Rethinking New Student Orientation. Rethinking New Student Orientation. Matthew R. Shupp. RETURNedited 4/1. Orientation can be the defining moment in the transition to college for the student– a time in which basic habits are formed that influence students academic success and personal growth –and marks the beginning of a new educational experience. Of these programs, nearly 8. In response to a survey distributed in 2. But what is orientation, and why is it important? ![]() Mullendore and Banahan (2. New Student Orientation Programs are critical to this experience. The programs make a substantial impact on welcoming and connecting students as they transition to a college or university. More importantly, these orientations introduce students to the individuals and resources they will need when they are in personal or academic jeopardy – resources that many students overlook or forget are available to assist with their success in college. Ultimately, orientation programs are the bridge, the linchpin, between the last stages of recruitment and the first stages of retention. These take place at various times, vary in breadth and depth, and cover a variety of topics. These include, but are not limited to, the large one- day events, one- day curriculum meetings, on- going curriculum meetings, registration events, and Freshman Orientation Seminar classes. Given the demographics of our student body – students of color, single parents, and older adults – they often juggle conflicting priorities that require them to choose one event over another. Should our students take care of a family obligation or attend an orientation event? Should he or she be present at a full- time job or miss a day of work to attend an advisor meeting? Conflict is inevitable, and sacrifices often need to be made. I believe that it is important to reach out to our students, rather than having the students always reach out to us. In other words, we, as an institution, need to be intentional in evaluating whether or not our current orientation model is meeting the needs of our student population. Our goal is to assist students at University X to succeed. Can we be doing things differently? And if so, what might those things be? Servicing more than 4. As part of University Xs Strategic Plan (2. Wesleyan Welcomes the World! Orientation (NSO) Program is a comprehensive. How to Develop a Comprehensive Management Training Program. SECTION 1: PROGRAM DESIGN AND COMPONENTS. PROGRAM DESIGN AND COMPONENTS Comprehensive School Health. This orientation acquaints new Scholars with both the components of the Program. Throughout the Ingram Scholarship Program. During the orientation program. Orientation Program: EPA Non-Faculty Permanent Employees. New Employee Orientation Program. Southern Maine Health Care offers new physicians a comprehensive hospital orientation program. Comprehensive orientation program for general practice. Orientation Program for Elementary Teacher Educators. This orientation program was aimed at. The next session was focused on Continuous and Comprehensive. College will strengthen its ability to identify and set priorities for an effective response to the changing educational needs of its communities (p. The need for this objective in the strategic plan has been illustrated through dramatic changes in the student body from semester to semester. Many do not realize that, for the past several years, the College has seen an increase in student enrollment and attendance at New Student Orientation programs, yet has witnessed a lack of retention of students, primarily African American men, over a full academic year (September – May). Knowledge and understanding of key processes such as financial aid and registration is narrow. With busy work schedules and family commitments, time is of the essence. In a world of fast- food drive- thru windows and limited attention spans, students expect that when they stop on to the college campus, they will be able to instantly apply and receive their financial aid money, register for classes, and pick up a student ID – all on the same day without any problems. Obviously, there appears to be a disconnect between what students feel is most important to accomplish (their needs) and what the College (staff, administration, faculty) feels is most important to accomplish (what we think they need to learn). One way to accomplish this may be a little at a time. We need to find multiple ways of orienting students beyond just offering a one- day event each Fall and Spring semester. As Mullendore and Banahan (2. By noon, students are no longer interested and begin to leave the orientation event. Unfortunately, this means that most students do not stay for important curriculum meetings or campus tours. So how do we reach our students on an on- going basis? One key is to look at what we know students want and build the Colleges orientation information around this. What students perceive is reality for them; and their perception of the registration process is one of long lines, a lack of customer service, and overall disorganization. Therefore, I am proposing that several pieces of orientation be included during the on- campus registration periods. Once our students are already on campus taking care of one of their needs, it is prudent to include the following during this time. The cause / effect relationship can either have positive or inverse relationships. In the example given below, I am proposing that rethinking orientation to include a more comprehensive approach will have a positive effect on the retention of new students from the first to second semester. In other words, as we increase the breadth and depth of the orientation program, the amount of students retained will also increase. Therefore, support from the following offices will ensure success of this comprehensive orientation effort. The start up cost of implementation of the comprehensive program would be minimal. Staff members employed at the College will provide virtually all orientation material. However, additional staff and faculty time to complete the orientation programs throughout the year would need to be considered and may cause some complication. University X is a unionized work environment, so job descriptions and overtime will need to be taken into consideration when asking individuations to partake in on- going orientation events during the registration of new students. Including first day / first week experiences and Freshman Orientation Seminars into this program is essential in creating a seamless educational experience for students. In the past, given the large number of students served on registration days, the waiting time to meet with an advisor and register for classes has been a long one. While it is not possible to change this at the current time, the waiting time should be looked upon as an opportunity to inform and educate students in a variety of ways. Power. Point presentations or videos may be shown. Catalogs and important hard copy orientation materials may be disseminated. Campus offices and area organizations may be present to provide appropriate information necessary for success at University X. Student evaluations will be accepted anytime after students register for classes – while they visit with Financial Aid, obtain their student ID, etc. Drop boxes will be visibly available at these locations. Likewise, sample student focus groups could be called for further evaluations. The implementation of this new program will hopefully lead to an increase in student retention over the course of the academic year. An unforeseen but possible addition benefit would also include the enhancement of student leadership skills by providing current students a mentoring experience from interacting with new students. Although the stigma is changing, many community colleges across the country are still not considered real colleges. At University X, many of our students are often referred to as attending the 1. Implementing the comprehensive orientation program may assist with student retention from year to year with an increase of student graduation or transfers to four- year institutions. Obviously, data would need to be gathered – from a longitudinal cost / benefit analysis – to support this claim. However, the following table illustrates the possible choices University X has when it comes to the comprehensive orientation program. Unless collaboration occurs, it appears that the attempt of incorporating aspects of orientation will be completed in vain. Further research providing details such as the number of participants, survey tools, and validity and / or reliability of the intervention will be needed and analysis of the effectiveness of the program could be studied over time. The inclusion of an executive summary at the completion of the period of study would certainly strengthen the programs impact. Although orientation events have been a collaborative effort in the past, the Office of Student Services has historically overseen the logistical process. However, in recent years, the orientation experience has become more academic in nature providing information and guidance regarding academic programs, administrative processes, campus services, facilities and co- curricular programs (Mullendore and Banahan, 2. Mullendore and Banahan (2. They include faculty involvement in orientation programs, academic program emphasis, parent and family attendance, student attendance, and technology. Be that as it may, when the President gave the charge, University X looked to the Office of Student Services to single- handedly re- work orientation. However, once the above- mentioned proposal was presented for consideration, it was frowned upon given the amount of resources each office was expected to undertake. The question remains: how does someone create a program when resources are needed yet clearly not allotted equally? College and university campuses are the foundation on which students can grow and connect to reach his or her fullest ability, both in and outside of the classroom setting. The Wingspread Group of 1. Likewise, The Student Learning Imperative (American College Personnel Association, 1. Coming to college has become an organized adventure, with individuals strategically placed in students ways as to direct and guide their learning. The enhancements to registration are one such intentional program. Students may learn that the goal is to not only earn a degree, but to also take the opportunity and fully explore the possibilities that they have at University X (Shupp, 2. They experience traditional academic learning, which consists of classrooms, books, professors, tests, papers, and homework.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2017
Categories |