Virtual orientations aim to maintain interaction with new students

Orientations will take place virtually through the end of June as a part of ETSU’s COVID-19 response, and for Director of New Student and Family Programs Jake Allen, the goal is to replicate the “feeling” of in-person orientations.

“Orientation is – it’s more of a feeling than it is an event or a concept,” Allen said. “So, we’re trying to foster and cultivate a sense of belonging without having actual physical presence or touch.”

According to Allen, virtual orientations will involve three phases: a comprehensive website, an interactive experience and communication and outreach from Preview and Orientation Leader Organization leaders.

The first phase is a comprehensive website that will contain important information for new students, including immunization requirements, adviser contact information, how to make payments, how to get your student ID and more.

“Because it would be nice just to have a one-stop shop for all the information a new student would need to have,” Allen said. “Instead of searching all over a bunch of different websites, we’re creating one kind of large comprehensive website for all things students.”

The second phase is an interactive experience that new students can click through. They will receive a welcome from ETSU President Brian Noland, a message from their college and they can take virtual campus tours created by ETSU’s Office of Admissions. It will also include a survey for students to fill out, which Allen said he looks forward to getting feedback from.

Allen said both the website and interactive experience are being worked on, and incoming students will receive links to both in their email next week.

The third phase is communication and outreach from POLO leaders. Allen said they are trying to organize small group Zoom meetings for students who have confirmed to attend orientation. He said they are still working out those details.

POLO leader Hannah Smith, one of about 50 leaders involved in virtual orientations, said small groups are important because they are the part of orientation where leaders get to connect with students one-on-one.

“Lots of times we play fun ice breaker games to where you really get to know them, and you make a connection with them,” Smith said. “Like I had people all my first semester, even my second semester of this past year, coming to me and remembering me from orientations. So, that is – it’s really important so that you make a connection with them, and they feel like they know somebody.”

Allen said they are keeping the original orientation dates to maintain systematic communication and registration processes for advisers. However, the virtual orientation experience can be self-guided, and students do not have to complete it on their orientation date.

When in-person orientations are allowed again, he said, the interactive experience will remain a permanent part of the orientation process as a virtual pre-orientation opportunity.

For Allen, maintaining interaction with incoming students is more important now than ever because of the anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Can you imagine how anxious students are right now?” Allen said. “They’re not getting to go to proms, or they’re doing classes completely [online]. So, their experience has changed, and then to say, ‘Hey, guess what? You’re also going to have one of the most important transitions of your life in the next six months, but you’re going to have to do it remotely.’ So, interactions are as important now as they ever are or ever have been because students have missed a lot of experiences that they would have liked to, which changes their mindset on future experiences.”

Although incoming freshman have missed out on milestone experiences these past few months, like prom and graduation, Smith is glad they will not miss out on the orientation experience completely.

“For this group of students, it’s nice that they’re going to get that experience,” Smith said. “Because if they didn’t have a college orientation at all, it’s like that’s kind of a milestone that you missed out on, and it’s nice that they’re not going to get to lose that.”

For more information about virtual orientations, visit https://www.etsu.edu/students/nsfp/orientation/.