New Student, Orientation and Transition Programs

Purpose

New Student, Orientation and Transition Programs supports University recruitment and retention initiatives by coordinating events, activities and services that integrate new students holistically (socially and academically) into the CSUCI community. NSOTP consists of three programmatic elements: Island View Orientation, the New Student Center and Transition Programs.

Objectives

• Introduce and inform new and transitioning students to events, services and resources available at CSUCI (DSA1, DSA3)
• Provide events and activities that supplement the student's curricular education and assist with the student's transition into CSUCI (DSA1, DSA2, DSA3)
• Provide opportunities for new students to connect with faculty and staff (DSA2)
• Increase the time new students spend on campus (DSA1, DSA2, DSA3)
• Provide a welcoming environment for new students to gather, connect with each other and campus services/programs (DSA1, DSA2, DSA3)
• Assist students with academic preparation (DSA1)
• Increase CSUCI’s first-year to second-year retention rate (DSA1)
• Motivate new students to achieve curricular and co-curricular outcomes upon the completion of their first year (DSA2)
• Provide the support and stimulation of a learning community of peers (DSA2, DSA3)
• Ensure programs and services are suitable for our diverse student population (DSA1)

Theoretical Foundation

Why is the first year so crucial and why dedicate funding specifically to new students and students in transition?  Fifty-six percent of all students that drop out of universities leave even before starting the second year (American College Testing, 1994).  National statistics further indicate that 30 percent of first-year students do not return to the second year (ACT, 2007).  Charged with proactively retaining CI students, New Student, Orientation and Transition Programs (NSOTP) provides programs and services that assist students with their social and academic transition into the University.  NSOTP programs extend beyond a single overnight summer orientation and extend to a holistic program that lasts throughout the duration of the first year.  By increasing the time the first-year student has to become familiar with the University, we enhance the possibility that students will stay through the first-year of college (Upcraft & Gardner, 1989).  Further, when developing and implementing programs, NSOTP places particular emphasis on programming within the first 10 weeks of the fall semester with the understanding that “…the impact of involvement upon persistence is greatest in the first year, especially during the first 10 weeks when the transition to college is not yet complete and personal affiliations are not yet cemented” (Tinto, 1998, p. 1).

Program development within NSOTP is also informed by Tinto’s (1975) theory of departure, one of the most significant in the studies of student attrition.  The theory of departure focuses on the student’s ability to integrate into the institution’s intellectual and social communities. The model contends that the student’s integration into the social and intellectual communities of the institution impacts the continued revision of the student’s goals and commitments.  Positive integration will raise a student’s commitment to goals and the institution while lower levels of integration contribute to a greater likelihood of departure.  NSOTP has developed programs that address the needs associated with a student’s academic and social transition to CSUCI.