2008 Woodie Awards
Orientation sessions offer growth opportunities
Kelsey Landhuis
Issue date: 8/17/08 Section: Opinions
Although I am only now entering my third year at the University, I am starting to feel old. The temptation to use phrases like, "When I was a freshman" when I speak to first-year students grows stronger every day. Usually I can resist the temptation to sound like a crotchety old woman, but this time I am going to give in.
So here it goes: You freshmen have it easy. When I was your age, Truman Week was the first time I met anyone in my class. My parents drove me here from my hometown in Iowa and dropped me off to start my college career not knowing a soul, and it was terrifying. Fortunately, the University has changed its policy since then and implemented the Summer Orientation program. Unfortunately, many incoming freshmen failed to appreciate the advantages they had over previous incoming classes.
I am admittedly slightly biased in favor of Summer Orientation. My fellow student orientation leaders and I invested a lot of time and energy into the program, as did staff members from many offices across campus, including the Office of Admission, Residence Life and the Residential College Program. Like any pilot program, orientation had its flaws, but many of these will be corrected for next year's sessions. Despite these flaws, Summer Orientation succeeded in accomplishing two objectives that Truman Week could not address: allowing incoming freshmen to take ownership of their education and providing opportunities for them to make connections with fellow students before moving on campus to start the year.
The first objective was relatively simple to accomplish. By allowing students to enroll in their own classes, the University made them feel in control of their own destinies. Yes, online enrollment can be confusing, frustrating and stressful, especially for first-time TruView users, but what incoming freshmen need to realize is that they are the first class to be given this opportunity. Prior to this year, academic advisers enrolled freshmen in their first semester of classes. This was problematic because without knowing their advisees personally, advisers had no way of knowing whether a student would appreciate a 7:30 a.m. religion class or struggle to stay awake through it. Now, incoming freshmen have the satisfaction of knowing they picked their schedules themselves.
So here it goes: You freshmen have it easy. When I was your age, Truman Week was the first time I met anyone in my class. My parents drove me here from my hometown in Iowa and dropped me off to start my college career not knowing a soul, and it was terrifying. Fortunately, the University has changed its policy since then and implemented the Summer Orientation program. Unfortunately, many incoming freshmen failed to appreciate the advantages they had over previous incoming classes.
I am admittedly slightly biased in favor of Summer Orientation. My fellow student orientation leaders and I invested a lot of time and energy into the program, as did staff members from many offices across campus, including the Office of Admission, Residence Life and the Residential College Program. Like any pilot program, orientation had its flaws, but many of these will be corrected for next year's sessions. Despite these flaws, Summer Orientation succeeded in accomplishing two objectives that Truman Week could not address: allowing incoming freshmen to take ownership of their education and providing opportunities for them to make connections with fellow students before moving on campus to start the year.
The first objective was relatively simple to accomplish. By allowing students to enroll in their own classes, the University made them feel in control of their own destinies. Yes, online enrollment can be confusing, frustrating and stressful, especially for first-time TruView users, but what incoming freshmen need to realize is that they are the first class to be given this opportunity. Prior to this year, academic advisers enrolled freshmen in their first semester of classes. This was problematic because without knowing their advisees personally, advisers had no way of knowing whether a student would appreciate a 7:30 a.m. religion class or struggle to stay awake through it. Now, incoming freshmen have the satisfaction of knowing they picked their schedules themselves.
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