Redesigning the New Student Onboarding Experience

This brief explores how Catawba Valley Community College redesigned its onboarding process for new students using innovative approaches to create a more inclusive experience. These approaches include automatic enrollment in orientation to encourage participation, hybrid student success courses frontloaded into the first four weeks of the semester, and embedded opportunities for feedback and continuous improvement. Research shows that students who participate in well-designed onboarding programs, including orientation and first-year success courses, are more likely to persist, engage meaningfully with their institution, and achieve their academic goals.

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