Looking back on highly successful virtual student orientation sessions

On 14 February 2022, the Student Retention Unit (SRU) hosted its annual institution-wide student orientation. The programme focused on welcoming first-time students to the open distance and e-learning environment that is Unisa, with the aim of providing a springboard to student participation, success and ultimately retention.

The programme

The virtual 2022 SRU student orientation programme was held over two days, for two hours per day on MS Teams and YouTube. On the first day, 14 February 2022, the programme focused specifically on two themes, namely Orientation to Open and Distance eLearning at Unisa and General/administrative support at Unisa. There was a live question-and-answer session with all participants at the end of the programme.

The following day the orientation focused purely on academic support services at Unisa. This session also had a live question-and-answer session at the end. Students were encouraged to post their questions on the chat box and student support members attended to each query.

Both orientation sessions were live-streamed on YouTube in an attempt to accommodate more students. In line with inclusivity initiatives from the SRU, a sign language interpreter was present both days to accommodate students with auditory challenges and disabilities.

Student feedback

Student participation, success and retention are based mainly on the experiences of the students. Therefore, it was important for the SRU to delve into these experiences and highlight important indicators that will guide the unit in planning and hosting impactful student orientation programmes in future. It was satisfying, then, to receive the following remarks from students when asked what they enjoyed most about the orientation:

-        It was informative and helped me navigate who to inform if I have an issue. It also made me aware of the services Unisa offers to their students such as counselling.

-        The presentations where very helpful and came as a welcome guide on how to navigate through certain aspects which I did not even know existed at Unisa. A round of applause to each and every presenter.

-        It was informative and helped me navigate who to inform if I have an issue. It also made me aware of the services Unisa offers to their students such as counselling

-        The slideshows and videos and questions being posted in the chat section and that are answered throughout the presentation.

The 2022 Unisa Student Orientation is also available for viewing using this YouTube link. Click the links below to access the recordings for:

-        Day 1

-        Day 2

Acknowledgements

“No feast comes to the table on its own feet.” The SRU would like to express gratitude for the successful collaboration with all the Unisa regional support staff members on planning and executing the 2022 SRU student orientation.

* By Ziyanda Febana, Student Success Practitioner, Student Retention Unit