In 2019, the College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies began reflecting on the institutions approach to welcoming and supporting graduate students in their transition into academia. Based on feedback from students on the model of a one-day orientation at the beginning of term, an orientation revitalization committee representative of campus partners and graduate student voices was struck.  

Based on the committee’s recommendation, a needs assessment and program development evaluation was conducted in the Spring of 2020 by Andrew Hartman, a doctoral student in applied social psychology. This project acted as Andrew's practicum and was supervised by Dr. Karen Lawson. Since this time Andrew has continued working on the GradHUB.  

The needs assessment surveyed graduate student orientation models across Canadian institutions, review of the literature, questionnaires with faculty and staff, and focus groups and interviews with graduate students. A copy of the Needs Assessment can be  found here. The accumulation of this data was utilized in develop the GradHUB framework. The initial framework took the form of a program theory with an underlying theory to explain why particular activities are anticipated to lead to specific outcomes. To see the GradHUB's program logic model  click here. 

The program logic model surveyed as a template to develop the GradHUB's resources. The project continued to develop the HUB Lab Modules and HUB Community. As the project grew, additional graduate students were brought onto the project with a number of other graduate students informally supporting the continued growth and develop of the project over the years. We would particularly like to acknowledge the contributions of alumni Momo Tanaka for their work on the GradHUB.  

• GradHUB Needs Assessment
• GradHUB Program Logic Model

Thank you to all the graduate students who supported the initial development of the GradHUB and those students who continue to support us in meeting the needs of graduate students. We also thank the many USask partners and institutions who support the GradHUB.