Orientation After the Fire - 2025

In Partnership with NODA

“Orientation professionals are more than event planners — they’re architects of student belonging.”

Jo Turcotte, Membership Engagement Specialist at NODA, opened the webinar with a call to action — reminding us of the profession’s deeper mission.

 

Audience

For orientation professionals shaping student onboarding, this case study highlights 2025’s engagement challenges and capacity constraints—plus VisualZen-powered solutions campuses are adopting for 2026. In 2025, orientation teams faced intense pressure from guest surges, shrinking attention spans, and resource constraints. VisualZen convened a national panel of seven orientation professionals to share their triumphs, challenges, and 2026 plans.

Featured Speakers

Meet the orientation professionals who shared their hard-won lessons and bold ideas:

• Katie Johnston – Director of Orientation and Student Involvement, Christopher Newport University
• Zackary Newman –  Coordinator of Orientation, University of West Florida
• Ty Hollowell – Director of Orientation, Transition & Family Programs, Coastal Carolina University
• Dr. Dennis Wiese – Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, UNC Charlotte
• Daniel Haddad – Associate Director of New Student Programs, Baylor University
• Betsy Staff – Director, New Student Programs and Director, Parent and Family Programs, Binghamton University
• Dr. Joe Thomas – Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, University of Colorado Boulder

Q1 | What held up under pressure this year?

Katie Johnston (Christopher Newport University): Despite logistical challenges like building renovations, unified messaging—rooted in community and student-first priorities—aligned leadership and frontline staff for seamless delivery.

“Our culture is really about community and being students first. And I loved one of the quotes that we got from our survey feedback from our parents that when our vice president is standing on stage giving you a message and the guy fixing the sprinkler outside is giving you the exact same message, you know that there's something about your community and they're being real and authentic with you."

Zackary Newman (University of West Florida): Empowering student leaders paid off, with full retention and enhanced roles enabling them to manage high-stakes sessions effectively.

“The trust we had in our students, our student staff really held up this year... We were able to retain every single one of them. We were able to restructure some of our student staff roles and to give them more hands-on experience and leadership development."

Dennis Wiese (UNC Charlotte): Despite financial constraints, the institution’s commitment to student success and cross-divisional collaboration ensured consistent communication from admission to retention.

“We've been able to see the institution continue their commitment to and continue our commitment to student success and retention... There's been a tremendous collaboration between our enrollment management folks and those on my team more on that transition and retention."

Daniel Haddad (Baylor University): We’ve used VZO for three years, refining our approach each time... Focusing on every moment of the student journey allowed us to prioritize student-first feedback.

"We've used VZO for the past three years. And each year, we just dig a little bit deeper... Being able to think about every moment along the journey for a new student has allowed us to really dig deep with student feedback and have a mindset that we want to continue to put students first."

Ty Hollowell (Coastal Carolina University): New attendance tracking tech delivered accurate data, navigating enrollment challenges for reliable insights.

“This is actually our first summer that we used VisualZen and it was amazing because... we were clearly unable to actually give an accurate account of how many people showed up... So for us, the obvious answer was being able to know who actually attended our orientation programs."

Betsy Staff (Binghamton University): Well-trained student advisors excelled, managing larger groups while maintaining engaging, personal sessions.

“What actually really held under pressure was our orientation advisors, our student staff, the training that they received. They were able to reflect back on their training. They were able to handle the extra people, still feel, have the students feel like it was a small session, even though we know that it was far greater people in the room."

Joe Thomas (University of Colorado Boulder): A swift shift to hybrid in-person programming for thousands held firm, leveraging virtual foundations to adapt and thrive under tight timelines.

"We went totally virtual back in 2017... It set us up well for the pandemic... Now as we've watched student behavior over the past few years, we knew it was time to come back to in-person and we did that quickly... A little over half of our students attended in-person program."

Q2 | What cracked, broke, or revealed its limits?

Katie Johnston: Partners accustomed to routine struggled with logistical changes, like building renovations, revealing gaps in communication assumptions.

"This year was a new roof on our primary building... People were just used to the way we've done it, that rinse and repeat... They're used to, I'm gonna go give the same speech I gave last year... So that was really our challenge this year was a lot of logistics."

Zackary Newman: Feedback showed orientation was too long... We hit a point where students disengaged, especially in our commuter-heavy setting.

"The biggest thing that we saw was from our orientation feedback... Orientation was too long... The thing that we recognized... is I kind of quoted as the attention span cliff, when we start to lose students."

Dennis Wiese: Tight budgets and hiring freezes pushed resources to the brink, forcing tough questions on sustaining high-impact experiences amid ROI scrutiny. 

"It's resource availability and resource strain... Being asked... we're in a hiring... I don't want to call it freeze, but we're limiting hiring right now... Those resource constraints are real."

Daniel Haddad: Virtual sessions fizzled, with lengthy recordings alienating attendees and failing to foster belonging, demanding a fresh, targeted approach. 

"What broke was our student virtual orientation... We saw that just recording 45 minute videos of the in-person experience was not hitting well... They didn't feel like we were catering to them and that we didn't see them."

Ty Hollowell: No-show predictions faltered, locking up space and complicating waitlists in a record enrollment year.

"Not knowing exactly whenever we were able to see like, okay, if we don't know if this person is gonna come, do we have space to actually open up more seats... I couldn't say yes. I have space for you without actually knowing if the people were going to show."

Betsy Staff: A surprise gas main break shattered partner communication, turning check-in into chaos and revealing gaps in emergency protocols. 

"There was a gas main break during check-in where we had to reroute traffic of 450 people... Those partnerships kind of broke a little bit because they forgot to tell the orientation staff... Someone didn't call us."

Joe Thomas: 

We underestimated guest turnout... Unregistered parents arrived, and fire code limits prevented us from accommodating them, leading to negative feedback.

"We didn't estimate correctly and were confined by in physical space... Parents just showed up and said, hey, I'm not registered... With fire code restrictions we just could not do it and got a lot of feedback about that."

Q3 | What’s changing for 2026?

Katie Johnston: Early spring meetings and amplified student leader roles will preempt chaos, building resilience into the process. 

"Setting up meetings over spring break to run through all of our logistics... We really need to have those conversations... And making sure that they're not just focused on their task, but they can view the whole big picture."

Zackary Newman: One-day sessions for commuters will reduce time demands, improving accessibility and retention. 

"We are looking to start to incorporate some one-day orientation sessions... Finding ways where we can make orientation more accessible and more time conscious... Making sure that we're still leaving time available for them to continue on with their lives."

Dennis Wiese: Embracing "do less better" by axing low-impact activities to supercharge proven successes.

"Our chancellor has been nationally prominent on the concept of doing less better... How do we stop doing those things so that we can really focus our time, energy, resources... On those things that are working and that are successful."

Daniel Haddad: Feedback showed students stop watching after six or seven minutes... We’re shifting to 10-minute studio sessions to address that gap.

"We took the feedback... Students stopped watching videos at about the six minute, seven minute mark... Taking those 45 minute videos to 10 minute studio sessions was how we began to address that issue."

Ty Hollowell: A multi-step check-in will ease rushes, track full-day participation, and curb early exits. 

"Looking at the format for how we do our check-in process... A multi-step check-in process... To see like, are we keeping them throughout the day or are they filtering away to go to the beach?"

Betsy Staff: We’re rethinking capacity... Moving from two to three family members per student better meets demand without straining the budget.

"We're going to actually rethink the way that we're handling our capacities... Turns out two is not the magic number. Three is actually the magic number."

Joe Thomas: Locked-in spaces and repaired advising ties will elevate in-person experiences, prioritizing student wins.

"We have the physical space we need... This is a priority for our campus... Now we have another year to make sure that we get this right and get people back on board. And there's a lot of relationships that need to be mended."

 

Q4 | What non-obvious advice would you give your peers?

Katie Johnston: Challenge students with holistic oversight early to forge confident, versatile leaders.

"They can handle more than we expect. They want more, they want to be challenged... Making sure that they're not just focused on their task, but they can view the whole big picture."

Zackary Newman: Your calm presence sets the tone—stay composed to keep everyone grounded during crises.

"Your calm presence might be the most valuable thing that you bring to orientation... If the flight attendants don’t freak out, then I won’t freak out."

Dennis Wiese: Reward the art of subtraction—gold stars for ditching what doesn't work.

"How do you give people a gold star for doing less? How do you reward people for saying, I'm going to stop doing something?... Sometimes stopping doing things is deserving of a gold star."

Daniel Haddad: Leverage data and one-on-one conversations to uncover actionable feedback.

"Not being afraid to dig deep into the data... I spend a lot of time just talking to students and family members... I call every single one of those students throughout the summer to just get to know them."

Ty Hollowell: Tracking no-shows is as critical as tracking attendees... It helps manage attrition and can save significant costs.

"Tracking who shows up is super important, but also tracking who doesn't show up is almost more important... Melt is real... We probably are going to be able to save money if we just absolutely don't have them there."

Betsy Staff: Dare to demand—bold asks unlock breakthroughs you never imagined.

"Take risks. If you don't ask for it, it'll never happen. The worst case is this person will say no... We've been able to do some really great things... by simply asking the question."

Joe Thomas: Cultivate connections relentlessly—they're your lifeline in the storm.

"Invest in social capital... The relationships and the ability to pick up... a phone... To make sure that as problems come up, you know the person who's gonna help you solve it."

 

Q5 | If AI could quietly track one pattern, what would you want it to see?

Katie Johnston: Track Welcome Week attendance and module completion to predict disengagement and enable early interventions with campus partners.

"We really are trying to use AI to help us with the attendance data for Welcome Week... To predict disengagement and provide early intervention strategies with some campus partners."

Zackary Newman: Registration timelines to sharpen marketing precision.

"Track our registration timing... What are the trigger points that students are taking... That might help us be able to better target or better pivot our marketing approaches."

Dennis Wiese: Repeat visits signaling hidden worries for instant, smart interventions.

"A student that's going to financial aid over and over... Probably has some pretty significant concerns... How can we design an intervention that would automatically... Reach out to that individual."

Daniel Haddad: Behavioral patterns predicting attendance to optimize space and budgets.

"If there was a way The AI could help us predict if a student was actually going to show up... Based on a variety of behaviors... That could save us a lot of time and money."

Ty Hollowell: Track if students complete post-deposit steps like housing or class selection to gauge commitment.

"Let me know if they're actually going to be doing all the other things... Did they also sign up for housing... Did they also reach out and select their classes?"

Betsy Staff: Module completion drop-offs for timely reminders to reduce summer melt.

"Module two, module three, dramatic drop off... Some predictive messaging... That both lets the student know... You've got more to do, but also lets us know... These students are falling off."

Joe Thomas: Post-program connections by demographics to refine journeys and ROI.

"These students who went through these various programs... How are they really doing?... I want to know... Did our program do that?... And if it's different for specific groups of students."

 

Watch the Highlights

Dive into a 2-minute reel capturing transformative insights from seven university leaders on orientation challenges and VZO-powered solutions. Perfect for a quick, inspiring glimpse at what’s possible for 2026.

Watch the Full Presenter Videos

Access unedited insights on what held strong, what broke, and their 2026 plans. Click below for individual video clips from each of the seven orientation experts:

• Katie Johnston – Director of Orientation and Student Involvement, Christopher Newport University
• Zackary Newman –  Coordinator of Orientation, University of West Florida
• Ty Hollowell – Director of Orientation, Transition & Family Programs, Coastal Carolina University
• Dr. Dennis Wiese – Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, UNC Charlotte
• Daniel Haddad – Associate Director of New Student Programs, Baylor University
• Betsy Staff – Director, New Student Programs and Director, Parent and Family Programs, Binghamton University
• Dr. Joe Thomas – Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, University of Colorado Boulder

Watch the Full Webinar

Explore every detail from the 1+ hour ‘Voices of Impact: Orientation After the Fire’ webinar, featuring seven expert panelists. Uncover their triumphs, challenges, and 2026 visions, showcasing VZO-powered solutions.