How to Create and Teach an Orientation Course

Celeste Spier, MA

Coordinator, College of Arts &Sciences Advising Center

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Agenda• Current Research on Orientation Courses• Possible Course Structures• Content Options• Assignment Options• Degree Application Considerations

Introduction• Psychology Adviser, Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (6 years)

• Taught an orientation course called PSYC 100: Career Planning for Psychology Majorso 180 students per semester (360 total for academic year)

o 1 credito Pass/No Passo Required for all Psychology Majors

• Made significant improvements to the course over 6 years

Audience Poll• How many of you want to:

o Create a new orientation course?o Improve a current orientation course?o Just learn more about orientation courses (neither of the above options)?

Current Research• Orientation courses have been one of the most successful techniques employed to increase graduation and retention rates (Davig & Spain, 2003-2004)

• Orientation courses have also been associated with increased satisfaction with their college experience, a stronger rating of academic advising, a stronger connection to faculty, and increased success after college (Hendel, 2006)

• Students report the following as the most important topics to cover: study skills, advising information, and curriculum planning (Davig & Spain, 2003-2004).

Current Research• Orientation courses are not likely to provide career information, but evaluations show that students request more information regarding career choices (Davig & Spain, 2003-2004)o In a study by Macera and Cohen (2006), 93% of students reported their career plans being affected by the course, with 62% changing their plans

• Research on overall student perceptions of orientation courses are overwhelmingly positive (Macera & Cohen, 2006)

Curriculum Process• Familiarize yourself with the university, college, and departmental curriculum process at your schoolo Who is on the curriculum committee?o When do they meet?o What are the deadlines for submissions for the next academic year?

• Become an expert in this process before you develop your curriculum

Possible Course Structures • University-wide

o Pros: All students on campus are involved, Connects students to other majors and perspectives

o Cons: Must have buy-in and resources from university, Content won’t be as targeted, More administrative coordination necessary

• College-wideo Pros: Content can be more targeted, Smaller

number of students, Students connect with students, advisers, and faculty in their college

o Cons: Some college are still quite diverse, Course designation

Possible Course Structures • Departmental

o Pros: Content can be very targeted, Students connect with other students in their major, their adviser, and faculty in their department

o Cons: Must have buy-in from departmental advisers, faculty, and chair, Quality and content can vary among departments, May be a big time and energy commitment depending on size of department

• Programmatic/Population-Basedo Pros: Target specific groups of students who may

be at risk for retention, Course could be tied to learning community, scholarship, etc…

o Cons: Difficult to identify the students, Student may have diverse majors, career goals, and other needs

Possible Course Structures• Lectures

o Adviserso Facultyo Guest Speakers

• Small Group Discussiono Inside of class time, if class is smallo Outside of class time, if class is large

• Panelso Faculty or undergrads Research Assistants to

discuss researcho Current upper-class students to discuss

college/majoro Professionals or alumni to discuss careers

• Tours

Possible Course Structures• Who should teach it?

o Faculty membero Advisero Undergraduate Teaching Assistants

• When should it be offered?o Ensure it does not conflict with other required courses for major/degree

o Have a plan for non-traditional students

o Must sure there is enough class space for retakes

Possible Course Structures• When should the course be taken?

o Most models have the students taking the course as early in their college career as possible

o First 6 weeks in college, and transition from freshman to sophomore year are especially critical

• Should the course be online or in-class?o In-class is preferredo Online module format can be done

• How many weeks long should it be?o 7-10 is common

Content Options• Study Skills, Time Management, & Adjustment to College

• Degree Requirements & Policies• Demonstration of Online Resources• Career Information

o Potential Careerso Career Preparation

• Preparing for Graduate or Professional School

• Research/Creative Activity Opportunities

• Departmental/Major Content Information

Assignment Options• Study Skills, Time Management, & Adjustment to Collegeo Attend a meeting for (or join) a student organizationo Create a weekly schedule and an semester calendaro Weekly journaling

• Campus Resourceso Attend a session with an Academic Success Coach (or

Writing Center, Math Resource Center, Career Services, Education Abroad, etc…)

o Interview a campus student leader and write a summary report

• Demonstration of Online Resourceso Bring degree audit to classo Register for next semester and confirm with an academic

adviser

Assignment Options• Degree Requirements and Policies

o Set up individual advising appointmento Readings from university bulletin and other websiteso Create a graduation plan

• Career Informationo Conduct career interviews with people in professions you may

want to pursueo Research a career of interesto Attend the career fair and talk to 3 employers (Take a selfie

at the fair!)o Create a resumeo Create a career action plano Register for your school’s job search website (e.g. Husker Hire

Link)o Create an account on LinkedIno Take a career assessmento Write out your 5- and 10-year career goals

Assignment Options• Preparing for Graduate or Professional School

o Write a paper about what you will need to do to get into your desired post-undergraduate program

o Meet with a pre-professional adviser or graduate admissions representative

• Departmental/Major Content Informationo Write a short literature review about a topic within your

majoro Read a journal article from a major-related journal and write

a summaryo Attend a professor’s open office hours and introduce yourselfo Interview faculty, postdoc, or graduate student about their

area of study

• Research/Creative Activity Opportunitieso Read about faculty research interests on your major’s websiteo Participate in a research study as a participant

Assignment Options• General Assignments

o Write a reflection paper to demonstrate doing an activity listed

o Require attendanceo Quizzes and Examso Textbook

Degree Application Considerations• Required or Optional

o If optional, you end up “preaching to the crowd”

• Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

• Credit or Non-Credito 0 or 1 credit (1-1.5 hours per week)o Avoid the combination of optional and 0 credit

• Policy for Waiving the Courseo Non-traditional studentso 2nd majors (if course is departmental)o Transfer studentso Upper-Class students

Questions• What questions do you have at this point?

Small Group Discussion• Break into small groups of your choice

• Potential discussion questionso What concerns do you have about developing an orientation course?

o What barriers have you run into when trying to develop an orientation course?

o What improvements would you like to make in your current orientation course?

o What have you already done that could be shared as a best practice?

ReferencesDavig, W. B. & Spain, J. W. (2003-2004). Impact

on freshmen retention of orientation course content: Proposed persistence model. Journal of College Student Retention, 5(3), 305-323.

Hendel, D. D. (2006-2007). Efficacy of participating in a first-year seminar on student satisfaction and retention. Journal of College Student Retention, 8(4), 413-423.

Macera, M. H. & Cohen, S. H. (2006). Psychology as a profession: An effective career exploration and orientation course for undergraduate psychology majors. The Career Development Quarterly, 54.

©2007 The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. All rights reserved.

Thank you.

Celeste Spier, MACoordinator, College of Arts & Sciences Advising

CenterUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln

cspier2@unl.edu