Degree programme choice orientation
SOrT is Sapienza's integrated guidance service. The service has a central office in the university campus and branches located in the faculties. At SOrT, students can find more specific information about the faculties and degree programmes and receive support in making their choices. The central office and faculty lecturers coordinate orientation and tutoring projects for new students, maintain relationships with secondary schools and teachers responsible for career guidance, offer support during the delicate transition from school to university and support current students, and provide information on the courses offered and the administrative procedures for accessing them.
Orientation initiatives and projects:
1. “Open Doors at Sapienza”
This initiative, held every year at the University City, is the most important event dedicated primarily to new students: during the three days of orientation, students can meet lecturers and other students, receive information, and attend conferences in the Aula Magna presenting the educational offerings of all the University's faculties. The initiative is aimed at anyone who intends to enrol in Sapienza's Bachelor's, Master's and Single-cycle Master's degree programmes, with a particular focus on students in their final years of secondary school. The event is an opportunity for all stakeholders to learn about Sapienza, its educational offerings, its places of study, culture and gathering, and the many services available to students (libraries and study rooms, museums, university residences, sports facilities, university theatre). In addition to information on teaching, during the meetings and at the faculty stands along the university avenues, as well as at the virtual stands, it is possible to obtain information on the administrative process, both general and, more specifically, on the procedures for enrolling in the various courses of study, and to obtain specific information on the calls for applications to participate in the entrance exams for the courses.
Furthermore, in order to promote the development of inclusive environments and access to university education, the Department for Relations with Students with Disabilities and SLDs promotes opportunities for discussion on career management through personalised and individualised study plans, with the provision of educational and/or financial and/or logistical support available to vulnerable students. Finally, the Department guides students through the procedures for requesting support, indicating the clinical certifications that can be submitted.
2. “Orientamento Sapienza” portal
To assist students in choosing their course of study, the University has created an online portal (https://orientamento.uniroma1.it/index.html) that offers an immersive and advance experience of university life: access navigable images and videos of the campus, classrooms and laboratories, libraries, theatre, and spaces dedicated to music and sport; use online teaching modules on the main topics covered in the courses; assess and improve your preparation for entrance or knowledge assessment tests.
In addition, the portal is the main point of contact for information on the orientation events that the various faculties and departments organise throughout the year and hosts videos presenting the faculties, bachelor's degrees, single-cycle master's degrees and master's degrees, with a particular focus on newly established courses. All orientation initiatives are promoted on the University's social media channels in order to attract the attention of potentially interested students.
The portal also has an English version to promote orientation among international students.
3. “A Bridge between School and University” Project
The project was created with the aim of facilitating a smoother transition for students leaving secondary school to university and helping them settle into their new environment.
The project consists of two initiatives:
a) La Sapienza introduces itself - Presentations of the faculties and sample lectures given by La Sapienza lecturers to secondary school students on topics related to each area of study;
b) La Sapienza degli studenti (La Sapienza for students) - Presentations in schools aimed at introducing the services offered by La Sapienza and recounting the university experience by specially trained “mentor” and “senior” students.
4. Self-assessment tools (developed by Sapienza experts and scientifically tested)
a. “Know yourself”: effective in supporting the decision-making process involved in choosing an educational path. Once completed, the tool provides a personality profile, an academic profile and a professional profile.
b. “Me, myself and others”: allows you to measure your soft skills, i.e. the skills relevant to integrating into society and the world of work.
5. “Online Guidance” project
This is a guidance and realignment project focusing on the minimum knowledge required to best tackle the entrance exams for courses in the biomedical and psychological fields. The initiative involves a preparatory course, characterised by an initial phase of distance learning and a second phase of intensive face-to-face courses, for admission to limited-enrolment faculties in the biomedical, health and psychological fields, aimed at students in their final years of secondary school.
6. “Pathways for transversal skills and guidance - PCTO” (formerly school-work alternation)
This is a teaching method which, through practical experience, helps secondary school students to consolidate the knowledge acquired at school and test their aptitudes in the field, while enriching their education and guiding their study path.
7. “Next Generation Guidance (ONG)”
This is a joint project of all the universities in the Lazio Region, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan, designed to help students in our region make informed choices about their post-school education and define their personal and professional trajectories.
The project involves Sapienza lecturers delivering a 15-hour training course, available in person and as part of the curriculum, structured in five 3-hour modules delivered over five preferably consecutive days, unless otherwise agreed with the schools, covering the following content by way of example:
- Module A - Why is studying important?
- Module B - How do you study at university?
- Module C - How can I best prepare for university studies?
- Module D - Who am I and who will I be when I grow up?
- Module E - What professions can I aspire to?
8. Preparation for entrance exams
Sapienza uses the CISIA Online Entrance Test (TOLC), which can be taken by secondary school students through the CISIA portal, which allows them to practise for the test through the Student Placement Tests (PPS). The PPS are real tests that allow students to receive immediate feedback on their level of preparation, based on a comparison with the answers given and the scores achieved in the same questions by participants in the same TOLC in previous years.
9. “Minimum Knowledge”
The project dedicated to realigning minimum knowledge, i.e. the basic knowledge necessary to best attend the chosen degree course, involves the use of lessons recorded by university lecturers with the specific aim of strengthening incoming knowledge and enabling a more informed and motivated university career.
10. “Of@Sapienza”
To increase the level of preparation for entrance tests and prevent the attribution of OFAs (Additional Educational Obligations) in Italian and Mathematics, the Of@Sapienza e-learning channel is available: here, students can find useful tools to train independently and enhance the minimum knowledge required for degree courses in the humanities, engineering and architecture.
11. “Orientation events”
The page https://www.uniroma1.it/it/node/347362 lists all the orientation events organised by the University, Faculties, Departments and CAD/CdS in chronological order.
In addition, to support the choice of study programme and illustrate the services available to students with disabilities and SLDs, Sapienza organises meetings with educational institutions and individual orientation meetings with secondary schools.
The University then supports students with disabilities and SLDs in the delicate and very important process of orientation, assessment and selection for admission.
The “Students with Disabilities and SLD Sector” assesses which individualised methods of completing the entrance exams are necessary in view of the certifications presented by the students.
For enrolment in local or national limited-enrolment degree programmes that require a selective entrance exam, persons with disabilities may request a series of compensatory measures (e.g., dedicated classroom; additional time; reading tutor; accompanying tutor; LIS interpreter; calculator) by following the application procedures indicated in the degree programme admission notices. Similarly, for enrolment in degree programmes that require TOLC entrance exams administered by the CISIA Consortium, both in person and remotely in TOLC@CASA mode, persons with disabilities and/or SLDs may request support measures in accordance with the procedures and terms set out in the administrative procedures for registering for the exams.
Finally, the “Students with Disabilities and SLD Sector” is responsible for welcoming new students who are in a vulnerable situation, with the support of specialised tutors, peer tutors and LIS interpreters.
*** Course activities***
The course employs tutors who support freshers in their initial approach to the course, providing information about organisational aspects (classrooms and timetables) and initial guidance on completing the educational programme. In addition, each year before the start of classes, a presentation of the course is held for freshers, involving many of the lecturers who teach on the course.
Orientation activities specific to the degree programme are always carried out in close coordination with the CORET of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy. In this regard, the tutor appointed by Sustainable Tourism Sciences with orientation/tutoring duties participates regularly in orientation activities at schools in the capital. The members of the Degree Programme Council, the tutors, the student tutors assigned by the University and the president of the Degree Programme participate in the annual “Open Doors” initiative promoted by the University.
Every year, the CGAQ of the STS Degree Programme updates and integrates, in the “Enrol” section of the website (https://corsidilaurea.uniroma1.it/it/corso/2023/29950/iscriversi) of the audiovisual files intended to present the entire structure of the educational programme to future freshers, and then the individual subjects of the basic and core exams. In the last week of September, a public presentation of the degree programme to new students, attended by lecturers representing the individual subject areas, is held in the Aula Magna of the Marco Polo Building, attracting a large audience.
With the ‘Saperi minimi’ (Minimum Knowledge) project, the University also provides future freshmen with lessons recorded by university professors with the specific aim of strengthening their knowledge before they start their studies. Italian lessons are a useful tool for strengthening knowledge before starting the course of study.
All students interested in enrolling can also contact the Sort office using the contact details provided on the degree programme website and on the Faculty and Sort pages.
Finally, the Sapienza Orientation Portal (also available in English) offers an immersive and advance experience of university life through videos and photos of the facilities, including a video presentation of the degree programme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAfUXmZOWwc
Finally, it should be noted that, once the Admissions Department has received the list of students enrolled with OFA assignments, they are carefully guided in order to fulfil as quickly as possible and in any case within the first year of the course, in accordance with the procedures described in detail in the enrolment notice and further detailed in the dedicated section of the SUA-CdS form.
The programme chair, designated tutors, academic advisor, and all academic administration staff are always available—either in person or via email—to respond to any requests for assistance and/or clarification received directly from enrolled students and/or through their representatives.