Tommy Bruce, president of the Associated Students of The University of Arizona, talks about being a UA student in a video shown during this summer's orientation sessions.
Numerous students were interviewed by other UA students for a series of videos that were shown during new student orientation.
This summer, University of Arizona staff in Student Affairs took a more creative approach to informing incoming students about the ins and outs of the University while also encouraging them as new members of the Wildcat family.
In the past during New Student Orientation, students and their families would listen to various speakers from various units on campus.
“We decided it wasn’t the most dynamic way to present information,” said Magan Alfred, assistant director for marketing and communications in Student Affairs.
“It’s large and can be intimidating,” Alfred said. “But we want them to be aware of what’s available to them. We want to make a better connection on the front end.”
“Becoming a Wildcat” is a new orientation format to the UA and uses student-produced videos to deliver important information to new UA students.
“Incoming students are more likely to listen to a student’s voice than me standing up on stage,” Alfred said, “and we have a very well spoken, informed student population.”
In the videos, students interviewed Tommy Bruce, president of the Associated Students of the UA, and others on campus about financial aid, meal plans, campus parking, ordering books and how to use the CatCard, among other things.
The UA’s Student Affairs division, and partners in media arts and Arizona Student Unions, cites this effort as successfully making orientation – currently in process and one of the first interactions new students have at the UA – a more entertaining and engaging process.
The videos are not scripted, but they enable those at the UA to promote a consistent message and to also present new students with information in a format familiar to younger generations, Alfred said.
Today, the videos live online in another expansion of the UA’s presence on the Internet. In addition to the “Becoming a Wildcat” site, the UA has videos on YouTube, FaceBook and iTunesU.
“It’s a brilliant idea,” said Stephanie Hanson, a UA junior and Honors College student who is majoring in history.
Hanson compares the new format to her experience saying “a video is more interesting and more people are likely to get the information that way.”
Plus, she said it makes a difference when “there is an actual student saying how important it is.” Megan Peterson, who was interviewed for a “Becoming a Wildcat” segment said the format was much more familiar than the previous lecture-style approach.
“I think it’s excellent,” said Peterson, a UA sophomore majoring in biology. “It’s nice to have student opinions. I think it will make students a bit more comfortable about coming to the University.”
Magan Alfred
Student Affairs
520-626-8424