Helping students with a major decision, virtually

Choosing a program is one of the largest decisions students make during their time in university. Majors Night was created to help students ask questions and learn about each program in the Faculty of Arts and Science but due to the pandemic, organizers had to make a quick pivot and organize an online event.

“In the past we have organized this event similar to an academic fair, very much like our recruitment events,” says Haley Everson, Associate Director, Student Services (Advising, Appeals, and Academic Consideration). “With the move to remote learning this year we knew we would need to offer this event virtually, so we tried to stay as true to the ‘fair’ concept as possible. We even used our standard floor plan to match the OnQ landing page.”

Majors Night is organized each year in collaboration with Arts and Science Undergraduate Society, Career Services and FAS. It is an event designed for first year students to explore all the different degree plan options and combinations available: tour around the different virtual booths and drop in to check out some of the work they do, meet some peers, ask questions, and learn about the curriculum and opportunities to help students figure out which major is the best fit for them.

Advisors from Academic Advising, Career Services, and PASS were available virtually to answer specific questions about choosing a program and where to find career resources at Queen’s.

“For someone who went in not entirely sure what they wanted to major in, I found the event to be very informative,” says first year student Alicia Parker. “All of the speakers were extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and the virtual platform seemed very conducive to the flow of the event. It was really convenient to just click between the zoom rooms and easy to bookmark the shared resources because we were already online.”

The event also offered several short sessions on the opportunities or add-ons available including exchanges, certificates, and internships.

“We didn’t really know what to expect in terms of attendance,” says Everson. “Typically, this event is very well attended by students so we were hopeful that we would see similar numbers to previous years. We were very pleasantly surprised to see record numbers for attendance this year.”

As for the future, Everson says the virtually format could be used again, even as more in person events continue to come back to campus.

"We think the virtual format made this event more accessible to all – our Bader College students and those who commute to campus for classes were able to fully participate for the first time. Chatting from the comfort of our homes allowed for better conversations to take place too – that was a bonus!”