With almost 100 Welcome Week events, the Office of First Year Experiences tried to make it a little easier for students to find programs that interest them.
To encourage students to attend different programs across campus, FYE created a new program titled Experience IU. The program begins during Welcome Week and will run throughout the year.
As part of the program, FYE created a new app to help students navigate their first year. The app, titled “Experience IU,” includes a schedule maker, a GPS and map, and a lineup of events. It also sends push notifications with changes to events and weather alerts.
Sarah Nagy, senior associate director at FYE, said the goal of the app wasn’t to create a new program but to help students attend the events already on campus.
“The big conversation was how do we get students to participate in things that are already occurring,” Nagy said.
Lily Oyarzun, assistant director at FYE, said she hopes students can find something that connects with them during Welcome Week.
“My goal and hope is that this app can help get them there,” Oyarzun said.
Although paper materials can be useful, Oyarzun said a smartphone is much more accessible to students.
“We know printed materials can be harder to keep track of,” Oyarzun said. “The app could potentially make people feel more comfortable.”
Recent IU transfer students Ashima Pal and Ramya Chunduri found they preferred an app to a paper map.
“We’re all on our phones all the time anyway, so having an app is much easier than just using a map to get around,” Pal said.
When creating the Experience IU program, Nagy said she worked with campus partners to identify which programs would be the most beneficial for first year students.
“We’re working hard not to overwhelm the students and include absolutely everything, but kind of give them a snapshot of what’s available in each area,” Nagy said.
There are five different categories of events: Engage in Service and Leadership, Explore Academics and Careers, Embody Health and Wellness, Experience the Arts, and Embrace Inclusivity. Students are encouraged to attend two programs in each of these categories. At each event, students will swipe their IDs to prove they attended. Information on who attended which event will also be available on beinvolved.indiana.edu, a website that student organizations use to help students become more involved on campus.
Students will receive incentives after completing three, five and seven of these 10 programs. If students complete all 10, they will be invited to a reception at the end of the year.
Nagy said the idea of the program is to help students explore new interest areas, meet new people and go to events they might not have otherwise.
“We thought that if we could package them into one, instead of having all these piecemeal pieces as well as not recreate the wheel, because we have so many wonderful partners and things happening on campus,” Nagy said.
They will be continuing to add new programs to Experience IU as they become aware of them, Nagy said.
“We’re going to learn as we go,” Nagy said. “We’re going to make adjustments as we need to.”
