The University of Toronto’s Transitional Year Programme (TYP), an eight-month access-to-university program, celebrated its forty-fifth anniversary on Wednesday with an open house that showcased the communities served by the program.
Both current and former faculty members and students attended the event.
The program, intended for those who have not finished high school, offers students access to an academic advisor and other resources. After one year of program coursework, students who pass with an average of 65 per cent become eligible for admission to the Faculty of Arts & Science.
Anastasia*, a current TYP student, says that, for her, the program has helped her find confidence and provided her with many opportunities. “I arrived here completely on my own, without any family… and the TYP ensured that my transition here was as smooth as… possible,” she says.
“Since I arrived at the program, they have been my family, they have been my support… It’s the best thing I could have ever asked for,” she adds.
“The program means an opportunity… to learn perseverance and belief in yourself — that’s not something you can easily find a world full of adversity,” Anastasia says.
L.A. Wade, the program’s registrar who is also a TYP alumnus, echoed Anastasia’s sentiment, saying that the program has the potential to be life-changing.
“The program means opportunity. It means the fulfillment of a dream. It’s hope. It’s the ability to give back… and, knowing that it was around for 45 years, the legacy of being a part of that,” Wade says.
Wade adds that her future hopes for the program include opening it up to marginalized communities abroad and further extending the opportunity for transition into university education.
*First name used at student’s request.
