Incoming students attended orientation on the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus this past week in preparation for the upcoming fall semester.
Orientation, a two-day and overnight event held in the summer for new first-year students, started at the beginning of June and will take place through August. At these events, students have the opportunity to meet with their academic advisors, register for courses and stay overnight in a residence hall.
Orientation and Welcome Week, organized by the Orientation & Transition Experiences office, have been longstanding University traditions, dating back to the 1940s.
Welcome Week, a week-long event held at the end of August, is required for the incoming class and strongly recommended for transfer students. The orientation program was reinstated as Welcome Week under the direction of OTE in 2008.
OTE offers high-quality, dynamic experiences that cultivate community and empower students, according to their website. This year, amidst program changes, feedback from administrators and student workers regarding the annual events has been mixed.
This summer, there are two new sessions being featured as part of orientation.
The office, in partnership with the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Equity and Diversity, will host ‘Thriving with the U’, an interactive presentation session where students will learn about the transition from high school to college, as well as campus resources available.
The new orientation program also includes a session for students to move their bodies at the University Recreation and Wellness Center, according to Lizette Rebolledo, director of OTE.
Unprecedented for OTE staff this year is the construction taking place on and around campus, including the recent closure of University Avenue, which has led to delays.
OTE worked extensively with parking and transportation services and the University police department to coordinate orientation arrivals, according to Rebolledo. Videos and other resources were created to help families and students.
“We really are grateful that our students and families, while impacted by the construction as they make their way to and from campus, have really understood,” Rebolledo said.
Orientation week saw major changes in format and delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 2020 to 2021, orientation was held completely online. Later in the pandemic, adjustments were made so that incoming students remained socially distant by staying overnight in single rooms, rather than with others.
Peter Harle, a College of Liberal Arts academic advisor, said he has helped with orientation for 19 years and does registration each summer. He said the pandemic provided an opportunity for program growth.
“It taught us how to be resourceful,” Harle said. “It taught us how to try to better meet the needs of people who might be on the other side of the country or the other side of the world.”
Correction: A previous version of this article said students stayed in single rooms during the pandemic. During the summer of 2020 and 2021, orientation was held remotely. When orientation was held in person again in 2022, students stayed in single rooms.