By Akelah Reese, APEX Scholars

When is the first orientation for 2021?
Mark your calendars! 

• Transfer Students: April 15
• First- year students: April 17

How long will orientation be?
Every student is required to attend a two-hour synchronous virtual orientation session. Orientation was cut down to two hours to prevent Zoom fatigue. The orientation office also wanted to make sure to accommodate students who may be struggling with internet access and technology.  A shorter, stress-free orientation will hopefully not add to any other hardships that students may be experiencing due to the pandemic. What is not covered in the two-hour synchronous session will be covered in asynchronous sessions on Canvas.

Two-hour Synchronous Session Agenda
Hour 1

• General welcome
• General WSU overview
• Ice breakers with orientation leaders
  Breakout sessions with orientation leaders will allow students to engage with current and incoming WSU students and to foster a sense of belonging. During this breakout session orientation leaders will also be able to answer any questions regarding registering for classes, as some students may not feel comfortable asking questions in a large group.
• Financial Aid overview

Hour 2

• Students will meet with their college/school and advisors

Optional Financial Aid meeting
Immediately following the two-hour synchronous orientation session, students will be provided with the opportunity to meet with a financial aid representative to ask general questions.

Two-hour synchronous session complete. Now what?
After the synchronous orientation is complete, it is strongly recommended that students will need to register and participate in the Student Services Center Express (SSCX) program. SSCX is an interactive virtual presentation geared toward getting students ready for the fall. Presentations will include information on general financial aid, billing, and registration information, along with important dates to remember. The SCCX program has a variety of sessions running from May to August. Students can sign up by clicking here: https://wayne.edu/studentservice/bulletin.

Webinars throughout the summer!
There will be webinars held throughout the summer for students to watch. Some of the topics the orientation team will promote are:

• Housing
• Pre-Med  Freshman Check Up Sessions
• Virtual Detroit/Midtown Tours

Be on the lookout for many more!

New student course registration
Advisors will be reaching out via email to students before their orientation date. Advisors will be notifying their students with course suggestions based on their test scores. Students are highly encouraged to do some light reading in addition to reviewing their advisor’s email regarding course selection before registering for classes.

Each week, the Orientation Leader (OL) team will host drop-in registration sessions for students who have attended their orientation program. OLs are trained to answer basic registration questions and review the process with incoming students. Drop-in times are communicated to students through the orientation Canvas course calendar.

Can parents/guardians attend orientation?
The orientation office is anticipating that parents will be in the background during orientation, but they are not required to attend. There will be parent/family webinars hosted by the orientation office throughout the summer. These sessions will consist of student panels, hosted by the returning Orientation Leader team, and a review of campus resources. Student-led panels have been a big hit in the past, as parents like to hear current WSU students' perspectives and experiences.

What the Orientation office would like students to know before attending orientation

• Make sure students actually attend a synchronous orientation session and review the asynchronous material.
• The synchronous orientation will be a comfortable and engaging environment. Students will not be called on or required to turn on their cameras.
• Please ask questions and be open to meeting new people! Pay attention, read, and when something doesn’t make sense let someone on the WSU staff know.

What should advisors know and be prepared for?
The biggest thing advisors should know is that there will be a large group of students coming in under the test optional admissions option. If students chose not to submit ACT/SAT test scores for admission purposes they will have to take placement exams. Students have the opportunity to take WSU placement exams free of charge through orientation. If students go directly to the testing website to sign up for placement exams they will be charged. The orientation office is trying to remove as many barriers as possible to get students to complete their placement exams.

Katie is asking advisors to motivate and encourage students to get their placement exams done early. Students may find it appealing to have up to a year to take, for instance, their math placement exam, but she doesn’t want students to get behind in certain classes, such as math, because they waited.

Overall thoughts
Katie would like to remind everyone that orienting students to the university is a process. Students aren’t going to leave orientation as experts on the university. The orientation office is continuously thinking of creative ways to gain more virtual engagement and touch points among students. The WISER Warriors platform will be used during orientations and all admitted students have been added to WISER. Some students have already started chatting and building community amongst one another in WISER. Moving forward the orientation office has been looking into possibly offering a mixture of in-person and virtual sessions in the years to come. This virtual environment has opened a lot of new possibilities that can happen in the world of orientation and Katie is excited to see what the future holds!

Would like more orientation information?
Katie Rawlings will be speaking to advisors on Wednesday, March 24 at 12pm. Be sure to join using this Zoom link.