UTRGV began implementing Virtual New Student Orientations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of the month. Despite the situation, the class of 2024 and new transfer students have the opportunity to experience their new student orientation online.
“Instead of orientation being in person, like in previous years, we’ve broken the orientation down into multiple [online] parts,” said Dara Newton, associate vice president for Strategic Enrollment.
The Virtual New Student Orientation is a three-part process. In Part One, students meet with academic advisers in a group setting via Zoom based on their college and school. During this session students learn about their roadmaps and degree plan.
Once students have completed Part One, they move onto Part Two, an online orientation module where students independently navigate through information about the university.
In Part Three of the virtual orientation, new students meet with outreach representatives, staff and recruitment in a Zoom presentation where they show students how to use College Scheduler and the registration system.
After, students break into small groups and each of them may register while online, with advisers available to help.
“It takes a few days to get through the orientation process,” Newton said. “We really tried to think through, ‘How do we help students who would typically spend a full day with us, and break that down into manageable pieces while everyone is at home?’ … And, so, we really thought through how to get them the information that they need.”
Asked if the university has tried virtual orientations before, Newton replied, “We tested it with a small group at the beginning of April.”
The three-step Virtual New Student Orientation is two-part human interaction and one part online. Parts One and Three having a live-person component.
Asked what she feels are the minuses of a virtual orientation, Newton replied, “The piece that is probably missing the most is the in-person interaction. While you can still experience some of this through Zoom and you can have conversations, it’s not the same as when you’re sitting in a room with other new students who are experiencing the same thing.”
Newton said UTRGV is looking for ways to do meet-and-greets online to bring students together and meet members of the class of 2024.
UTRGV has about 30 total orientation sessions planned, with 28 to go.
Asked how big she expects the incoming class to be, Newton replied, “Expect to have an incoming freshman class of about 5,000 students and an incoming transfer class of right around 2,000 students.”
Future Vaqueros who want to register for orientation can go to the UTRGV website and look up new student orientation. For students who have already been admitted, UTRGV is sending out invitations to the virtual orientation via students’ UTRGV email.
The virtual orientation sessions are scheduled to go through June. However, plans to continue virtually in July have yet to be determined.
“As we learn more and watch what is happening with COVID-19, we will announce if our July dates will be virtual or in person,” Newton said. “We will continue to listen to our university’s leadership and we will continue to make decisions that we hope will continue to support incoming students to the university and allow them the opportunity to experience UTRGV.”
She said the university still plans to have its traditional Vaquero Roundup in August. However, with this COVID-19 climate, the university is continually paying attention to any changes.
“We are continually working with our new students and we are looking for ways to support them and help welcome them to campus,” Newton said. “We look forward to the point in time where we are back on campus in person and we have that opportunity to introduce our freshman class and transfer students and welcome them to their first semester with us.”
