Our faculty and staff advisors are preparing for advisement sessions where they will assist current students in making their plans for summer and fall enrollment. As part of the university's new focus on helping our students with academic planning, study and life skills, and related aspects of the strategic retention initiative, many of our departments will try something new by meeting with first-year students as a group.
Such meetings accomplish several things simultaneously. They: 1) give students informal opportunities to raise questions and gather information about their major and related educational and career paths, 2) give departmental faculty and advisors a chance to convey important schedule, course rotation, or co-curricular information that all students need quickly and efficiently, saving valuable time during the actual advisement sesssions for more personal approaches, and 3) allow departments to provide a brief social networking opportunity that will (hopefully) reinforce the need for advising and encourage full participation in advisement week.
It's a small step. We don't know for sure how well it will work here, but other schools have had some success with similar programs. I'm looking forward to seeing the results in late spring.