January 17, 2024
New Student Orientation updates and kick-off event
Over the past several years, New Student Orientation at K-State has seen several changes and pivots. Throughout the fall semester, all undergraduate academic colleges and various campus partners have worked to better align New Student Orientation with the CAS guidelines for orientation programs. By utilizing the standards as a foundation, the task force created program goals, outcomes and overall program structure to better serve students, their families and those on campus who assist in enrollment and onboarding of new students.
We are committed to aligning our New Student Orientation practices with the most recent research and best practices in the field. We are continually working to thoughtfully build New Student Orientation as a portion of the larger onboarding and first-year experience using specific outcomes and assessments to better inform the program's evolution. To do this, we need consistency over a few years to understand what is working and what needs improvement for our incoming students.
New Student Orientation programming will be provided for all Manhattan campus students, including new undergraduate freshman, transfer and international students through a three-part program for the next three years — 2024, 2025 and 2026. This programming will ensure advising and enrollment in courses — virtual advising appointments, building affinity and orientation to campus information, and building campus connections — orientation, and an extended in-person onboarding experience and early move-in designed to ease the transition into the first year — K-State Kickoff. Please see the outlined calendar below for the upcoming summer NSO.
To learn the program outcomes, understand where to locate resources and dive deep into the advising components, RSVP to the NSO kick-off meeting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Key considerations:
- Learning outcomes: Maintaining a consistent and high-quality experience for our new students is crucial. We will develop a standardized curriculum that ensures essential information is covered uniformly and in alignment with the learning outcomes. This will allow us to better assess the effectiveness of our orientation programs and make necessary improvements.
- Digital resources: We will leverage Slate for signing up for the New Student Orientation date, sharing with campus partners the lists of students, and communications with students. Advising offices are to use Navigate to reach out and schedule advising appointments.
- Pre-orientation advising: To maximize the value of academic advisors, we will introduce pre-orientation videos and digital resources that will provide students with the foundation to be prepared for the advising appointment.
- Advising and enrollment: We recognize that our academic advisors play a pivotal role in guiding students toward their academic goals. Academic advisors will have more flexibility in scheduling advising sessions with new students to accommodate their availability and preferences. This early advising and enrollment session availability allows advisors to engage with students in a one-on-one setting, helping them set clear academic goals and expectations, considering their academic background, interests and career aspirations. We encourage academic advising appointments to be virtual unless the student is close to campus and travel is convenient.
- Orientation: The summer programming will mirror a more traditional program for students and families to connect with other incoming students and families, complete important tasks, focus on academic success, make minimal changes to their class schedule, tour campus and connect with campus resources. These experiences will be hosted on the Manhattan campus with minimal virtual options.
- K-State Kickoff experience: We will provide comprehensive support to address not only academic needs but also the social and emotional aspects of the transition to university life. The kick-off will support making connections and getting familiar with K-State before classes begin.
The following are 2024 program dates:
New Student Orientation registration launch
- Monday, March 4.
Academic advising
- Monday, April 15: Open enrollment and advising appointments can begin.
Orientation — No campus visits will be hosted on the in-person dates
- Monday, June 10 (Preference for transfers).
- Wednesday, June 12.
- Thursday, June 13.
- Friday, June 14.
- Saturday, June 15 (Spanish-Speaking Family Day).
- Monday, June 17 (Spanish-Speaking Family Day).
- Tuesday, June 18.
- Thursday, June 20.
- Friday, June 21.
- Monday, June 24.
- Tuesday, June 25 (virtual evening: will be recorded).
- Wednesday, June 26.
- Thursday, June 27.
- Friday, June 28 (Spanish-Speaking Family Day.
- Tuesday, July 16 (virtual evening).
- Friday, July 19.
- Monday, Aug. 12 (virtual evening).
K-State Kickoff
- Thursday, Aug. 15-Sunday, Aug. 18.