Photo: TRU
Scotiabank has committed $300,000 over the next three years to support first-year Thompson Rivers University business students as part of its BBA First Year Student Success Project.
TRU said the project aims to increase academic support, peer mentoring, social engagement activities and financial awards for first year bachelor of business administration students in the Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics.
Gaglardi alum and 2023 Scotiabank Entrepreneurship challenge winner Vikrant Singh said individual support is critical to student success.
“Business school isn’t just about knowledge, it’s also about personal and professional development,” Singh said.
“Individual support can make a difference by providing mentorship, personalized learning, career guidance and feedback.”
Scotiabank said it has made the investment as part of a 10-year initiative to promote economic resilience among disadvantaged groups.
“Giving students the tools they need to help them transition to post-secondary education helps to create opportunities for youth to thrive,” said Larry Clements, Scotiabank district vice-president for southeast B.C.
“Through ScotiaRISE, we are proud to support Thompson Rivers University to help remove barriers to full and successful post-secondary participation.”
TRU said research on post-secondary retention across the U.S. and Canada has shown at-risk student populations, including first-generation and low-income students, are prone to lower retention rates.
According to the university, this may be due to a lack of resources for dealing with the challenges of completing a post-secondary degree program.
Gaglardi dean Mike Henry said the student success project’s goal is to increase post-secondary participation for students, especially those facing barriers.
“Dedicated academic advising is particularly important for student retention,” he said. “It’s also helping us create other engagement opportunities that will decrease the need for such interventions in the future.”
TRU said eliminating achievement gaps is one of the university’s four 10-year change goals.
The other goals include honouring truth, reconciliation and rights, being a leader in community research and scholarship, and designing lifelong learning.
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