Welcome Day 2009

Welcome Day 2009 is in the books. This was my fifth Welcome Day as a student/staff member and if you include my Welcome Day from 2004 it was my sixth. This Welcome Day was filled with the excitment of welcoming a new class with the sadness of it being my last. In my six years I have learned a lot about Welcome Day, let me share a bit of what I have learned so far.

What is Welcome Day, and why is it important. Welcome Day is an event designed to welcome newly accepted students. It can be a yield event for students who have not deposited and a retention event for those who have put down a deposit. This distinction though is becoming more difficult as more and more students put down multiple deposits. Nonetheless, a day for accepted students is important to showcasing the transformation the institution is capable of facilitating

To do this most successfully, the school must showcase the work of students and the students themselves. It is one thing to hear about what is possible from an administrator, it is another thing to see what a school has done for a student in their own words. It is also critical for the students who do have public roles in an event like this to be as varied as possible so that most students can find someone during their day that will make them feel like they could be that person someday. Some critical areas for student participation: tours, student life, college and major presentation.

At UMass Boston I have found it is sometimes difficult to get student organizations to participate in this event. In my experience selling why the event helps. Something we have not done as of yet but should consider is requiring a club to send two members in order to have club status.

Weather too plays a big factor in the events success. If it is too sunny, some people will stay at home enjoying the first nice day of spring. If it is too rainy, people will stay home preferring not to venture out. The idea weather is overcast, not too sunny, and not too rainy.

Something we tried this year which was a great idea was a customized novelty. At the Student Organization fair new students could have their photo printed on a puzzle with the slogan "You Fit Here." It was a great and clever message, however, it did not always have a line. It seemed to me students were shy about taking a photo, some refusing because their parents would have to be in the photo. Perhaps this would be better at orientation when students could have their photo taken with their new UMass Boston friends. Ignoring the specific novelty, the idea of a personalized giveaway was great.

I look forward to seeing a Welcome Day next year at a new institution, nonetheless I will miss the event that convinced me five years ago that UMass Boston was the fit for me.