Help for Getting Your Semester Started

  Feature, News, Update   •

Help for Getting Your Semester Started

NSOThe virtual New Student Orientation (NSO) and Welcome Week that were introduced at the start of the fall semester are returning for the spring.

As new students register, an invitation to the mandatory NSO is automatically sent to them. Conducted on Blackboard, the orientation consists of ten “modules” — PowerPoint videos on topics like financial aid, student life, the college community standards, learning technology, etc. After watching each video, students are asked a question or two about the content they have just absorbed. The online orientation, which takes 90 minutes to complete, is self-paced and can be done in more than one sitting.

New NSO features include more video and music and a “next steps” module at the end of the program that connects students to further resources — including how to get a loaner laptop. Linda McKernan, Confidential Executive Coordinator for the VP of Student Success, was the guiding force of the orientation’s latest incarnation.

“NSO is for new students, transfer students and readmit students,” says Associate Dean for Student Development Manny Lopez. “It’s there to make sure that they get off to the best start possible so they have the best opportunity for success at Bronx Community College.” The first step: go to the NSO webpage.

“Week of Welcome” which runs from Friday, January 29, the first day of classes, to Friday, February 5, features three two-hour information sessions every weekday from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., noon to 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Student leaders will join staff and administrators from student support areas on Zoom, where anyone with questions about BCC and BCC life can drop in. It will be the virtual equivalent of previous years where such sessions were held around the campus.

Included in the week will be representatives from the Academic Success Center, Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, BCC athletics, College Discovery, the Office of Disabilities Services, Evening and Weekend Classes, First Year Seminars, the Male Empowerment Network, Career Development, Personal Counselling, Student Life, the Access Resource Center and veteran and military resources and financial aid. Also on hand will be student volunteers and cabinet members. If no one from these specific areas is available during any particular session, there will be people who can guide students to the solutions they are looking for. Breakout sessions for private, one-on-one advisement will also be available. Student Life Specialist Tiffany Dubon organized this marathon of mentoring.

“Week of Welcome is for any student,” notes Dr. Lopez, ”new, continuing, or confused.” The week is designed to dispel any and all confusion and provide a foundation of information for the semester ahead.

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