Incoming Tigers can connect with Wittenberg University faculty, staff, and future classmates by signing up for one of several New Student Orientation dates scheduled throughout June and July.
Themed “Destination Witt,” the orientation program helps first-year students and transfer students begin to acclimate to life at Wittenberg University. Each session will allow new students to receive their fall 2020 class schedule; identify the various offices and campus resources that will support them in meeting their academic and personal goals; meet other students who can assist with adjusting to life at Wittenberg; help alleviate stress and anxiety during the transition from high school to college; begin to build a connection to Wittenberg and understand University traditions, and promote community and engagement for student success.
Destination Witt programs have been developed through a new framework based on Nancy Schlossberg’s Transitional Theory and Alf Lizzio’s Five Senses of Student Belonging and Success.
“We know that the transition from high school to college is challenging,” said Jabal Moss, associate director of student success. “Students must know that the institution is making plans for their transition to be smooth and that where they land on the transition grid is imperative to the institution so that they can be successful,” Moss said. “Schlossberg states in Transitional Theory that ‘students are moving in, through or out and how they are introduced to the transition points determines how they feel about their future success.’ We want to make sure that how we transition each student into the University sets them up for success.
“The type of programming that we provide students during Destination Witt also focuses on Lizzio’s Five Senses of Student Belonging and Success, which includes: connectedness, resources, capability, purpose, and culture. We know that if students feel the five senses throughout the programs, they will be more prone to commit to Wittenberg University after the program and find success at Wittenberg,” Moss added.
Destination Witt June dates will be virtual with hopes that July dates will involve in-person activities on campus. Virtual orientations take place Friday, June 19; Saturday, June 20; and Friday, June 26. Potential on-campus, in-person orientation dates are Thursday, July 9; Friday, July 10 (offering a special transfer student track); Saturday, July 11; Wednesday, July 15; Thursday, July 16; and Friday, July 17 (offering a special transfer student track), health and safety protocols permitting.
While the virtual orientation is not as compact as the face-to-face sessions, each event is designed to help students navigate the day. Faculty advisors will be available to do scheduling from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Additionally, there will be live chats throughout the day and live Instagram and Facebook sessions later in the evening for students and their families to ask real questions.
“All of the work that we have done over the last few months to improve the orientation experience is to ensure that we enhance the Wittenberg commitment to knowing every student by name and story, setting students up to be successful, and creating an atmosphere of resiliency,” Moss said. “We are expecting the same results with our virtual orientation experience this summer. We cannot wait to have students and their families engage with us.”
Parents of participating students will receive a parent transition platform in the weeks following the virtual orientation sessions. Parent questions will be answered throughout the day and during live evening sessions. Be sure to have all questions ready for the orientation team.
For questions about orientation days, check out Wittenberg’s FAQ pages. For questions about the incoming student process, review the New Student Headquarters webpage at www.wittenberg.edu/newtiger, as well as the First Year FAQs. The schedule for the virtual orientation can be found here. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the clickable “Virtual Orientation Schedule” pdf file.
For additional questions, reach out to the orientation team at summerorientation@wittenberg.edu. Lastly, be sure to follow @WittCompass and @Witts_Happening so as to be plugged into student resources and events.
