ABSTRACT
Many university students preparing for their first year of study approach the beginning of a new learning experience with a degree of excitement but also uncertainty around academic, financial and social expectations. First contact has already been made with their chosen university through the admission and pre-arrival processes, as discussed in Chapters 5 and 6, but arrival and orientation signal the ‘real’ beginning of university study. The first few weeks of the higher education experience are about transition and it can be a demanding time as students come to grips with understanding university administrative systems, the structure of their chosen degree programs, types of assessment they will be undertaking, support services available, and financial matters relating to their study and living arrangements. There is a transition period for all students commencing university study: undergraduate or postgraduate, full time or part time, external or on campus, local or international, mature aged or straight from school. This is a particularly critical stage for non-traditional students who may face additional challenges as they transfer to higher education. It is the role of arrival and orientation programs to facilitate the transition process for all students, cater for the needs of a diverse student body, and encourage all students to become a key part of the framework of the institution. This chapter covers the arrival and orientation stage of the Student Experience Practitioner Model and provides advice for institutions on how to improve students’ experiences of it, which may in turn impact on student success and retention. Having accepted an offer of a university place, arrival is the student’s actual appearance on campus as the semester commences, or an online ‘connection’ with the institution in the case of external study. Orientation is usually the first week on campus, prior to the official start of classes, but the length may vary from country to country and sometimes across institutions within the same country. What is common to universities is the purpose of this stage, which is to welcome students to their chosen institution and to assist with the process of adjusting to tertiary learning (Forbes-Mewitt, 2011). In general, arrival and orientation affords students the chance to begin settling into student life and to prepare for the commencement of classes. Most universities around the globe offer an orientation program of some sort to assist students following their arrival on campus. Orientation activities usually involve an introduction to administrative systems and processes, academic requirements, and campus life (Forbes-Mewett, 2011; Scott, Gresham, and Dennis, 2010). There are usually information sessions students can attend around general university matters and those specific to their
chosen course of study, tours of the campus, and social activities. While each stage of the student lifecycle is crucial to achievement, orientation, and indeed the entire first year of study, it is particularly important in terms of longer term engagement and academic success, developing and maintaining social networks, and coping with the financial aspects of university study (Moss, Pittway, and McCarthy, 2007). For institutions, the goal then is to uncover what students want out of their first encounter with higher education (Case Studies 9 and 12). This is no easy task given that the student body can be diverse especially in terms of the cultural, language, social, and educational backgrounds of students. The notion of arrival itself takes on different meanings in a diverse student body. International students in particular often face a number of challenges as they arrive on campus where they may be transitioning into an entirely new educational context and making language and cultural adjustments (Scott, Gresham, and Dennis, 2010). Effective orientation programs take account of the student voice and the diversity of the student body but this requires careful planning and continued evaluation of support strategies. With developments in educational technologies, there is a move to provide information and services online but many students find enormous value in the face-to-face approach. The most effective approach would seem to be a blend of online and in-person strategies to cater for diverse needs and also to allow for some flexibility in how, and when, students receive information. The value of orientation activities lies in their ability to make students feel part of the university community and to be able to identify as a student in their chosen study area right from their arrival on campus (Moss, Pittway, and McCarthy, 2007). This is particularly important in big institutions where it is easy to feel like “just another student” in a large cohort, and also for international students who have left their home countries to study in an unfamiliar environment. As noted in Case Study 11, an integrated approach to orientation is another key to delivering successful support strategies. Students need accurate and consistent information and they need expectations to be made clear to them from the beginning. They are exposed to the institutional culture from the moment they engage with the university so it is important to determine what messages the institution as a whole wishes to convey and how these messages will be communicated. Other factors that are crucial to providing effective orientation programs include:
● achieving a balance in terms of how much information is given to avoid overwhelming students but to still ensure that they are adequately prepared for the commencement of study;
● allowing for multiple opportunities for students to interact socially and to find out how they can take part in campus activities throughout their degree;
● making explicit academic expectations to set students up for successful study in the first year of study and beyond;
● ensuring that information and expectations are followed through in a consistent manner, once students have begun their course of study.
