Student Services, Financial Aid, Career Development, Lab Supervisors, The Associate Director, The Director of Education and The Campus Director all take part in student orientation. During the orientation slide show, each person takes on the categories that relate their specific job and explain them to the students. We also include fun facts, such as city attractions, nearby restaurants and banks for students, as most of them are from out of town. In addition, the Admissions Representatives split them up into groups and take them on a detailed tour of the school.
Dana--
Kudos for involving financial aid in ways that is more than completing paperwork. Students need to understand and complete all that, obviously. However, making the financial aid staff 'real people' goes a long way to assisting them in completing their education.
Susan
Lisanne--
Your Student Services person sounds like she is definitely in the right job!
Susan
Amber--
Great idea about including fun facts that are also informational and helpful...
Susan
All departments support our campus's orientation. As the student checks in they are directed to the room assigned to their chosen career of study. The department chair presents the "welcome", explains the school's and programs's expectations. Throughout the presentation there are visits from key personnel; School President, Campus Director, Financial Aid, Career Services and the Bookstore/business office/. Faculty that support the career field are there to assist the Department chair and interact with the new students.
I would say the department that has the most interaction with the students would depend on the student's major. They interact with the department director as far as if they have concerns, scheduling classes, etc. They know that they can go to the director, as well as the instructors to discuss their concerns. I only teach one class so I am limited in time with the students, but with the students I do interact with, I try my best to make them know that they can come to me and talk if they need to. I still have students come to talk to me semesters after they have taken my class. Making them feel welcome and just listening to them can make a huge difference.
Nearly every department on our campus is represented, included students services, career services, financial aid, instructors, and program directors. We all try to have something to actually hand out to students as well as speaking, and also involve them in things like taking ID pictures, handing out scrubs and books, touring students on the campus, etc.
We used to involve student ambassadors in our program, but I felt like this wasn't always so successful.
Career Services gets involved right at the beginning of each start. Getting students aligned with expectations besides what is (expected) in the classroom but also what it means to get your portfolio ready, right from the start. Interview skills right down on how to prepare for one gives a (positive) mental picture of confidence.
Each documentation of your performance is essential in making the right choice of where to go and how to get better as you grow in school. Preparation is key, mentally and physically, in gaining confidence that a student needs to be ready when 'that' time comes...
Marjorie--
This sounds like a great format. If I'm reading this correctly, the speakers come to each classroom where students of the same major are, correct? This is a wonderful way to get the students bonding immediately.
Susan
Cristina--
This is great! Having students work on and stay focused on their end goal (employment) from the very beginning is a great way to keep them motivated and remind them why they are there to being with. Kudos!
Susan
at our school we offer differnt programs. we have orientation called grad prep. During this time the new students meet as a group with all the P.D. Then we break off into smaller groups by department.
In our school, each department has its own orientation for all new students, then each instructor is on hand to meet & greet each student, talk about their class and what is expected from it. We talk about plans for the classes and what we can do to help them move thru their educational process.
New Student Orientation at our campus is organized and hosted by Career Services. As such, that particular Department is an early and initial POC for our incoming students, thereby encouraging our newest students to set solid goals early and to keep their eyes on the horizon from the outset.
Audrey--
I really love the 'grad prep' terminology! Sets the tone right up front. Great job!
Susan
Agnes--
How interesting! I don't think I have ever heard of Career Services being the POC for orientation, but I like the idea a lot!!! A career is, after all, the reason they are returning to school.
Susan
The financial department, as well as the registrar and the community services facilitator all have a lot of interaction with the students. Financial aid is essential in order to make sure that the students are getting the aid that they need to purchase their books and cover other expenses, like travel and child care. In my orientation, I make sure to remind the students of the importance of staying on top of their financial aid and making sure that they have correctly completed all of the required paperwork. The registrar office is the place the students need to go incase they show up late for class. The attendance policy is rather strict, and once the attendance roster is turned in, it's up to the student to make sure that they are marked as tardy rather than absent. Also, community services is a vital key to ensure retention. Often, students are unaware of the variety of services that are available to them and often quit or give up for reasons that could have been avoided. In my orientation, I make sure that the students are aware of the different services that are available to them.
Career Development is heavily involved in this process. Also the directors for each program for incoming students. Faculty could have a big impact as well but they are currently not involved in orientation. I try to involve Career Service at least some in various classes I teach to help keep the student focused on finishing/graduating.
I am the adviser for Phi Beta Lambda. They are included in orientation by handing out the welcome packets and greeting new students. They answer any questions new arriving students may have on a student to student basis and this helps relieve some fears from incoming students.
I work in the library. There is a student orientiaton Powerpoint presentation put on by Admissions and the Academic Department, we have a slide in the presentation. We are not involved in the presentation because we are busy taking student IDs and showing them how to access their student portal. All students are required to take a Invest in Success class during their first term. We have a separate library orientation for that class during their first week. We provide information about the library and then walk them through their portal, showing them how to use it and answering questions as they arise.
Having accademic advisors, finacial aid representatives and department staff on hand for orientation in very important. Someone to represent each department is very important. If students can find out specific information about the degree or certificate they will be awarded, they are more likely to enroll. Plus they will have feel more at ease when they do start, becuase they will know someone who can help if they need it.
On our campus, the chef instructors have the most significant interactions with the student body, so, typically during an orientation session, several chef instructors, while not actually part of the presentation or orientation, will typically attend and interact with the presenter, lending a sense of the chef instructors taking an interest in the students before they even begin classes.
