Running head: GOOD PRACTICES IN ORIENTATION

Good Practices in Orientation and First Year Programs

Justin Stoeckle & Irene Ziemba
Seattle University
SDAD 5750: Best Practices in Student Services
Erin Swezey
15 October 2015

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Abstract

In the following paper the orientation programs at the University of Denver, Regis
University, and Cornell University are highlighted for the good practices they exhibit in different
facts of orientation and first year programs. These practices include engagement of family
members, collaboration with faculty members, and utilizing a first year resource center model.
These good practices are connected to the student development theories that support them, and
the principles of good practices in Blimling and Witts Good Practice in Student Affairs:
Principles to Foster Student Learning. Larger implications for the student affairs profession
based on orientation programs are then analyzed. Finally, the connections between orientation
and first year programs and student success and retention are highlighted, showing that these
programs can have a strong effect on the success and retention of students.

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Orientation and first year programs are unique within student affairs, as they are services
and programs that students typically only utilize for a short time within their college career.
While an orientation program, in particular, is a brief experience within a students time in
college, it can have a profound effect on the success of students as they move forward in their
college experience. Orientation and first year programs can help students feel a sense of
belonging in their institution, connect effectively with resources and sources of support, and
begin to develop their own values and identities. After surveying the orientation and first year
programs at nine colleges, three orientation practices showed particular promise in engaging
students and encouraging them to be successful in college. These practices are supported by their
fulfillment of some of the principles of good practice that Blimling and Witt outline in Good
Practice in Student Affairs: Principles to Foster Student Learning, and their connections to
student development theory. The effects of these practices in encouraging student success and
retention show the importance of orientation and first year programs to colleges and universities
as a whole.
Family Engagement
A good practice for Orientation and First Year programs that the University of Denver
(DU) employed was working closely with parents and families during the first few days of their
Orientation. Parents and families have their own track at Orientation that is different than what
the students are going through during their Orientation. The University of Denver created
learning outcomes for parents and families with the goal of helping them forge a healthy
partnership between them and the student. There are a few reasons why this is a good practice.
The first is that the university really sets out to empower students by separating them from their
parents and families. Different orientation tracks allow students to better experience what the

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college orientation experience is truly like. The University of Denver starts the student
development process early on at orientation by giving students the ownership of their experience.
Student affairs professionals strive for holistic student development and its important to
communicate that with students, parents, and families. With having a robust parent and family
orientation track, DU is teaching parents and families how to empower their student to make the
most of their college experience, which can be equally as important as the student realizing that
they are empowered (N. Latino, personal communication, July 6, 2015).
A theory that this connects back to this good practice is Perrys (1968) Theory of
Intellectual and Ethical Development (Evans et al., 2010). In Perrys theory, a student moves
through the phases of being a dependent, dualistic thinker to becoming a student who is able to
make decisions on their own though support and rational that they have come believe is true. At
Orientation, students, parents and families come to understand that during their time at DU they
will become a well-rounded student who is able to think independently.
The reason why this practice works so well is because of the clear communication
between all parties involved. Parents and families learn about what their student is going to
experience and how they can be a good resource during their students time there. Meanwhile,
the students are learning all about what resources are available that will help shape their
experience. Between the two, DU creates a collaborative partnership between students and
parents and families that encourages student success.
DUs practice of family engagement in orientation helps encourage the good practice of
helping students develop coherent values and ethical standards emphasized in Blimling and
Witts text (1999). By welcoming students in the DU community on their own, DU is able to
effectively start the process of values transmission to instill or inculcate in students the

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institutional core values that are considered essential for campus life by allowing students to
learn about DUs values on their own. (Blimling & Whitt, 1999). Without their parents and
family present, students can also begin to clarify their own values by being exposed to new
values and experiences within their new community, instead of the community they came from.
Because college is a time of considerable self-reflection and examination of personal beliefs
and values it is important to give students the space to examine and form their own beliefs, and
DUs practice of family engagement allows this process to begin early (Blimling & Whitt, 1999).
Collaboration with Faculty Members
A practice that Regis University does really well is foster close collaboration and
communication between their Student Life staff and faculty members. During their two-day
orientation before the first week of classes, faculty and staff work closely together to develop
various learning experiences. On the first day of Orientation, the faculty member leads their class
into the Denver community as a service-learning component of their class. Activities that are
done on that day link back to the course work that the students will be studying all semester and
get their academic year off on the right foot. On the second day of Orientation, the staff and
faculty members lead their groups in a various conversations around some of the big issues that
arise in college, such as drinking and sexual assault. This practice works because it helps
students get to know the faculty and staff members that will advocate on their behalf and support
them throughout their time at Regis University. Not only do faculty and staff support them, but
also in those two days students are able to quickly get to know one another and they start
building community.
The theme for Orientation for Regis University this year was Explore, Reflect, Act and
those two days are reflective of that theme. That theme was clearly articulated to all parties that

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participated in Orientation and as a result all of the programs complimented one another. The
only way that happens effectively is if faculty and staff collaborate and clearly communicate
with one another. Everyone was on the same page about the outcomes they hoped to achieve
through this Orientation process, which helps make the transition easier for the student. The
student soon comes to learn about the type of supportive culture that Regis University has and
students soon find their place within it (D. McSheehy, personal communication, August 20,
2015).
A theory that supports this practice is Chickerings Theory of Identity Development
(Evans, et al., 2010). Chickering identifies key influences that have a large impact on a students
development during their time in college. Three of those key influences are student-faculty
relationships, teaching, and student development programs and services. Regis University
realizes that collaborative efforts by faculty and student affairs professionals are necessary to
provide developmental programs and services, and structures their orientation programs
accordingly (Evans, et al., 2010).
For the education of the whole student, it is important that both faculty and staff feel as
though they are educators who work together and create a culture of learning. I think that this
good practice works well at Regis University for two reasons. The first reason is that the faculty
and staff work very closely with one another to create a common goal of helping new students
feel comfortable in their new surroundings. The second reason is that Regis University is a small
campus. Given its size, Regis is able to create smaller classes sizes and more intentional learning
opportunities for students as exemplified by their Orientation program.
The collaboration between faculty and staff at Regis University exemplifies the good
practice of forging educational partnerships to advance student learning, as described in

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Blimling and Witts text (1999). The collaboration within Regiss orientation program helps
establish and build a seamless learning environment in which in-class and out-of-class
experiences are mutually supporting (Blimling & Whitt, 1999). A seamless learning
environment can only be created when there is strong collaboration and communication, and the
work of Regis Universitys staff and faculty has created an orientation program that allows
students to be welcomed into the seamless learning environment the university strives to create.
First Year Resource Center
At Cornell University the office of New Student Programs has extended their support of
new students past orientation, and created the Carol Tatkon Center for First-Year Students. The
Tatkon Center serves as an intellectual, support, and resource center for first-year students by
collaborating with a variety of offices across campus to make the support services and resources
that Cornell offers readily available and easy to find for first year students (Tatkon center,
2015). As a large university, Cornells systems of support are varied and siloed among many
offices within the university and the individual colleges. Because of the navigational challenges
associated with having so many offices that provide support for first year students, Cornell has
designed a center that many of the foundational resources students will need to one place.
Housed in a first year residence hall, so it is close to all the housing options for first year
students, the Tatkon Center provides a variety of events and weekly services that help encourage
student success. These services include academic support and engagement activities, such as
drop in tutoring hours, writing tutor hours, conversation hours with faculty, and study skills
workshops. In addition to academic support, the Tatkon Center also provides outlets for social
support and engagement, such as drop in counseling services, conversations with upper class
students and staff the multicultural and LGBTQ centers on campus. Finally, the center offers

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involvement fairs and sessions intended to introduce first year students to different offices,
campus services, and involvement opportunities available to them. While all the offices and
services housed within the Tatkon Center have offices across campus, the center makes them
easily accessible to first year students, and allows students to get a sense of what services and
opportunities they would like to take advantage of (M. Fabrizio, personal communication, July 5,
2015).
Like Regis Universitys practice of collaboration with faculty, Cornells Tatkon Center
supports the good practice of forging educational partnerships that advance student learning
(Blimling & Whitt, 1999). Blimling and Witt emphasize that a seamless learning environment is
one where institutional resources are marshaled and channeled to achieve complementary
learning outcomes, and where students take full advantage of all institutional resources for
learning (1999). The Tatkon Center truly embodies a seamless learning environment, as it
centralizes all the resources that a first year student may need, and emphasizes care for the whole
person while acknowledging that students are diverse individuals with needs in many different
areas. This holistic focus on student support and success is what makes the Tatkon Center a good
practice.
Cornells Tatkon Center also exemplifies the best practice of using resources to achieve
institutional missions and goals (Blimling & Whitt, 1999). By collaborating with other offices
on campus, and leveraging the resources and services that already exist on campus, the Tatkon
Center is able to provide a large array of services for a very low cost. By following one of the
skills of responsible stewardship developing effective campus and community relationships
the Tatkon Center exemplifies an office that uses educational partnerships to encourage student
learning while effectively utilizing available resources (Blimling & Whitt, 1999).

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Implications for Student Affairs

After reflecting on and analyzing the interviews that we did with student affairs
professionals this summer, we discovered many best practices when it comes to orientation and
first year programs. However, we also discovered some areas for growth as well as implications
for the profession. One area for improvement that we found across the board was the need to
improve assessment of the programs. No institutions that we spoke with had a comprehensive
assessment strategy that measures both student learning and retention of knowledge gained
during the orientation programming. Many of the institutions sent out satisfactions surveys to
both students and families to discover what they liked and disliked about the orientation
program, but this type of assessment is not comprehensive enough to be effective. Colleges and
universities need to be able to assess student learning during orientation in order to better
understand what kind of support students need throughout the year. Improved assessment will
also indicate what changes need to be made in programming from year to year in order to better
support students as they enter a new community. Improved assessment needs to happen not only
with orientation programs, but also in figuring out why students are deciding to leave the
institution. Figuring out why students are leaving will help student affairs professionals better
understand the students they are serving and figure out what needs to be done to increase
retention.
One of the most glaring implications that came from the best practice interviews was how
important orientation and first year programs are to the campus community. Being welcoming to
new students and making a good first impression goes a long way in terms of how a student feels
on campus. If a student feels welcome and connected on campus then they are going to be more
likely to succeed and find their place within the institution. Welcoming students can take many

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different shapes, but one important function that orientation accomplishes is teaching students
about campus traditions and values so that they can foster a sense of pride in their new home.
Orientation is something that colleges and universities must take pride in. Although the concepts
and theories behind orientation and first year programs are known everywhere, what a college or
university does to make it unique to their campus and their student population will go a long way
in effectively welcoming students.
Another theme that was seen at most of the institutions was the importance of
collaboration in orientation and first year programs. In order to build a successful orientation
program, all areas of campus have to play their part in welcoming students to campus.
Professionals that work in orientation must reach out to other student affairs departments as well
as faculty member in order to create a holistic college experience for students, and faculty and
staff from across campus must be open to participating in orientation programming. Showing
students that faculty and staff and fully invested in their educational experience plays an
important role in student success and retention rates. A large part of student success is students
believing in themselves that they can succeed, and its the role of colleges and universities to be
able to create a culture of learning where that can happen. The best way to do that is during the
orientation process and connecting students to all of the resources at their disposal during their
college career. Resources must be easily visible and accessible for students. The easiest way to
catch students before they slip through the cracks and struggle is to make sure that all students
are aware of where they can go on campus to get support. It is important for student affairs
professionals as well as faculty to be in high contact with students, and expose students to the
resources and sources of support that they can provide students with.
Links to Retention and Student Success

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As previously mentioned, orientation and first year programming has strong ties to
student success, as connecting students early on with the resources, services, and sources of
emotional and academic support they may need to utilize throughout college is an important
foundation for any work that promotes student success at a college. In addition, there is a clear
connection between the sense of belonging that a student feels to their institution and student
success and retention. As Tinto (1993) theorized, persistence to graduation and departure are
directly influenced by institutional commitment and goal commitment and these factors are
influenced by academic and social integration (Blimling & Whitt, 1999). Orientation is a
chance for students to feel part of their campus, identify with its mission, and take pride in its
tradition, which ultimately increases their chances of being successful and retaining through
graduation (Blimling & Whitt, 1999). A students perception of their institution, and whether or
not they fit there, is just beginning to be formed during orientation, so it is integral that student
affairs professionals take advantage of this time in a students career to increase their sense of
belonging.
Because of the power of orientation programs in fostering a sense of belonging and
affiliation with an institution, they can have significant impact on retention of students. At Ithaca
College, which has a series of two-day optional orientations throughout the summer, their data
shows that students who attend orientation are much more likely to actually enroll and persist
through the fall semester (S. Schupp, personal communication, July 3, 2015). Students who
attend orientation during the summers have the chance to be introduced to life in college, the
values and traditions of Ithaca College, and the resources available to them. Ultimately, Ithaca
Colleges data, in line with Tintos (1993) theory of sense of belonging increasing persistence,
shows the positive effects that orientation programs can have on student success.

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While orientation and first year programs vary in their form and content, and are ideally
tailored to the unique needs of their campus communities, they share the ability to have an
incredible impact on the success and retention of students. Through fostering a sense of
belonging within students, connecting students to resources and sources of support, and helping
them to begin the process and establishing their values and identities in the context of their
institution, these programs can set the foundation for students to reach their full potential in
college. Because of the importance of orientation and first year programs, student affairs
professionals and faculty need to work together and use their resources and skills to build
programs that are engaging, welcoming, and encourage student success and retention in the first
year and beyond.

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References

Blimling, G. S., & Whitt, E. J. (1999). Good practice in student affairs: Principles to foster
student learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Student
development in college: Theory, research, and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Tatkon center for first-year students. (2015, October 15). Retrieved from
http://dos.cornell.edu/residential-new-student-programs/tatkon-center-first-year-students