Student Onboarding: Do’s and Don’ts

Having a good student onboarding experience is an important step that sets the tone for the student’s entire learning journey within the institution. Consequently, if done well, this process can lead to greater engagement, satisfaction, and academic success among students. But if done poorly, it could lead to confusion, below-par engagement, decreased satisfaction, and, possibly, even dropout rates.

Clear Communication

Meaningful communication occurs when the onboarding process fosters transparency and provides clear information about the trajectory of the program – essentially, giving the student concrete information about the curriculum and expectations.

When they fully understand what’s ahead of them, students can establish realistic goals and expectations. However, if there’s an unclear line of communication, students may feel uneasy, perceiving themselves as having little capacity to articulate the type of help they need.

Personalized Welcome Messages

Welcome messages customized for new students provide a sense of comfort and security. Whether by email, telephone, or in a warm meeting, feeling that you are the one that counts begins with taking a personal interest in every student and responding to the needs they have expressed – often before they arrive on campus.

Providing Necessary Resources

It is important that students be given the right tools for their transition: this would involve access to course materials as well as access to academic advising and support services such as counseling and financial support. Providing clear and accurate instructions on how and where they can access these resources is crucial to making their transition an easier one.

Assigning Mentors

Matching up new students with mentors or peer buddies is another way to provide support or help throughout the onboarding period. Mentors can share their experiences of their first days on campus, give tips for academic success, and serve as a source of encouragement through any challenges. These types of mentorship relationships can help establish a sense of community and belonging.

Regular Check-Ins

Regular check-ins with your students – such as via one-to-one meetings, surveys, or quick text conversations – help you track their progress and address issues before they become too great. You can strengthen this ongoing culture of openness by designing courses that encourage students to voice their thoughts and appeal for help.

Don’ts for Student Onboarding

Overwhelming Students with Information

While it’s not helpful to students to withhold the information they require, bombarding them with excessive details of little value may have the opposite effect of what is desired. A better plan is to provide what matters, is most useful presented in digestible bits, and let them take it in at their own rate.

Neglecting Individual Needs

It is essential to realize that each student has an individual background, talent, and learning style; any onboarding process that neglects to recognize and take into account those differences is ultimately one that will make the individual feel alienated and even frustrated. What good is a high-tech landing space if it’s not doing anything to address the specific preferences or needs of individual students?

Lack of Follow-Up

After taking care of the initial onboarding, it’s important to keep communicating with students and checking in on them, to see how they are doing. If, for a particular reason, a learner feels abandoned or ignored, this can result in the student withdrawing from the online environment and becoming disengaged, or even dropping out.

Ignoring Feedback

By listening to feedback, the onboarding process can be continually improved to ensure first-year students are getting the best possible experience – and any they might share can be used by your higher educational facility to grow and develop. Ignoring feedback just stunts innovation.