The university will revise its New Student Orientation program for summer 2027 to increase student-organization participation and give orientation advisors the option to live off campus, senior orientation coordinator Dallas Wilburn announced during a Student Government committee meeting on Oct. 13.
More time for student groups and less mandatory auditorium time
Officials said the program changes respond to a decline in student-organization recruiting and to complaints that the shorter, two-day orientation rolled out last summer compressed activities into larger groups with more mandatory sessions and fewer opportunities for involvement.
“We are hoping to bring back some student org connections, whether that be a student org fair or other involvement like we’ve done in the past,” Wilburn said.
The orientation office plans to restore avenues for student groups to meet incoming students, including a possible student organization fair, and to redesign mandatory programming that previously required long sessions in large auditoriums. Wilburn said organizers will modify schedules to reduce walking between activities and to make sessions more engaging.
Housing optional and higher pay for advisors who live off campus
Under the new rules, orientation advisors will not be required to live in residence halls; returning advisors previously could live off campus, while first-year advisors were required to stay in campus housing. Wilburn said advisors who choose to live off campus will receive a slightly higher wage.
- Applications for orientation advisors have closed.
- Group interviews are scheduled for Nov. 8.
- The department plans to extend offers by the end of the fall semester.
Wilburn said the change has broadened the applicant pool: more sophomores, juniors and upperclass students applied this year. Students with yearlong leases said the housing option makes them more likely to apply.
“I would definitely feel like my lease is being put to a good use,” business freshman Ashima Nair said.
Orientation staff will communicate sign-up details to student organizations in the spring. The office also intends to reduce the amount of outdoor walking required during the summer heat and to replace some large-group auditorium lectures with smaller, interactive sessions.
The revisions apply to the university’s New Student Orientation program for summer 2027 and are intended to address recruitment declines and improve student engagement during orientation.
