Guidance
Guidance actions play a decisive role in the complex and articulated process of higher education of the new generations. The choice of a university study path is indeed a very delicate moment in the life of the student who has to make a conscious choice in order to build his or her own life project; shortcomings in guidance actions contribute to an increase in the number of study drop-outs, as well as to slowing down student careers by disproportionately increasing the time it takes to obtain a degree.
The University of Parma pays particular attention to orientation projects aimed at high school students, in order to promote an accurate and in-depth knowledge of the University's course catalogue and, at the same time, to stimulate conscious choices of their university career also through appropriate preparatory activities aimed at verifying the possession of the knowledge and/or skills or the adjustment of personal preparation necessary for access to study courses.
At the same time, orientation activities, in addition to focusing on investigations into the motivations and expectations of incoming students, contemplate the use of innovative teaching experiences, as a function of orientation itself, in order to achieve career regularity. With this in mind, the service is aimed at enhancing the tools for assessing students' incoming skills, particularly for those courses of study with a high drop-out rate.
The procedures for enrolling, admitting students and managing their careers are set out in the Prospectus and the University's Academic Regulations and communicated through specific sections of the University website; a specific section of the University portal is dedicated to freshmen:
University of Parma the world that awaits you.
In order to facilitate students in their studies and to develop their soft skills, the university has adopted a number of special regulations such as, for instance, the Regulations for the registration of part-time students, the Regulations for free participation activities and the Regulations for the activation and management of an alias career for subjects in gender transition. The university pays special attention to the problems of students with disabilities, so much so that it has already established support for vulnerable groups and students with disabilities, D.S.A. and B.E.S. since 2000.
Recently implemented is the establishment of the Prison University Pole with the aim of fostering the right to study for those in a state of restricted personal liberty.
A specific mentoring activity is planned for high-level student athletes.
The actions implemented by the University are reported annually in the Performance Report document and are monitored annually in a report by the Rector's delegates.
For the reception of foreign students, a number of activities have been launched that can be consulted on the English version of the university website.
In general, the orientation service consists of guaranteeing all the activities related to the guidance processes for students, supporting future students and their families in making informed choices of the university pathway, and welcoming students, including foreign students, into the university environment.
The main activities of the O.U. Guidance and Orientation are carried out in support of and in close collaboration with the teachers delegated for orientation, appointed for each course of study, and range from the organization of and participation in orientation meetings held at upper secondary schools to the organization of educational visits to Departments, aimed at helping students in the final years of upper secondary schools choose their course of study, from participation in national orientation fairs, organised in various locations throughout Italy, to collaboration in the organization of the "Studiare a Parma" (Study in Parma) open days held annually at the University in the spring, and the "From Maturity to University" (Info Day) held annually at the University in the summer, to coincide with the opening of enrolment.
It is also worth mentioning the dissemination of information to future matriculants on how to access courses of study, the care of projects in collaboration with upper secondary schools as part of guidance activities, support for the structures involved in 'Alternanza Scuola-Lavoro' courses and the holding of information and orientation interviews for students and families; finally, the service handles the management of reorientation processes for enrolled students, in collaboration with the teaching staff and the psychological counselling service.
In connection with high schools, the university has launched a series of specific projects involving school teachers in coordination with UNIPR teachers with a view to supporting the preparation of school students for university enrolment.
These projects specifically are:
- Plan for Scientific Degrees (PLS), created in 2004 with the aim of combating the growing disaffection of young people towards scientific disciplines. At UNIPR, PLS is divided into different subject areas:
- Biology and Biotechnology; - Chemistry; - Geology; - Physics; - Mathematics.
The reception of foreign students and refugees deserves a separate discourse, which over the years has become increasingly important within the objectives that the University has set itself, also from an administrative point of view, especially with regard to the evaluation of foreign qualifications that students submit upon enrolment and which, in some cases, they send before arriving in Italy for prior evaluation for admission to master's degree courses. With regard to the delicate and current context of the refugee situation, the university recently joined the National Coordination on the Evaluation of Refugee Qualifications (CNVQR) with which the MIUR, with the support of the CIMEA, has set itself the objective of providing universities with useful tools to proceed with the recognition of the qualifications of refugees with little or no documentation. The University of Parma, within the framework of this project, which is also part of the University Plan for Refugees, has been able to transpose precise notions on the procedure to be followed in cases of poor or absent documentation, establishing important contacts with other universities and with CIMEA staff, for fruitful cooperation. Based on this protocol, the O.U. Careers and Student Services provides accommodation for refugees with confirmed status, as well as asylum seekers. For everyone, i.e. both those with recognised refugee status and those with a status that is not yet final and with partial or deficient documentation, the qualifications submitted are assessed. In this context, numerous discussions are scheduled, both with students and with the mediators of the associations, as well as with the Presidents of the Course Councils to which the students approach, and with ERGO for possible benefits.
In addition to all these centrally coordinated activities, there are other actions implemented on the direct initiative of individual departments, courses of study and their delegates.
Lastly, it seems appropriate, in this context, to mention the Customer Satisfaction project undertaken by the University of Parma, capable of allowing, among other things, the assessment of the effectiveness of orientation actions, an open issue and not entirely resolved in the national panorama, in order to allow a more conscious and targeted choice by students and, in particular, to verify that orientation actions are productive, not so much in terms of attractiveness to the University, but in terms of improving the performance of students who then matriculate at the University of Parma.
The CoS organises orientation activities aimed at secondary school students in the province of Parma and surrounding areas, such as seminars, visits to laboratories and traineeships. The CSD guidance delegates act in a coordinated manner with the other CSD delegates incardinated in the SCVSA Department in order to participate in the initiatives organised by the University concerning guidance and information for students interested in enrolling at the University of Parma (http://www.unipr.it/arpa/orienta2/). The CoS orientation delegates also carry out direct contact with users when contacted by e-mail or telephone, possibly setting up appointments for visits or interviews.
Since 2016, the CoS has been participating in the Piano Lauree Scientifiche (PLS), a project that aims to implement specific actions to improve young people's interest in studying science subjects, provide better preparation in basic science subjects, reduce the drop-out rate between the first and second year of university studies and acquire scientific skills that meet the expectations of the world of work. The Biology department organises laboratory activities aimed at introducing students to biological subjects and refresher days for teachers.
As part of the Alternating School-Work Study Programme, the School organises courses in the field of biology with application aspects designed to actively involve secondary school students and on topical scientific research topics carried out within the SCVSA Department.
The initiatives at CoS level can therefore be summarised as follows:
-presentations in secondary schools in Parma and neighbouring cities - organization of 'Open Day' and 'Info Day' events - organization of practical summer traineeships for students in the fourth year - organization of Alternative School-Working Programme activities - organization of activities under the Scientific Degrees Plan (PLS) - preparation of texts describing the degree course for the University brochures - preparation and conduct of the Self-Assessment Test.