2011 OFYP Annual Report - Orientation and First-Year Programs ...

Welcome Week 2011This year marked the fourth year of the Welcome Week program fornew freshmen students, thus all of the students entering, pursuing theirdegree and graduating this year have all experienced Welcome Weekand do not know the U without this program. As Welcome Week hasbecome a tradition and expectation on campus, a greater effort has beenmade to make it a more personal experience for students and WelcomeWeek Leaders have worked to address students’ individual needs andconcerns. Major events remained in the schedule and the followingadjustments were made this year:•A personal schedule was created for each individual student thatpulled in demographic information and responses to the Event Selectionallowing them to only view the events related to their own experience.•President Kaler welcomed his first class to the University at NewStudent Convocation. He demonstrated his commitment to the Class of2015 by sporting a class logo temporary tattoo and encouraging studentsto display their tassel proudly.•A Respect U event was added to U of M Day. This event broughttogether a variety of units across campus including: Minnesota StudentAssociation, representatives from the President’s Emerging LeadershipProgram, Aurora Center, International Student Scholar Services and theCivil Service Bargaining Unit. After participating in activities, studentssigned large 2015 panels with words, phrases and pictures of whatrespect means to them. Click here to watch the video.•Content for “You at the U and what that has to do with Woo”(formerly “Do What Matters”) was added to introduce students to theStrengthsQuest initiative launched this year.•Jermaine Davis’ presentation included elements of Strengths andrespect/responsibility messaging to complement other programmingstudents received on U of M Day. The 2015 respect panels weredisplayed on stage.•Community partners were coached throughout the year on how to moreeffectively discuss community issues with first-year students during theservice and engagement programming.26