UC Welcomes New Students To Summer Orientation

UC’s newest students are about to register for classes, learn about the requirements of their academic programs and find out about the services that UC provides to help them succeed in college. During the two-day summer Bearcat Bound Orientation, parents will discover how to stay involved in their child’s college experience. UC’s Bearcat Bound Orientation begins June 24 and runs through July 30. Orientation check-in begins at 7:30 a.m. on the third floor of University Pavilion.

Orientation programming has grown from 16 sessions to 19 sessions this year to accommodate UC’s growing class of first-year students. “UC’s freshman class was the highest in a decade last year, bringing in more than 4,700 students in fall 2003,” says Mitchel D. Livingston, UC vice president for Student Affairs and Services.

UC’s Office of Admissions is reaching out to prospective students through a popular pastime of today’s high school student: the Internet chat room. By chatting online with a UC student, the “Bearcat Chat” sessions allow high school students to find out what UC is like from the student’s perspective. Tom Canepa, assistant vice president for Admissions, says frequently asked questions center on campus life issues such as living in the residence halls, parking and food services.

Campus life and campus learning are at the center of UC’s new MainStreet corridor –celebrated last spring as the first phase of the project opened to students, faculty and staff. UC’s incoming freshman class will have many orientation sessions in the newly renovated Tangeman University Center (TUC). “MainStreet is the fulfillment of a dream going back seven years when we asked students what kind of campus environment we should create,” says Livingston.

Bob Tackett, director of MainStreet operations, says MainStreet will be rolling out the welcome to new students and their families. Students at orientation can see free movies in the new TUC Theater at 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on the weekends. They’ll also receive coupons for free popcorn and discount coupons for TUC’s new 600-seat Food Court that has a Gold Star, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, Freshens and Tortilla Fresca.

Tackett adds that parents can also experience the excitement of MainStreet during the second day of their child’s orientation. A wine and cheese tasting reception, sponsored by ARAMARK Food Services, will be held for parents from 2-3:30 p.m. in Mick & Mack’s Contemporary Café. During that time, the students will be attending a bookstore open house in TUC.

Orientation is a new student’s first opportunity to build connections with fellow peers. Sarah Leggesse, director of Orientation, says these students will renew those friendships again in the fall during Welcome Week. Leggesse adds that new students also build strong ties with their Student Orientation Leaders (SOL) – current UC students who have undergone special training on orientation sessions and on advising new students about how to succeed at UC. Leggesse says 30 Student Orientation Leaders, as well as four Student Orientation Coordinators – former SOLs who play more of a supervisory role in Orientation – will be guiding groups through Bearcat Bound Orientation this summer.

UC’s fall quarter begins Sept. 22. Admission to UC and financial aid opportunities are still available for fall quarter, but prospective students need to act quickly for the best selection of UC programs and college courses. For information about applying to UC, check the Admissions Web site at www.admissions.uc.edu or call 513-556-1100.