Freshmen Connections Introduces Students to College Life

By NSU Staff Writer Dustin Woods

Students making the transition from high school to college at Northeastern State University this fall will have the help of the Office of First-Year Experience to manage what can be an overwhelming transition.

The two-day Freshmen Connections orientation program, conducted by FYE is designed to help students ease the transition to college by giving them the tools they need to be ready for the first day.

Freshmen Connections is a required orientation program for all incoming freshmen, said Jeff Walker, Director of First-Year Experience.

Scheduled for Aug. 17-18, the Freshmen Connections prepares students for everything to do with collegeboth inside and outside the classroom.

Students are placed in groups of about 25-30 for the duration of Freshmen Connections. These student groups will also be classmates in the College Strategies class they are required to take in their first semester. The entire experience is specifically designed to acclimate incoming freshmen to life at Northeastern, Walker said.

During Freshmen Connections, students meet fellow classmates, upperclassmen and instructors, get their user name and password to access the NSU computer network, find out about all of the services offered at the university, get an in-depth tour of the campus and have the opportunity to ask questions about what to expect during their first semester.

The most important benefit for new students is that they have a central location on campus for questions and advice. It gives the students a level of comfort to know they have somewhere to go, said Chris Adney, Assistant Director of First-Year Experience.

Technical assistance and general advisement both fall under the scope of FYE.

We explore areas like managing your finances, why its important to get involved with student organizations on campus, and how to make the most of the college experience. Anything our students want or need to know about NSU will be presented during Freshmen Connections, said Walker.

With the opening of the new Center for Admissions and Student Enrollment (CASE) building, many NSU offices including FYE and Student Financial Services are now consolidated into a single convenient location.

Our new location is also certainly beneficial. Now, instead of having to give a student directions to another office across campus hoping theyll find it, we can walk them across the hall, Adney said.

An increase in freshmen enrollment for the 2009-2010 school year has FYE staff members optimistic about the number of students who will pass through the Freshmen Connections program.

We now do our enrollments by appointment and in a one-on-one setting, and we've been booked with these appointments since May 18. It appears as though our freshman population might exceed 1,000 this year, which is higher than last year, Adney said.

Enrollment through the Office of First Year Experience will continue through the first two weeks of Fall classes, which begin Thursday, August 20.

8/14/2009

Published: 2009-08-14 00:00:00