Entering college is a stressful and exciting time for any student. Whether they are a first year student at a big university or small, there is a lot to manage on both the student, parent, and university side. Such programs play a vital role in helping new students acclimate to university life, fostering a sense of belonging, and providing essential information and support.
This includes tailored orientation programs for students with personalised content, resources for students to support them on their academic journey, connection to helpful offices on campus, and more. Having a successful orientation program ensures that institutions have better graduate outcomes, student retention and engagement while supporting students from the moment they accept their acceptance letter. However, managing all of that on the university said can be daunting.
Importance of Orientation Programs
- Social integration: Orientation programs allow students to meet their peers, key staff, and faculty members, which can help alleviate feelings of isolation and create a sense of community.
- Information and Support: They provide crucial information about support services, campus facilities, and academic resources, helping students feel more confident about commencing their university journey.
- Wellbeing and Adjustment: For international students, orientation programs are particularly critical in helping them adjust to life in Australia, offering support for issues such as homesickness, loneliness, and cultural adaptation.
- Academic Success: A well-designed orientation program can positively impact students' academic outcomes by providing them with the necessary tools and knowledge to navigate their educational journey successfully.
With Symplicity CareerHub, institutions can automate, manage, and track orientation programs and set students up for success during their studies. CareerHub can build and manage your next orientation program, with workflows, student sites, forms, emails, events, and advanced tracking and reporting capabilities.
The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), has developed comprehensive orientation programs that encompass a wide range of activities and support services. UTS's holistic approach to orientation aims to address students' overall wellbeing and is managed centrally by the Orientation and Transition Team, involving various university departments, student volunteers, and external vendors. After students have accepted their offer online, UTS directs students to a CareerHub student site: the Student Orientation portal.
Through the Student Orientation portal, students are asked to fill out a CareerHub form with a ‘Tell Us More’ questionnaire, capturing the students’ needs and interests. These questions include careers registration questions, what their goals are during their time at university, their faculty, their internships or work history, their interests and much more. Plus, they can access information & resources, forms, events management, emails, workflows and QR codes to access orientation event details, so students can build their own personalised program based upon their interests.
Commencing university can be a big step, so each student needs to have a clearly defined focus on how they begin their career journey from the start of their first semester. The Symplicity CareerHub system enables institutions to support students on their academic journey from day one, by building their own personalised orientation program based upon their interests.
If you would like more information on how Symplicity CareerHub can assist your institution with managing your student orientation programs, please contact our team today.
