Orientations are generally designed to welcome and introduce entering students and often their families to the expectations, culture, social climate, traditions, and opportunities of the institution. They help new students make the transition from their previous environment to the diverse academic, intellectual, and social culture of the university. (CAS, 2010; Mullendore, et al., 2005). Orientation programming may last from a single day to a week, and even through the first year.
It has been shown that students who feel connected to other students and that they belong to the campus community are more likely to persist to graduation (Astin, 1993; Tinto, 1993). See the section on Academic Belonging under the Skills, Beliefs and Behaviors in this resource. A positive connection to a campus community may be particularly important for students from traditionally underrepresented groups, e.g., URM students and first-generation students.
Orientation programs generally include:
In addition, some campuses include the following in their new student orientation programs:
Off-site Experiences
In the past 15 years, an increasing number of institutions have expanded their orientations to include off-campus components. These may include: wilderness experiences, camping trips and leadership workshops. These off-site programs are usually offered to support the community-building aspect of new student orientation. See, the Programs of note section of this document for specific examples.
Orientation for Families
There is evidence that family support is extremely important for first-year college success. (E. Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991) Therefore, many orientation programs also components to help families deal with the transition of the student to college by providing information on:
Orientation programs are generally organized and run by either Student/Residential Life Offices, e.g., Dean of Student Life (DSL) at MIT), or Academic Affairs offices, e.g., Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming (UAAP) at MIT.
Orientation programming is generally offered in the late summer just prior to the start of fall semester. Some institutions with significant numbers of mid-year matriculating students offer new student orientations before the start of the spring semester.
In addition, some campuses extend their orientation offerings into the academic year through semester-long or year-long orientation courses. Some campuses require these courses for all freshmen or special populations, while other campuses make them open electives. These courses are usually taught by faculty and student affairs staff. Their credit status and academic home vary widely (Robinson, Burns, & Gaw, 1996). See the section on First-year Seminars under HIPs in this resource.
Studies have found that orientation programs can facilitate the formation of peer groups and support adjustment to college. Specifically, Pascarella and colleagues have shown that even a relatively short, yet intensive two-day orientation can significantly affect social integration during college (Pascarella, Terenzini, & Wolfle, 1986). Other benefits may include:
In addition, there is an increasing body of research on the importance of orientation programs for traditionally underrepresented student on campus. In a study published in 2014, Stephens and colleagues used a randomized controlled trial of 168 entering college students to test the effects of an intervention to reduce the social-class achievement gap. The researchers used senior college students’ real-life stories to conduct “a difference-education intervention with incoming students about how their diverse backgrounds can shape what they experience in college. Compared with a standard intervention that provided similar stories of college adjustment without highlighting students’ different backgrounds, the difference-education intervention eliminated the social-class achievement gap by increasing first-generation students’ tendency to seek out college resources (e.g., meeting with professors) and, in turn, improving their end-of-year grade point averages. The difference-education intervention also improved the college transition for all students on numerous psychosocial outcomes (e.g., mental health and engagement)” (Stephens, Hamedani, & Destin, 2014).
There is limited published data on the impact of specific components of new student orientation programs. However, as described above, there are studies that indicate connections among a student’s sense of community/social belonging, their orientation experiences and in some instances, their academic success.
For a comprehensive overview of the standards for orientation programs, see, the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) - Standards for Orientation Programs, (CAS, 2010).