 Apr 27,2009
Making a Smooth Transition
Dr. Bruce Oldham, Vice President for Enrollment Management
I still remember my first day of school. Somehow everyone knew that an extra dime with lunch money would allow you to buy ice cream—everyone but me and two other students. When those with dimes moved into line first, the teacher must have thought we all did and thus led the group to lunch. Imagine her horror when she returned to the classroom and found scared, teary-eyed, and hungry first-graders still sitting there! Somehow, though, I managed to survive the first grade even with the rough first day.
Today’s freshmen certainly have a lot of savvy and life experience, yet for many of them the transition to a university experience can also be a difficult and even fearful thing. MVNU’s New Student Transition and Student Success staff are dedicated to providing information, tools and encouragement to students and parents as they face these changes.
Transition for students entering in the fall semester begins with the summer’s New Student Orientation. Four one-day sessions are scheduled, with freshmen/parents choosing between the first three and transfers/parents the focus of the fourth; spring semester orientation is held the afternoon before classes begin. A host of faculty advisors, staff specialists and student volunteers serve the Orientation schedule, with each student session focusing on a particular aspect of the MVNU experience—academically, socially and spiritually—and parents’ sessions sharing what parents want and need to know. Along the way, warm and helpful people quickly become their friends!
Transition continues with Welcome Week. The first big step toward college life is a memorable one for resident students, as they are greeted and their vehicle unloaded by “helping hands” from the MVNU community during Friday, August 28th’s Move-In Day. The traditional evening commitment and ribbon-cutting ceremony help to bridge farewells to family with finding their place on campus. Cougar Student Institute (CSI) follows on Saturday through Monday, August 29-31, as Student Development, Campus Ministries and Academic Affairs personnel provide significant next steps for all new students as they prepare for the beginning of classes. Student Government (SGA) leaders join in as well, with fun and fellowship-oriented evening activities throughout the week. Orientation, Welcome Week, and CSI are ably managed by Sandy Rhoton, New Student Transition coordinator.
 Classes begin on Tuesday, September 1, but since transition continues, we do too! Introduction to the Christian Liberal Arts Experience classes and student success workshops give an in-depth treatment to purposes and perspectives of Christian higher education in the classroom. Outside of class, experiences in small group Bible studies and residence halls help bind students together and to Christ. Lori Gastin, Student Success coordinator, helps facilitate first-year experience efforts, but integrating and retaining students during these critical months takes everyone! We are intensely aware in Enrollment Management how much we depend on all of you to accomplish the task of welcoming new students and providing a smooth and successful transition. It is you who make MVNU look good, sound good, taste good, and even feel good! You are “The MVNU Experience.”
We want you to be well informed and ready to get involved in the summer’s New Student Orientation events. Check the Orientation site at www.mvnu.edu/orientation to see all the information that students and parents receive. The Welcome Week page will be up mid-summer with more about opening activities as well. Thanks in advance for responding to e-mail and personal invitations to participate, whether as part of your MVNU assignment or on a volunteer basis. You may direct questions related to New Student Orientation or Welcome Week/CSI to Sandy Rhoton at ext. 4550, and inquires on first-year experience to Lori Gastin at ext. 4502. We would love to hear from you!
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