Amy--
Students seem to enjoy the progressive orientation...it gets them up and moving around and the side benefit is they get to know their way around.
Having students introduce themselves is always a great way for people to feel they are part of a larger group and realize they have much more in common with their classmates than they initially thought.
Susan
All of my teaching is online and I am not currently involved in student orientation. I am not sure that online only students go through an orientation in the conventional sense.
In our orientation we feature a welcome address from the school president, the school director of education, director of career services, student services, library and a the program chairs. We all have a program that we follow, but I fear that it does not provide enough time for Q&A. I will bring this to the team's attention.
We began to use this practice a few orientation cycles ago, and I see a definite improvement in the new student's overall eagerness. They don't feel as intimidated by the peer student as they do with the department directors, and faculty.
As a Director of Career Services, I really like this approach. Career Services can sometimes be no emphasized at appropriate times in the student's matriculation through the curriculum. I like the idea of having their last stop or the "prize in their eyes" open it up!
We have representatives from financial aid, student services, recruitment and the DOE all present at the student orientation.
Everyone at the college is involved in our orientation process.
Student Services, Financial Aid, Student Accounts, Registrar's office, Career Services, Librarian, and faculty all participate in orientation. Current students volunteer and Student Ambassadors assist as group leaders taking students through orientation rotation. Each of the departments mentioned above are present when students enter the building and they are also acknowledged during the first part of the orientation.
Student services, Student Financial aid and Education Departments in that order should represent at the time of orientation as these depts. play a major role in the successful completion of the school.
In our orientation, our admissions staff sets up and runs the meeting. During the orientation teachers from the school will also come up and speak about their courses and other areas of the school. I think this really excites students to see what the teachers are like and to remind them what they are here to learn.
The FA department is the next with the most interaction with the student. I as an instructor I let the students know what department they should go to for different services. By the time they get to me it is just reinforcement and direction on my part.
Our Education department has the most interaction with the students after they are enrolled. On the students first day of school, we have a program that gets the students introduced to the school, their instructor, and some of the other departments at the campus. We go over some sop's, rules, parking, ect., we also find out what type of learner they are so when they get to class the next day there are no suprises. This is a team effort from all our departments.
Student Services department has the most interaction with our students. They are quite involved in the orientation of the facility, classrooms, curriculum and student issues. I try to work in conjunction with student services and offer my support whenever possible.
Student Services is the go-to department for a wide variety of life/work issues.I emphasize the services available in my orientation and often join the student in their first visit to make sure their need are met.
The Emoployment Department is the place where education and a student's first paycheck come into play.I encourage students to check the job board on a regular basis to see current and future job openings.
Steve--
What exception customer service to go with the student to Student Services! It certainly sounds like you make every effort to ensure you students have a positive experience.
Susan
Our program directors and all intructors are requested to have as much contact with the students as possible. It helps the students to get to know our faculty and make them feel more at ease on campus.
Students attending the school I teach at have been given a tour and a form of orientation before they even sign their admissions forms. We do have a form of orientation known as "jump start" that takes place on the first day where students are given rules and regulations. We hold our students to a dress and appearance code
I think Student Ambassadors would really help to easy the uncertainty of the new environment they are entering. What I would like to see, are ex-students who are working in the field who could come and address our students, so they can get an idea what the future holds for them.
Financial Aid has the most contact with Students once they have started. That department will come in to orientation and stress the importance of the proper and timely way to submit financial paperwork to help the Student stay in class.
Erick--
You are correct...faculty make a huge difference in retention. They are the people the students spend the most time with and getting to know them is a huge benefit.
Susan
