Noticed some new faces on campus lately? Say hello to the Class of 2015. Nearly 600 incoming first-year students, plus their parents, have been on campus this past week for the two Orientation Summer Sessions scheduled in July. (The rest of the new class will attend their Summer Session in August.)
During orientation, the students, all assigned to groups headed by orientation leaders, stay in the residence halls for two nights and are introduced to campus, academic opportunities, student life and the community. They meet with an academic adviser to plan their fall schedules, discuss academic integrity and university standards, learn about residence life and commuter activities and attend a program promoting things to do in Cleveland, including community service opportunities available through the Center for Civic Engagement & Learning. Most importantly for them, they meet new classmates and benefit from the advice of their upper class orientation leaders.
While the students go through their paces, parents and other family members are invited to a full array of activities. Presented in a conference-style format, the parent schedule includes programs led by Undergraduate Studies, Information Technology Services (ITS), Educational Services for Students, Financial Aid, University Counseling Services, the Health Service, the Career Center, Co-op, Student Affairs, Access Services and more. Additionally, they can tour Cleveland on Lolly the Trolley, learn about liberal arts at Case Western Reserve University from College of Arts and Sciences Dean Cyrus Taylor, find out about chemistry from Professor Mike Kenney and take a look inside engineering labs.
Both students and their family members start out each Summer Session with a special welcome in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s recently renovated Gartner Auditorium.
Additionally, they attend a lunch in Veale Center co-sponsored by ITS. The lunch includes raffle prizes of an Xbox 360 with Kinect and an iPad 2. Students eat all other meals in the dining commons, and parents are guests at two receptions, one of which is hosted by Admission and Alumni Relations.
Students and parents also attend an Information Fair, hosted by Kelvin Smith Library. The fair includes more than 40 offices and departments as well as local banks and phone and computer vendors. Two floors of the library are dedicated to the fair, and librarian Catherine Wells has decorated the whole area with archival photographs that promote the orientation theme of CWRU traditions.
The first July session was held July 13-15, and the second July session began July 17 and ends today. The third Summer Session, which begins with a special session for new international students, is scheduled for the week before classes begin.
Following this last session, all new students will be on campus for Welcome Days, Aug. 24-28.
To learn more about the incoming Class of 2015, click here.