Orientation Resources

New student orientation is an essential step in acclimating learners to the community college environment. Many institutions are using a combination of in-personal and online orientation tools and activities on a wide range of topics to help students feel welcome, become familiar with campus resources, and be successful in college.

This page features examples of orientation resources for you to explore. It will continue to expand as best practices are identified and shared. To submit a resource for consideration, please use the Best Practices Exchange submission form.

The content below is organized into four categories that can be accessed quickly by clicking the category title.

Examples from North Carolina
Examples from Other States
Reports, Articles and Related Resources
Professional Organizations

Examples of Orientation Offerings from North Carolina Community Colleges:

Cape Fear Community College's online orientation that features three main modules: Advising and Registration, Paying for College, and Services to Students. A Quick Facts brochure is also available, highlighting five keys for success and the building and room numbers of specific offices that provide student services. http://cfcc.edu/orientation/

Central Piedmont Community College provides both in-person and online orientation options. The online edition is divided into three sections, featuring information on the transition to college, choosing an academic and career path, and getting to know people and resources:
http://www1.cpcc.edu/ican/resources-1/orientation/online

Durham Technical Community College offers multiple in-person orientation sessions and online answers to frequently asked questions: http://www.durhamtech.edu/html/current/orientation.htm

Guilford Technical Community College requires new students to participate in its Student Orientation, Advising and Registration (SOAR) program. It includes both online and face-to-face sessions.
https://soar.gtcc.edu/SoarInfo.aspx

Haywood Community College offers an online slide show to orient students: http://www.haywood.edu/orientation

Rockingham Community College provides orientation content in its New Student Orientation Guide: http://www.rockinghamcc.edu/docs/Orientation_Guide_2006-2007.pdf

Southwestern Community College offers a comprehensive online orientation divided into eight major topics. Each section concludes with a short quiz to check for understanding. Students must login upon completion of orientation content to receive credit for completion: http://www.southwesterncc.edu/online-orientation/index.htm

Examples of Orientation Offerings from Community Colleges Outside North Carolina:

Carroll Community College offers a Virtual Orientation to supplement its onsite orientation. This well-organized tool highlights key information, in brief content segments. The ten sections can be viewed in any sequence; noted topics include “college lingo” and information for parents.
http://www.carrollcc.edu/studentlife/orientation/default.asp

Georgia Perimeter College’s Online Orientation highlights special features such as the “Student Success Backpack,” a compilation of personal, academic, and career resources for student use:
http://depts2.gpc.edu/~gpcem/roadmap_index.htm

Harper College offers a media-rich online orientation that is user-friendly and concise: http://www.harpercollege.edu/services/newstu/orientation/advising1.htm

Long Beach Community College offers a well-organized online orientation featuring six modules on essential topics for new students. A quiz is available to check students’ knowledge and verify they’ve completed the modules: http://orientation.lbcc.edu/

Los Medanos College, an institution of the Contra Costa Community College District in California, offers a New Student Orientation Workbook; a thorough, user-friendly document for students: http://www.losmedanos.edu/studenthandbook/

Mohawk College provides a comprehensive guidebook to orientation, as well as incorporating "Weeks of Welcome" into the orientation process: http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/Assets/StudentLife/Orientation/Fall+2011/Welcome+Guide+2011.pdf

Phoenix College provides a six-section orientation in an online format for new students, parents and returning students. Information is presented sequentially and students complete an evaluation of the orientation content upon conclusion. Notable features include a glossary of college terms, a time management checklist template, and guidelines for course loads for working students: http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/orientation/index.htm

Tacoma Community College offers multiple “live” sessions for orientation as a companion to its step-by-step online content that guides new students through important first steps based on their individual situation: http://www.tacomacc.edu/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6/File/newstudentorientation/NSO1Intro/index.html

Orientation Reports, Articles and Related Resources

Student focus group comments on orientation from the North Carolina Community College System’s Student Leadership Institute, November 2006.
A Report to Mohawk College’s (Canada) Academic Team on the initiative “College Wide Focus on Orientation” and the related Student Success Action Plan for 2005-06 by the Academic Orientation Working Group. Contains both student and faculty feedback as well as action items and recommended components of academic orientation:
http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/Assets/StudentDev/Academic+Team+Report.pdfc
Engaging the “Social Networking” Generation: How to Talk to Today’s College-Bound Juniors and Seniors is a report on the study “E-Expectations: Class of 2007.” The report highlights the types of tools students expect colleges to use to communicate with them:
https://www.noellevitz.com/documents/shared/Papers_and_Research/2006/EExpectationsClassof2007.pdf
Strategies from the “Achieving the Dream” initiative, including resources on student success courses and improving students’ first-year experience: http://www.achievingthedream.org
Strategies for Success: Promising Practices from the 2004 Winners of the MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award – highlighting practices and strategies in recruitment and outreach; developmental education, and student support services: http://www.jff.org/sites/default/files/StratSuccML2004.pdf
Comments from the Commission for Admissions, Orientation, and the First-Year Experience 2006 National Convention on Best Practices in Orientation, featuring a host of ideas from across the country: http://www.myacpa.org/comm/aofye/resources/ACPA%20orientation%20roundtable.doc

Related Professional Organizations