1970 Utonian

Page 28

FRESHMAN ORIENTATION "Uff program draws national conference The student orientation program at the University of Utah is one of the most comprehensive and advanced in the country for making the entering student's experience less traumatic and more instructive. One result of this was that the national conference of orientation directors was held at the university during the first week of November. Here the various representatives found the opportunity to exchange vital documentary data about orientation programs which would later serve as a basis for necessary funds. The experimentation carried on by the university last summer provided excellent resource material for many universities nation-wide. The orientation committee, headed by Ken Williams and Bruce Hancey and supported by a cast of hundreds of warm bodies, made several changes from the preceding year's program. The actual registration process took place during the month of July instead of immediately prior to the start of school. The freshmen were divided into ten session groups, which then were split into groups of twenty to thirty students led by two student staffers. During the sessions freshmen were subjected at random to three different types of information sessions. The first was a lecture-tour.The second was a written simulation game, pioneered by Ron Short of Washington State University. The third was an actual simulation of university experiences worked out by Mr. Williams. The purpose of the simulations was to familiarize the new students in as short a time possible to as many different contingencies that they would face as university students. f ¦ *JSr * A A, \ -ilk Ken Williams Orientation Director 28