Open AccessConverting a Dynamic in-Person Experience to Remote Life
Author(s) -
Alicia Roybal,
Emilie Waggoner,
Christy Heaton,
Emily Moroney,
Nicole A. Hoff,
Kelsi Miles,
Angela VanDijk,
Kristen Fukumoto
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the journal of college orientation and transition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2690-4535
pISSN - 1534-2263
DOI - 10.24926/jcotr.v28i2.3765
Subject(s) - student affairs , suite , work (physics) , covid-19 , public relations , higher education , sociology , pedagogy , management , political science , engineering , economics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , mechanical engineering , medicine , disease , pathology
This paper explores the work the Student Transitions and Family Engagement (STFE) team did to convert dynamic in-person experiences into virtual programs, advising, and courses. These opportunities were framed through the lenses of Academic and Social Integration (Tinto, 1975; Braxton et al., 2004), Belonging (Strayhorn, 2019), and Transition Theory (Schlossberg, 1981).
The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in every sector of business and higher education and student affairs was not immune to these effects. The unprecedented disturbances to business-as-normal forced student affairs professionals to find innovative ways to welcome new students into their universities. This article details the monumental programmatic changes employed, as well as the challenges faced and lessons learned by the New Student Orientation and First-Year Experiences teams at the University of Colorado Denver. While catalyzed by unfortunate circumstances and necessity, many of the new ideas and methods developed during 2020 will be adopted as mainstays in STFE’s suite of operations and programmatic offerings.