-= NMSU PANORAMA - Summer 2005 =- Around Aggieland: New Orientation Program Debuts

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This department contains multiple stories. Please make a selection:
› NMSU Launches Fourth Microfilm Project in Mexico
› HRTM Department Upgraded to a School
› Faculty Named to Endowed Positions, Regents Professorships
› NMSU Opens Office in Chihuahua
› New Orientation Program Debuts
› Horseshoe Tales - Reviving a Lost Art

New Orientation Program Debuts

A new student orientation program has been designed to give first-year students the tools they need to succeed.

The new program, called Aggie Welcome Week, will build on what the popular Chile Camp Program, sponsored by the Associated Students of NMSU, has accomplished for the past several years.

Aggie Welcome Week will incorporate national "best practices" that have proven to be effective in achieving student success. Among these are a recommendation that advising and registration for new students be separated from orientation to improve student service in both programs. New student registration will now take place in April and June, with Aggie Welcome Week in August.

"Aggie Welcome Week will create opportunities for new students to network with their peers and with people in the community," says Brad Bankhead, associate vice president for enrollment management.

New students will be put into groups of 10 to 12 guided by a team leader who is a current NMSU student. Team leaders will answer questions and facilitate team-building activities, generate discussions about a variety of programs, give campus tours, and escort students to all Aggie Welcome Week events. About 50 returning students already in leadership positions will participate in the program.

Aggie Welcome Week will give new students the opportunity to meet faculty and staff members in their colleges before classes begin; listen to national speakers address issues critical to academic success; and learn about campus safety, cultural and social diversity, smart choices concerning alcohol and other relevant topics.

Although Aggie Welcome Week is not required, new students are encouraged to participate in the program to become familiar with the university and create a foundation for success in college, Bankhead says.

To make Aggie Welcome Week more widely accessible, need-based scholarships will be available. To sponsor a new Aggie with a $75 scholarship, call the Aggie Welcome Week office at (505) 646-1055.

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