Re-Thinking ORIENTATION

Kerry Geffert
Product Evangelist, Terra Dotta

Picking up from last month’s newsletter topic of international student enrollments, the topic of new student orientations seems to be timely. Thousands of fresh, new international students are busily preparing for their trips to the United States to begin what they – and their families – hope will be a successful academic journey. Some may have some familiarity with their new destination while for others this is an adventure into wholly unchartered waters. You, on the receiving end, have the arduous task of orienting these newcomers to their new environment, including the classroom, the campus, the local community and the larger community (however large you choose to define it).

I must admit that it has been more than a generation since I last ran a new international student orientation. Let’s just say the Internet was not yet worldwide and phones were not yet smart. It was a daylong event with a series of presentations and talking heads. Updates or reinforcement of information occurred through the periodic printed newsletters from the international office. As today, immigration matters were the central piece of the day; and much of the cultural adaption information was similar to that of today. What seems to have changed, though, are some of the topics that must now be covered, as well as the breadth of methods and time frame in which material can be presented.

As I think of these topics, I cannot help but think of how technology, and Terra Dotta in particular, continues to facilitate expanded orientation programs. What was sometimes mailed internationally,  photocopied ad nauseum, and distributed to overwhelmed students can now be available “on demand” on a computer or smartphone. Imagine new students being able to familiarize themselves with their destination campus and community while preparing for their journey to the United States. Imagine them accessing reliable information regarding the visa application process from sources you provide rather than well-intentioned friends or worse, the unknown person around the corner from the Consulate. Here are some ways in which technology can be used to better facilitate students’ pre-arrival and on campus orientation experiences:

Forms, Documents, and Assessments 
 

Instead of stationing staff at photocopy machines, free them up to interact with new students by collecting images of all possible forms and documents before students appear in your office. Advance collection aids with information verification, early catching of mistakes, reduced stress of lost forms, more easily facilitated replacement of those that are lost, document security  and movement toward a paperless office. Imagine how welcomed your new students will feel if you are able to greet them by name because you had their photograph beforehand. (I can tell you that made a huge impact on this study abroad student when my resident director greeted me by name at our first meeting.)

Campuses that engage graduate international students as teaching assistants may seek additional assessment of students’ verbal proficiency beyond standard language examinations. Today’s technology affords different options depending on the personnel resources of the host campus. Those bringing in smaller numbers of students may be able to perform online interviews using a variety of resources. Campuses with larger numbers of international graduate students may enlist the services of online targeted proficiency tools. Clients of Terra Dotta may in the near future automatically direct students to those exams to which they subscribe.
 

Videos 
 

Last month I mentioned videos as a powerful medium for sending a positive message about internationalization on your campus and in your community. Videos provide opportunities for all campus constituencies to become involved while providing a resource that can be viewed and re-viewed, particularly by incoming students whose verbal comprehension of American English could use more practice. Through videos you can ease the arrival process by virtually taking students on a campus tour beforehand, visiting classrooms, residence halls and important common areas. Provide them with a visual introduction to your community, highlighting those places that current international students have enjoyed. Videos allow for introductions and welcomes by everyone from current international students to your office staff to faculty to upper administrators. Perhaps your mayor, or other community official, would tape a short welcome.

Videos can also be useful for visually and aurally preparing students for procedures they will be encountering, from gathering documents for their visa applications to entering the United States (some US Consular offices have created their own videos) to getting from the airport to your campus. A library of videos allows incoming students to view important information on their own schedules. If you use Terra Dotta as your office enrollment management solution, you can even include quizzes to help students gauge their understanding of the material and verify that important videos were viewed.

Once students are on campus, videos can help reinforce and elaborate on topics covered during your orientation program, for instance regarding campus security. Similar to guidance for the visa application, videos can help students understand the procedures and requirements of applying for a Social Security number or a driver’s license. You can reinforce important information that aids students in maintaining their immigration status. On the lighter side, videos can help introduce students to campus life and campus traditions (e.g., Greek life, tailgating and homecoming) that may be new to students but can aid them in gaining the most from their time on your campus.
 

Online Materials

Today’s students appear to eschew printed resources, instead relying on what they find online. Of course, it’s not just the students as technology changes the habits of all generations. Printed handbooks and newsletters are quickly becoming as rare as a printed NAFSA conference program. If we want something read by students, it must be available online. Blogs by current international students help incoming students prepare for the culture in which they will be studying. Resources from outside sources, selected by you, can lay a foundational understanding of American culture you want your students to have.

The benefit of putting documents like immigration regulations and procedures, or academic handbooks online is that they can be easily searched and updated without going through costly reprints. Checklists, deadlines and reminders can be incorporated, encouraging better and more accurate compliance with regulations and procedures. Such documents can serve as effective back-up for materials covered in individual or group orientation, again, helpful to students for whom American English is still a challenge. The ultimate benefit – your students come to rely on your office’s 24/7-accessible resources instead of the recollections or opinions of others. 

Online materials support an orientation program that continues well beyond the one-day gathering before the semester begins. A dynamic resource can be created of words and phrases that may be new to newer international students while special messages can be triggered to notify students of uniquely American – or statewide, regional or local – events. Topics such as personal security or crisis response procedures can be covered in a manner that is less upsetting than an orientation segment when new students are still overcoming jet lag.
 

Conclusion
 

The days of orientation programs consisting simply of one or two days of presentations along with the ubiquitous welcome meal are long over. We might be hard pressed to find a campus that now relies on this model alone. Technology continues to transform our interactions with newly admitted and newly enrolled international students, enabling more opportunities to quickly communicate valuable information during a longer period of time.
The looming hammer of government regulations takes increasing precedence over pre- and immediate arrival activities; however, we as international educators know that our incoming students seek, and require, orientations that aid with the whole transition to their new settings, be they academic or cultural. Advances in technology, including those available through Terra Dotta’s solution for International Student and Scholar Services, provide access to media that help us strike a balance in providing vital information while not overloading new students who may already feel bewildered and overloaded with information not in their mother tongue. Fortunately we work in a profession where sharing of resources and ideas is welcomed and commonplace. As we continue to increase efforts at recruiting new international students, let us continue to provide them the best foundations for successful academic and personal experiences.

POSTSCRIPT: Some orientation activities are timeless. Read a previous Terra Dotta article for additional ideas from two universities.