As the number of nontraditional students grows, colleges may find that the usual in-person orientation programs don’t always work. More colleges are creating online orientations for these students, says Joyce Holl, executive director of NODA, the Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education.
California State University-East Bay is one of those institutions. It has developed an online orientation for transfer students, who tend to be older and have more family or work responsibilities.
The university also offers an in-person, three-quarter-day orientation for transfer students. But many students have said it is difficult to take the time for that, says My-Lan Huynh, assistant director of student life and leadership programs. Now they can choose the online option.
How do colleges reach new students with the messages crucial to their safety and academic success?
The online program covers academic requirements and self-assessments of readiness for upper-level classes; social issues, like what to do if they see a student being bullied; and what extracurricular activities are available on campus.
The benefits of online orientation include:
Flexibility. That is the biggest benefit, Ms. Huynh says. Cal State-East Bay has more transfer students than first-time freshmen (2,371 compared with 1,596 in fall 2016) and many are nontraditional students who have jobs and child- or elder-care duties. The online orientation takes six to eight hours and can be done in multiple viewings.
Ability to regain information. Once classes start, students can go back and access the information again when they need it. That helps them cope with the volume of new material they need to absorb.
Personalization. The program allows for a customized orientation based on what a student’s interests and how much he or she already knows. It also allows the university to provide more information for students who need it. For example, if a student answers questions about academic honesty that indicate he or she does not understand the concept well, the program gives additional explanations and resources.
The biggest challenge for East Bay’s new orientation has been making sure the students have the right technology (browser and software) to support it, Ms. Huynh says.
The program, which was encouraged but not mandatory this year, has grown in popularity since it was introduced, in 2014, with about half of incoming transfer students now choosing online over in-person orientation. This year, for the first time, the number of students choosing the online option, 1,023, was more than the number attending in person, 991.
In fall 2018, orientation will be mandatory for all transfer students. Administrators are discussing whether the online version will be required, with the in-person version offered as a supplement, or if students can choose which orientation to complete.
East Bay officials are also considering making the online orientation available for all students, transfer and new, as a supplement to the on-campus orientation, so that they can access information at any time.
