July 2004

Incoming Students Come to Campus for Fun, Learning at Summer Orientation

Remember the summer months just before you headed off to college? There were so many questions about where you’d live (and with whom), what to pack, how the food would be, how to find your way around campus, what classes to register for – and more.

Summer orientation is meant to handle those questions, and more than 900 students – and another 900 parents – came to AU in June and July to find out what the next four years might bring.

"This year, we expect we’ll see 95 percent of our freshman class in one of our orientation programs," says Tiffany Sanchez, director of New Student Programs. The final class size for the Class of 2008 won’t be tallied for several more weeks, but Sanchez expects it will include about 1,275 new students.

A total of five orientation sessions, which began on June 21 and ended last week, brought new students together for information sessions about choosing classes, campus culture, and adjusting to the college life in general.

Sanchez says the first day of orientation includes the basics you’d expect: Students take a math placement exam, they meet with their advisors and choose their classes, and they participate in get-to-know-you activities and an academic transition program (AKA "you’re not in high school anymore").

This year, in addition to the usual programs, Sanchez and her team hosted a game show for the new students, testing their knowledge of music, television, and movie pop culture. "That’s it for first day. They’re exhausted!" says Sanchez.

If you were a freshman 10 years ago or more, you probably don’t remember much special programming beyond visiting campus to begin finding your way around and choosing your classes. "They didn’t have [student] Orientation Leaders, just a large group. They used to call it Summer Orientation And Registration - SOAR)," explains Sanchez. "It’s a much more coordinated process now, with a lot of emphasis on helping students to make connections with their peers, current students, and faculty and a staff," she notes. "We’re really into making sure they know who’s here and who’s available to them as a resource."

One of the highlights for this year was a gigantic freshmen art project, says Sanchez. Every Orientation Leader group – there were 15 of them – created a 2 x 3 foot panel about the shared values at AU. They'll all be taped together and used for as a backdrop during opening convocation this fall, says Sanchez. "We have some really neat pieces of artwork and it was a lot of fun to do."

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