.

There are about ten services on the same floor. There are six assistance centres, a remedial teacher, adapted services and a resource person for Indigenous students, in addition to the dedicated center for students on the Tremplin-DEC pathway. Psychosocial services offices, which include services for social workers and psychologists, are also located on this floor.

In addition to the buildings for different speakers, spaces have also been created to help students according to their needs. A Zen space is set up where they can relax, as well as a puzzle corner and another with comic books. The selection of materials in the rooms that accommodate them, especially for re-exams or for people with special needs, is designed to help them by reducing noise and external stimuli.

The entire B wing, with these improvements, aims to be the place that brings together all the services that students may need in their studies such as pedagogy, library, lending center and more.

Very present needs

A quarter of CEGEP’s 2,000 students, or about 500 students, revolve around student services and occasionally or frequently use one of the resources that make up the Success Space.

“We’re trying to be innovative when we think about these spaces. We really want them to meet the needs of the students who are currently in our classrooms.” […] “The student is always at the heart of the choices we make as an institution,” Ms. LeBlanc emphasizes.

Over the years, Ms. LeBlanc has noticed that needs have changed. Customers for adapted services are more numerous than ever before. The Cégep de Chicoutimi has 350 students who benefit from these services and therefore have accommodation on their course.

There are also a greater number of students with mental health needs, living with autism spectrum disorder or who have reduced mobility, for example.

Adapted services were more reserved for those with some type of diagnosis. Cégep de Chicoutimi works to expand certain services to support young people who do not have them. “We must support these students. They may suffer from discouragement in their studies when they are having difficulty. It may be more subtle, but the fact remains that they need help. This is part of our desire to offer more services, to centralize them,” adds Director of Studies Christian Tremblay. And facilitate it.”

The proximity of all these professionals encourages internal cooperation and avoids duplication of services. Workspaces are also maximized, while resources are shared across the workplace.

In the coming years, Cégep de Chicoutimi wants to tackle his public square in a major project. Architecture students have already been consulted and submitted their ideas about redeveloping this place. The work should be done within a few years.