Hundreds of first-year students will be exploring Lethbridge College on Tuesday, Sept. 6 as New Student Orientation (NSO) kicks off the Fall 2022 semester.
The annual event serves as the main welcome and introduction for new LC students and is a great way to help ease the transition to college life before classes start Wednesday.
Students registered for NSO can pick up a swag bag in Centre Core, attend their program orientation and learn important information about support services, their rights and responsibilities and how to navigate campus.
A complimentary barbeque lunch with the Lethbridge College Students’ Association will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in The Cave.
“We’re always excited for New Student Orientation at Lethbridge College,” says Nancy Russell, Dean of Student Affairs. “As one of the first opportunities to create connections with classmates, instructors and the campus, NSO is an integral part of a student’s post-secondary journey.”
Lethbridge College is also incorporating NSO into an exciting new initiative called the First Year Experience program that will be taking place throughout the academic year – and beyond. A key component took place in July and August with Summer Orientation Tours tailored around specific academic areas.
Of the 90 students who completed a post-tour survey, about 95 per cent said they had a better understanding of the first day/week of classes thanks to the Summer Orientation Tour and almost all of them said they felt more comfortable in the college environment. Just over 90 per cent reported they were more familiar with campus and were confident they could find what they were looking for, while the same number of students said they felt less anxious about their first day at LC. When asked if they had made connections with potential peers, about 78 per cent of students felt they had.
“The First Year Experience program is a holistic approach to supporting a student’s mental, physical and social wellbeing while they set goals and gain personal insights,” says Kelly Bari, First Year Experience coordinator. “We’re here to help students as they navigate through their entire first year of studies with a series of more focused, ongoing activities that build on NSO.”
The first day of classes at Lethbridge College is Wednesday Sept. 7. More than 5,000 students, including more than 2,300 new students, have registered for the Fall 2022 semester.
First-year students who haven’t yet registered for New Student Orientation can do so on the Lethbridge College website before Saturday.
Also available before the first day of class, is the New Student Orientation module in the college’s learning management system which provides helpful information and advice from experienced students, details on the technology regularly used on campus, and common post-secondary hurdles and how to avoid them.