As Dr. Ainsley Carry—Vice-President for Students (VPS) at UBC Vancouver and Okanagan—reminds us, it’s our community that makes UBC UBC.

Ainsley wants you to know what to expect for being a new-to-UBC student this year—it’s likely very different from the experiences you might’ve envisioned available to you when you applied to UBC. However, we still get access to the many resources and opportunities offered, now that they’re adapted into a predominantly virtual format.

Supporting students—virtually

Many of UBC’s classes, support resources, and involvement opportunities have transitioned online to support us as we venture onwards. These support services are like ghost hugs—you might not really get to see or connect with these services in a physical context, but you can feel their warm, earnest existence through the digital ether.

That is, despite these new circumstances, which we are all facing as part of the UBC community, we are supported—virtually—in our academic studies, our personal development, and our community-finding endeavours.

And this is where Dr. Ainsley Carry and his team at the Vice-President for Students (VPS) Office come in:

Discover how the VPS Office shapes your experience

Leading the VP Students portfolio since April 2019, Ainsley’s office has been overseeing units that support the UBC student experience. Here are just a few examples:

• Student Housing & Community Services (SHCS)
• UBC Recreation
• Student Health Services
• UBC Food Services

The VPS team further works with academic departments to provide opportunities for students like us to, for instance:

• Engage in experiential learning (like Co-op and the Work Learn program)
• Get involved in student government and leadership
• Access support services like the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office, International Student Advising, and the Centre for Accessibility

For Ainsley, student feedback has defined his work

Over the past year (since his appointment), Ainsley has held numerous listening sessions with students across both the Vancouver and the Okanagan campuses. Domestic and International students in undergraduate and graduate programs were all invited to participate.

For some more perspective, these listening sessions have drawn hundreds of student leaders—e.g. those representing the Alma Mater Society (AMS), the Graduate Student Society (GSS), and countless other campus organizations—and, of course, students at large.

The feedback collected from these sessions has informed the VPS Office’s strategic planning: that is, identifying key issues and, along with the relevant campus units, developing solutions to deliver a quality student experience.

Keep checking the Student Services website and UBC Life blog to get updates from the VPS Office!

To connect with Ainsley, send an email to the VPS office at vicepresident.students@ubc.ca or through this contact page—he’d be thrilled to hear from you and see how he can further enrich your experience in the UBC community!

^{Header photo credit: Geoff Lister / UBC Brand & Marketing}