Terp Connections?

If there’s anything every college campus has in common, besides the existence of students and classes, it’s that they all have some sort of orientation program. Some orientations are done the week before school begins, some are only one day, but they all aim to acclimate new students to the college or university to help with the sometimes difficult transition.

I looked at several different orientation schedules of universities I probably would have considered, had I not been born and bred a Scarlet Knight. The University of Connecticut, University of Virginia, University of Delaware, and University of Maryland all have orientation programs that are fairly similar in principle to the program offered at Rutgers.

All of the universities have two day orientation programs, with the exception of UDel. UDel’s orientation fits the main points into their schedule. They are split up into small groups after a welcome session, and then are ushered into sessions with Student Life and academic advisors.  They also have a short resource fair during their lunch period, followed by a walking tour of the campus.  They hit on the same things that the orientation I had did (small groups, student life, academic advisors, resource fair, tours) but they condense it into four short hours.

The University of Virginia orientation is a two day orientation, which starts off with student ID photos taken right after sign in, and then placement exams before the welcome address later in the day.  These students don’t meet up with their Orientation Leader until close to noon.  They then meet with academic advisors, along with a panel of OL’s who answer questions about acclimating to life in college.  Their nights have a social aspect as well.  The second day the students choose their classes, but also have a list of additional programming opportunities that they are free to go in and out of, such as walking tours of classroom buildings, residence hall open houses, and a resource fair.  This orientation seems closer to the program we offer, but it’s a little more rushed with placement tests and course selections happening during the days.  

 

The University of Connecticut has a two day orientation that is mostly focused on academic registrations and social connections.  Tours happen early on the first day, and then pre-advising sessions with the different schools occurs. After 5:30PM, free time, an evening program, and social time take place, which are all opportunities for the students to get to know each other. The second day is taken up by advising/registration, and once those are completed, student life sessions are available to attend.  UConn’s orientation is similar to that of UVA’s, with not a lot of emphasis on a culture of the university but just getting the information needed.

The University of Maryland also has a two day orientation, which starts off with a heavy emphasis on the culture of the university.  A faculty member welcomes the students, and then they have “Terp Connections” where students learn the victory song and various traditions of the university.  The afternoon is academic sessions along with learning how to navigate campus.  In the evening, the orientation staff puts on skits similar to the famous (…infamous?) Life On Campus skits.  Their night includes “Late Night Chill Sessions” which are essentially relaxed info sessions from various groups, like Greek life and residence life. Day two is filled with academic advising and registration.  This is the program which seems most similar to the one we offer at Rutgers, as they hit on the academic responsibilities, different aspects of life in the university, and well as culture and tradition. 

All of the orientation programs seem to focus on two main things: academics, and social life. Given that I would say these are the two main things that most first-year students worry about the most, it’s no wonder that these are a commonplace among all the different orientations.  I’m going to level with you: I didn’t apply anywhere except Rutgers. I didn’t even look anywhere but Rutgers. I think I probably picked out a school or two from the several hundred e-mails, clicked on their website link, and then thought “ha, that’s funny, what am I doing, I’m not going there.” And then I closed it.  There’s a picture of me as a baby in a Rutgers shirt. In 5^th grade I told someone I was going to Rutgers, and they told me I couldn’t make that decision being so young. Clearly, they were wrong. Where am I going with this? In my heart I’ll always be a Scarlet Knight, and with that comes some (a lot of) bias. Do I think Rutgers has the greatest orientation program ever? Guilty. But I also think that everyone has room for improvement, and orientation programs can learn from each other.  My favorite thing I found in the different orientation schedules was Maryland’s “Terp Connections.” I think programs like this give students a base that they can feel connected to the university on, instead of just feeling connected by the paper they signed committing.  This is something I’ll take with me into the summer, remembering that academics are important and if you don’t know where the dining hall is that’s probably not good, but having students leave orientation being truly excited about being a part of our university is priceless.