Evolution of a summer research/writing workshop for first-year university students

Purpose - The paper aims to describe a framework for a summer research/writing workshop for new university students, and its evolution over time and across institutions. Design/methodology/approach - The University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC) has successfully offered its award-winning two-day Summer Learning Institute on Research, Writing and Presentation Skills for four years (2004-2007), to increasing enrolments. Memorial University of Newfoundland (Memorial) adapted the UTSC model and successfully piloted its four-day workshop, Summer Program in Academic Research and Communication (SPARC), in August 2006. Both programs were low-cost, non-credit summer workshops for new students to help them prepare for university-level research and writing. Memorial offered its program a second time in August 2007. This paper focuses on the Memorial experience. Findings - The success of these programs is attributed to a common framework used in each case: program planning, marketing, and delivery and assessment. Practical implications - The framework described in this paper could be adapted by other institutions wishing to implement such a program. In addition, the SPARC team will continually improve the program by reflecting on each part of the framework. Originality/value - Much research has been done to identify and address the specific needs of first-year university students. For example, some institutions offer "first year experience" courses for credit, while others place first-year students into Interest Groups. Most academic libraries offer information literacy sessions to groups of undergraduate students during the regular semester. This paper presents a model for reaching first year students before they take their first class at university.