During our orientation ,we have employment services come in to advise students on jobs in the area and help them prepare a resume.
Our students usually have the most involvement with memebers of the student services department and they are introduced to the students on the first day of orientation. This department consists of professional development instructors and classroom coordinators. The students seem more relaxed about starting school knowing that the staff is there to assist them with removing barriers and problems that may occur during there time in school.
Education
We are not involved at all in orientation.
A big hurdle is that some of the teachers are in classes with the 2nd mod and longer students and may not be able to attend the whole process.
FYI---I just found this in my junk mail...sorry for not getting back to you sooner.
Kathi--
It is difficult to find a time that works for everyone. Is anyone from education in the orientation? It would be helpful for the new students if at least one or two faculty could 'pop in', even if they can't stay for the entire event.
Susan
Besides Admissions, students meet with representatives from Career Services, the Dean of Students, the Program Dean, and Library staff. Career Services and the Dean of Students explain the services their departments offer; the explanation is brief because they return as guest speakers in one of their classes later in the week. The Program Dean demos a recipe (we're a culinary school), the Director of Education gives them an overview of our city, the library staff introduce them to the student portal, and so on.
Juliette--
This sounds like a wonderful process. I especially like the program Dean demonstrating as this allows students to get excited about their career and builds credibility about the faculty. Great job!
Susan
I work at a culinary school. All students actually attend a shorter version of their kitchen lab class on orientation day so they can be in uniform, meet their chef, see their kitchen, etc. We also do a "hand off" from the Director of Admissions to the President. At this time, students meet a rep from Career services, and Student services. They also attend a culinary demo performed by our dean of Culinary Arts. Finally, one of our instructors takes them to a computer lab where she shows them how to log onto and manipulate the student portal.
Michael--
This sounds like a great program. I bet your students are very excited with this experience.
Susan
At our school we use a full team effort, they are greeted with admissions, then introduced to a representative from each department, so they know there is much more to the school than individual classes
The education department has a program entitled "Jump Start" where the students continue on with a second level of interactive orientation. This builds upon any prior orientation and helps them to become more at home within the institute's environment.
That depends on which particular class or program is involved. Being an automotive training institution, there exists the main campus, various elective programs, and also the OEM manufacturers sponsored programs. Each has their own particulars. Fo example, when the OEM's are involved, representatives from that part of the industry also attend and participate in the orientation. In general, though, for most courses, there are representatives from the education dept. present of course, combined with those from others, such as student services and employment. Each adds something to the student's experience early on.
Financial Aid has the most interaction before enrollment. After enrollment, it's pretty much the library, the Deans and the faculty.
Our classes are pretty small, 20-25 students. We usually begin with an introduction of the Adminsitration and then have the students introduce themselves. We always ask questions as we move through the agenda. At the end we do hand out a survey to see how our service was prior to enrollment.
Terry--
Excellent...and very true. The more connections students have to the school, the more likely they are to persist.
Susan
Jennifer--
The survey is an excellent idea! Have you made specific changes as a result of the feedback?
Susan
Student Retention team meets with the new students during orientation and also in their Strateties for learning class within the first week of school. This includes the Dean of Students, Ass. Dean of Students and the Student success manager.
Dean of Education also meets with the student body the same way.
Financial Aid and Bookkeeping have the most interaction and who some of the students are most interested in, but for the ones who do not have an interest in this area seem to get a little bored and tired of waiting. Although necessary, what would you suggest in speeding along some of this process?
At my university’s orientations staff members from the admissions department, the academic advising department, the faculty/ academic department, the IT department, the finical assistance department, the library, the Career Services department, the tutoring department and student affairs department (student activities) attend the orientations as speakers or as ambassadors (that mingle with the students before, during and after the orientation). Not every department speaks at the orientation, but a few representatives are selected to talk about multiple departments. We try to keep the general session of the orientation about 60-90 minutes long, so that the new students can spend the second part of their orientation (about 60 minutes) with their instructors and classmates in their area of study such as business, criminal justice, fashion design, interior design, and etc.
Staff from the Education department also spend a significant amount of time in orientation. They restate some of the things said by Admissions but also go over rules and expectations.
Faculty would be most involved with students. The faculty does not attend orientation; maybe we should rethink this. However, on the first day of the term, we introduce ourselves individually to them in the morning. They are all together before 1st period, and we go in as a group, explain who we are, what we do, etc. We also all wear name tags for the first week, so that they can learn who we are more easily.
We have a mentor program consisting of former grads to help new students. The registrar department and Campus Director also has a close relationship with the students. Everyone in our staff are focused in providing an environment to become the best they can be as professionals.
