What We Do

The University of Toronto’s VPSEM Team works to support the recruitment, enrolment, and retention of a diverse, dynamic, and academically robust group of students from Canada and across the globe. VPSEM works closely and collaboratively with the Academic Divisions across the three campuses to help develop, implement, and execute data-informed plans, policies and practices which support the application, matriculation, and continued support of undergraduate students.

Cognizant of a rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive global marketplace, the VPSEM division, by way of innovation, research, and experience, endeavours to facilitate the provision that every University of Toronto student, from the time they are a prospect until graduation, has a transformational experience. Toward that end, we strive to provide the highest levels of service delivered by all the teams within the VPSEM portfolio: University Admissions and Outreach (Recruitment and Admissions); the University Registrar’s Office (Student Financial Aid and Awards, Student Systems, Client Services, Records and Student Accounts); and Learning Space Management.

We maintain that cultural diversity is a necessary component of an enriched student experience and a vital part of the University of Toronto’s institutional mission, we are committed to furthering progress in the realm of strategic enrolment management with a dedication to inclusive excellence.

Our Teams

University Registrar’s Office

The University Registrar’s Office (URO) includes student financial aid & awards, student accounts, client services & records, student systems and learning space management (LSM). The URO works with faculty and divisional registrars to support undergraduate and graduate students throughout the student life cycle and is an advocate and service provider for University of Toronto students and tri-campus registrarial services.

The URO develops university-wide policies, guidelines and procedures, maintains the official student record, and oversees the student information system to support the university mission and enhance the student experience. 

The Student Financial Aid & Awards team oversees the strategic direction and administration of university student financial aid and award (merit and need-based) programs. This include government student assistance programs (e.g. OSAP), US Direct Loans, the UTAPS program, scholarships, bursaries and other financial supports students.

The Operations team provides leadership in the development and delivery of key processes and systems across URO and UAO. This includes software application development and implementation, IT project management, data integration, network operations and administrative services. In addition, the team advocates and leads pan-institutional SIS changes and improvements. The Operations team liaises with external agencies to integrate student data with external systems and support compliance reporting.

The Client Services team is the central one stop for student enquiries relating to admissions, financial aid, awards, records, transcripts and student accounts. The team answers over 130,000 enquiries annually and supports record management receiving thousands of documents and fulfills over 80,000 transcript requests.

The goal of the URO is to provide a coordinated and seamless approach to provide the best student experience and advocates for a student-centric approach to regulatory and process changes. 

The Learning Space Management team has a focus on learning space excellence with the mandate of stewardship of the University’s classrooms and testing space, encompassing all aspects including the delivery of academic activities through academic scheduling, classroom design, classroom technology, and accommodated testing. This holistic perspective allows each member of the team to work together, share experiences and better understand how their decisions and deliverables impact other team members and results. In this way, we can leverage opportunities and synergies amongst the team as well as with our broader University partners to better serve instructors and students in support of the University’s teaching mission.

The Office of Convocation team is responsible for all student services related to convocation. This includes diploma production and distribution, degree certification, confirming graduation eligibility and issuing replacement diplomas. The team is also responsible for coordinating all aspects of convocation events, including ordering regalia, booking spaces for ceremonies, student communications and ceremony attendance tracking and ticketing.

University Admissions and Outreach

The University Admissions and Outreach (UAO) team includes the Office of Student Recruitment (OSR) and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OA). OSR and OA collaborate with a variety of internal and external stakeholders to serve as central, specialized resources for recruitment and enrolment planning across the University of Toronto’s direct-entry landscape.

The Student Recruitment team works closely with a variety of external partners on behalf of the University’s tri-campus system and in service to the strategic goals of the seven primary academic divisions. The team collaborates closely with divisional recruitment teams and other VPSEM staff to ensure the delivery of a first-class, client-focused experience for prospective direct-entry students and their supporters. OSR oversees the delivery of campus tours and other programming and more broadly helps manage frontline communication to prospective students to help them navigate their futures.

The Undergraduate Admissions team provides oversight of the receipt and processing of 100,000+ applications to the undergraduate, direct-entry divisions at the University of Toronto annually. OA staff establish and regularly review bases of admission for prospective students from around the world based on research and review of systems of education, grade evaluation data within those jurisdictions, practices among global peer institutions, and the academic performance of the students we admit. We recommend and apply the University’s admission policies and, through collaboration with all undergraduate faculties, implement process workflows for applicant review and decision processing.