Iowa university orientations ‘as important as ever’

CEDAR FALLS — Crowded into a double room in the University of Northern Iowa’s Noehren Hall, 18-year-old Tyler Garcia — with his parents and other incoming students — began scheming about beds and fans and closet size and where the mini fridge might go.

“You could almost put a desk here,” Sarah Garcia suggested Wednesday to her son — who just graduated from Eastern Iowa’s Wilton High School and chose UNI as his next academic stop for its strong College of Education, given his aspirations of teaching American history at the high school level.

“Their student teaching was a lot quicker than all the other campuses I talked to,” Garcia said about why he chose UNI. “And I'm more of a hands-on learner.”

Trickling out of the recently-renovated dorm room and down the hall to check out the air-conditioned lounges, communal study rooms and pod-style floor bathrooms, Garcia and his fellow incoming freshmen didn’t have with them any furniture, books, clothes or computers. But, in less than two months, they and thousands of freshmen like them will be moving all those things into their new college digs — with the fall semester for Iowa’s three public universities starting Aug. 26.

To help prepare them for the milestone, UNI, the University of Iowa and Iowa State University this summer are hosting dozens of orientation sessions offering a sort of trial run aimed at familiarizing their newest Panthers, Hawkeyes and Cyclones with their respective campuses, communities, amenities and expectations.

“To be less anxious and get all my questions answered” was what Garcia hoped to take from the orientation experience.

  Buy Photo

Thousands showing up

Although orientation has been a summer rite of passage for college students for generations, the size, scope and format has evolved with changes in technology, campus priorities and the higher education landscape due to norm-busting events like the pandemic.

ISU this summer already has hosted nearly 5,000 first-year students with 18 orientation sessions between May 30 and Saturday — with another 900 completing virtual orientation and about half of the 800 transfer students choosing in-person orientation.

The UI has broken its orientation into two parts — starting with an online advising and registration meeting, complemented by a one-day visit to campus in June or July. Students could schedule the virtual meetings over nine weeks from May to August and choose from one of 14 single-day in-person sessions in June or July.

And while the online advising appointment is mandatory for all new students, as that’s when they register for classes and take placement tests, the on-campus orientation is only “encouraged.”

“Ninety percent of the first-year class and 70 percent of transfers are signed up for the ‘Becoming a Hawkeye’ programs,” UI spokesman Steve Schmadeke said of the in-person orientation.

While the UI didn’t disclose specific orientation numbers, campus officials in February told the Board of Regents they expected an entering fall class of 5,100 first-time students from high school.

Those who do both the online advising meeting and the in-person orientation “should leave with their first semester schedule, know how to contact their adviser, as well as identify resources or other people to turn to with questions,” Schmadeke said.

On the UNI campus this summer, first-year students have the choice of 13 on-campus orientation sessions, one online session for those who can’t make it in person — plus another 10 online sessions for new transfer students and then two on-campus “Transfer Transition Days.”

Between 100 and 120 are expected at each of the in-person first-year sessions, with fewer expected for the online and transfer sessions, said UNI senior Maddie Stepanek, who advanced from orientation leader last summer to leadership staff this year.

“College can be a really tough transition,” Stepanek, from Ryan, told The Gazette about UNI’s orientation mission. “So the main goal that we always have is to have students meet each other and build those connections early, so when they come to campus in the fall, they're not alone. They have friends here.”

‘It’s been helpful’

Of course, UNI orientation also involves a rundown of academic requirements for graduation; campus resources, including those pertaining to health and safety; tips on time and workload management; financial literacy nuggets; and tours — not just of residence halls but other important buildings across campus.

In the afternoon hours of UNI’s single-day orientations, incoming students meet with advisers, register for classes and embark on a “choose your own adventure” styled experience — allowing them to learn more about any range of topics that interest them, like study abroad, financial aid, recreation services and campus jobs.

“It’s been very helpful,” Lili Espinoza, 18, of Tama, said about how orientation addressed some of the unknowns that were making her “very anxious.”

Some students come to orientation with parents, some come alone and some bring a friend or other family member — like Espinoza, whose older sister joined her. While the students spend the morning getting to know each other and the faculty and staff, parents split off for their own sessions.

“The parents are doing a Q&A panel with campus resources, and also learning how they can partner with the campus to be a best support for their student,” Stepanek said.

During UI orientation, parents diverge from their students in the afternoon — rotating in 30-minute increments through three different “family interest sessions.” ISU, too, holds a special afternoon session for family members on “health and wellness, living on campus, selecting a meal plan, transportation and campus safety.”

‘As important as ever’

All three campuses in the past have offered incoming students the opportunity to stay in the residence halls during orientation — to experience what it could be like once they’re doing it full time. But this year, just ISU is offering overnight stays in a residence halls.

“Students and families participating in OnCyte Orientation are invited to stay in Maple Residence Hall,” according to ISU’s orientation website, touting the hall as representing “a true college housing experience.”

Among the reasons orientation remains relevant — and perhaps more important than ever — is the federal financial aid melee that unfolded over the last academic year. Delays in the federal aid application process delayed many student decisions — meaning that while those attending orientation have accepted admission, not all have made their final college calls.

“Because of those delays in the financial aid awards, students have had less time to really assess their college decision and become confident in that decision,” said Sarah Merrill, ISU’s new student programs director. “It's going to be as important as ever this summer that students really feel we've rolled out that cardinal carpet to make them feel at home and that we're prepared to support them when they get here in August.”

Exemplifying the student decision-making delays, Merrill pointed out that more than 300 first-year students registered for orientation in one week mid-May — atypical for that time of year.

“A good understanding of their financial aid really impacts their decision about what college or university to attend — or their ability to attend at all,” she said.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com