Student Engagement begins early at Connecticut College with a virtual onboarding process powered by online orientation. Before launching Advantage Orientation, this small, liberal arts university provided a “series of touchpoints” in advance of an in-person orientation in August. Regardless of when students were admitted, each one received the same series of emails, links to an enrollment guide, and access to a “farm of forms.”  For students who see themselves as unique individuals, the experience lacked a personalized approach and the wait to explore “what’s in it for me” and “how-to” information was stressful.

And then it happened – the proverbial paradigm shift. What if students received the information they needed when they were ready and motivated to engage instead of the institution seeking to get more information from the student? 

PREVIEW & REQUEST ACCESS TO THE RECORDING

Led by Emily Chace Morash, Assoc. Dean of the College and Dean of First-Year Students, Conn College began acting on this shift in thinking in 2019 to develop an online orientation unique to its brand. After all, the big state schools have online orientations, why not Conn? They wanted to transform overwhelming and confusing orientation information into a guided experience of curated, interactive, and video-rich information.

Today, Conn’s online orientation, called “The Camel Experience,” is being leveraged as a powerful yield and melt tool. Students complete the experience and continue to return to it as a resource any time, on any device.

As the numbers are showing, decisions to attend are reinforced and student confidence grows through each small step toward enrollment. Orientation completion rates are over 84 percent.

Request this webinar recording to learn from Emily’s real-life experience developing and implementing an online orientation for all new students. She’ll discuss the situation and decisions behind the project, take you on a tour of their online orientation, and answer your chat questions.