During orientation the Administrator is present, student services and one of the graduates. We try to hire some of our graduates, and have on our board.
At my position as an Instructor with Carrington only the Program Directors are involved with orientation. I know with my previous employer, we did a lot of things this module is talking about, and it did make a huge change in retention. We had all instructors present that could be their. All full-time instructors were required to be at orientation. We separated by department after they had gone through signing in at the front desk the first week parking and anything else admissions was tracking. Then they got to actually spend as much time as they wanted with their chosen field and instructor. It works!!
Education and Career Services. They want the facts on the curriculum and who is helping them find that dream job.
We use our new student orientation as a sort of meet & greet, where all of our departments and the faculty are represented. Every person on our school team plays a role in retention from our Owners to the maintenance man, and each one is present during our orientation, this not only gives the students a sense of school unity, it makes them aware that every person in this school is invested and cares about their success. This does not end at orientation, this same unity is shown all the way to graduation where we all attend to celebrate their success.
Besides the academic teams, interactions with new students as well as continuing students, finanical aide has many interactions with students. Students are constantly questioning about their financial aide. We have finanicial aide representatives attend every orientation so the students know who to go to with questions. Orientation has two to three representatives from each department to introduce themselves along with answering any questions they currently have.
The Campus Director, the Admissions Officer and the Career Services Officer (me) attend orientation. The night instructors are introduced as the day instructors would have already left for the day. We do introduce students to everyone available during their initial campus tour.
Each of our program directors participates so the students have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and who to go to for help.
At my school's orientation, Career Services plays a large part by reinforcing all employees are here to help the student succeed and land a job after graduation. We try to help the student see themselves in their career from the first day.
During orientation we introduce all staff and faculty. Since we are currently a very small school our Campus Director begins by introducing all of the administrative staff from front desk, financial services, admissions, student services, and department chairs. Our department chairs then give a brief introduction of themselves and their history and introduce the staff under them that are present at orientation. We have staff and faculty on hand spread throughout the school to answer questions, direct students to the right area, and just generally be around to spread a positive vibe.
We have a few instructors and the department chairs break up the students into small groups and take them around the campus for a tour of all the different rooms and suites they can use and go over basic rules for being around the equipment. We strive to get as many staff and faculty around on Orientation Day as possible to ensure a good day and that the students meet as many people as possible who are going to help them throughout their journey with us.
our instructors and directors have the most interaction with our students
Valerie,
This sounds like a really excellent program.
Susan Backofen
Our Program directors, director of education, and campus director interact with our students on the first day at orientation. We introduce ourselves and eventually have break out sessions in which students in their program meet with their program director to talk about expectations, etc., and to answer any questions the student may have.
The departments that have the most interaction with the students after admissions is the academics department. The CS department meets with the students in each of their modules and then the academics is of course a part of their learning from beginning to end. We unfortunately do not have a student services department and the instructors have become a major role of support for students.
Chanel,
What a great idea to have career services meet with students every module!
Susan Backofen
I agree. I am the program director and I plan to have all my instructors give a wee talk to our students with words of encouragement on Day One. I also intend to explain I am there for them and my Open Door Policy and how we value confidentiality.
Financial aid and student services. We let our students know that we are here to help them succeed into their career path and we will NOT let them fail. There is no reason for them to even think that as it is NOT an option
Student Services: very active at orientation. provides support and resources for the students as they engage in their programs.
Career Services: talks at orientation about the process and road to externship
Program Directors: take students on tours of the campus
Campus Director: talks to all the students about embarking on a journey.
Current Students: act as tour guides and greet new students.
DOE: introduces himself to the group.
Admission Reps: present and in the background allowing the start of the transition.
Our career services have a role in orientation. This gives students the understanding that they are there for them to help in getting them employed from the beginning. Career services work with each student from the first day and throughout the program and even after they have graduated.
Pauline,
Excellent! Keeping career services in front of them from day 1 helps them to keep focused on graduation.
Susan Backofen
Currently all of our departments have interaction with the students at orientation. Admissions, Financial Aid, Education, Student Services, and Career Services. Each department has a table where the students travel to during orientation and receive information on how the department is here to support them, contact information for key individuals and then the students end with meeting their Student Ambassadors who helps them receive their supplies and uniforms.
