I think this really does help with retention because they feel like they are important and they don't just show up here their first day and try to wander around and find out where things are. The hope is if they attend orientation, they already have that feeling and they already feel like they're part of the community when they start classes. |
Many don't necessarily need all the information a first-time freshman would need in coming to campus but they do need to know how things differ from the campus they're coming from. |
Many of them are students who have families, who work full-time jobs, and need to know how they can balance all the different realms of their lives and use the resources we can offer them in order for them to be successful and accomplish their goals in the timeframe they have set. |
Orientation is very important because students who don't have a lot of experience on campus need the opportunity to come to campus and to learn where things are and the resources that they have on campus and the things we have for them to be involved and become a true part of campus if they are able to do so. |
The win to me was more important than the City championship because it made a statement saying that we can beat suburban teams. A lot of people didn't expect it, so the game spoke louder than a lot of our championship games did. |