For students from the classes of 2020 and 2021 going to campus this fall, this is a time of excitement, hope and uncertainty. The class of 2020 missed milestones like prom and graduation and were faced with tough decisions about whether to head to college, learn remotely or take a gap year. It was a challenging year for students, faculty and the universities to navigate all the changes based on the little information they had about Covid-19. This fall, many would-be sophomores are unfamiliar with their campus either because they stayed home, took a gap year or were largely taking classes from their dorm room and felt isolated. Those students are very much looking to get oriented quickly to all aspects of college life. For students in the class of 2021, whose high school experience was also impacted, many begin the year with the hope that their freshman experience will be closer to normal.
Colleges understand the considerable frustration and anxiety that students have experienced about missing out on many aspects of normal college life and have responded with orientation programming aimed at welcoming students and familiarizing them quickly with the college. The article below discusses the need for such programming and what some colleges are doing to welcome their students and make them feel at home.
https://hechingerreport.org/sophomores-in-name-only-helping-students-start-their-second-first-year/