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Orientation '98: A Break from the Past

Alberta Lipson

Introduction

Last year, the MIT community debated a number of serious issues having to do with alcohol use, freshman housing, and the orientation period. These issues were certainly not new to the community, having been studied in previous years. However, due in large part to the alcohol-related death of freshman Scott Krueger and other incidents, these issues came to a head and led to a strong effort to improve orientation.

In previous years, the introductory period to MIT was called Residence/Orientation (R/O) and was dominated by residence selection and Rush. This year’s period became known as Orientation ‘98 to signal its break from the past and its attempt to balance the three goals of orientation: (1) to introduce freshmen to the richness and excitement of MIT’s academic life, (2) to start to integrate new students into the community by introducing them to upperclass students, faculty, staff, and each other, and (3) to give them sufficient information to enable them to make appropriate housing decisions.

To document the impact of programming changes on Orientation ‘98, a short two-page survey was given to incoming freshmen on Registration Day. The survey focused on orientation events and housing and academic decisions. A large majority of the freshmen (75%) responded and they were representative of the freshman class population. This article summarizes the major findings, and, where relevant, compares them to the 1997 orientation survey results.

Unlike the orientation programs at many other schools, MIT’s orientation period lasts for nearly two weeks. Not only do freshmen have to become knowledgeable about the MIT curriculum to plan their first semester schedule, but they also need to quickly acquire sufficient housing information to choose their first-year residence. For the purposes of this report, Rush refers to the process of selecting a Fraternity/Sorority/ Independent Living Group (FSILG). Students can choose to participate in Rush if they are interested in joining and/or living in an FSILG. Even though both men and women participate in Rush, women generally do not live in sororities until their sophomore year. Students interested in residence hall living enter a computerized housing lottery where a specially-designed algorithm assigns them to a residence hall. Students can participate in Rush as well as a housing lottery if their preference is uncertain.

There were a number of innovative changes in Orientation '98. The Math Diagnostic was administered by mail, and half the class took the Freshman Essay Evaluation on-line during the summer to make the introduction to MIT more welcoming and less onerous. Opportunities for freshmen to come to campus early and become acquainted were expanded with the addition of the Ocean Engineering and Freshman Service Programs to the already existing Freshman Leadership and Interphase Programs.

On the first day of their arrival, freshmen were greeted with a Welcome Dinner where they dined with faculty, administrators, and upperclass students. For a number of activities, students were broken up into groups of 10 and each group was assigned an upperclass orientation leader who acted as their mentor. Also added were other new programs such as the Residence Midway to give students additional information about residence options, an alcohol education program, and a Science Symposium. In the past, Rush events were the focus early on. This year, Rush started a day later, and the first three to four days included some activities for the whole class such as the Welcome Dinner, the President’s Welcome Convocation, "Contact" MIT (academic convocation), the Science Symposium, Academic Expo, and mealtime events with orientation leaders.

Major Findings

  • Data show some improvement in academic orientation. Compared with last year, higher percentages of students indicated they had sufficient time and information to make informed decisions about their first-year subjects.
  • As Table 1 shows, slightly higher percentages of students in 1998 thought they had sufficient time and information and slightly lower percentages thought it was difficult to select classes for fall term. Some scheduling and programming changes may account for this. The Freshman Handbook was mailed in early May along with the packet the Admissions Office sends to incoming students. Previously, the handbook had been mailed separately in mid-June. Freshmen had opportunities to discuss academic issues with their orientation leaders. In addition, Academic Expo underwent great alterations and became more interactive.

    In both years, two-thirds of the students participated in Rush (1998, 64%; 1997, 65%). In 1998, 83% of the men and 52% of the women participated, while in 1997, 78% of the men and 51% of the women participated. In addition, the percentage of students who visited FSILGs and residence halls and gave them serious consideration did not change at all. (See Table 2.)

    In 1997 and 1998, the questionnaire asked students who participated in Rush if they received a bid from the FSILG of their choice. In each case, two-thirds received a bid from their favored FSILG. Both surveys also asked about the outcome of the residence hall lottery. In 1997, 71% received their first choice and in 1998 86% received their first choice. Since the lottery algorithm did not change, it is possible the Residence Midway gave more visibility to smaller residence halls which may have been overlooked in the past in favor of larger, more popular residences.

    Compared with 1997, higher percentages of students thought they had sufficient time and information to make informed housing decisions. (See Table 3.) A number of changes may account for this pattern, including the new Residence Midway and the many opportunities that freshmen had to discuss housing issues with their orientation group leaders. Prior to 1998, each FSILG sent freshmen their own individual mailing, while in 1998 all residence information was coordinated and mailed in the same packet. One-third or more of the students in both years said it was hard to make a decision. However, students in 1998 were more likely to say the decision was difficult. This is discussed in greater detail later on.

    In 1997 and 1998, women were more likely than men to say they had more time and information as well as less difficulty making an appropriate housing decision. (See Table 4.) This is understandable since men have a wider array of choices which can cause considerable confusion. There were some similarities and differences between men who lived in FSILGs and in residence halls. In both years there was little difference between these two groups with regard to information, but men living in FSILGs were less likely than those in residence halls to say they had sufficient time to make an informed decision. In 1997, both groups found it equally difficult to make a housing decision, while in 1998, men in FSILGs found it more difficult. Increased difficulty might be related to having greater quantities of accessible information. It is also possible that the nationwide focus on Scott Kreuger’s death and fraternity lifestyles may have made what is normally a difficult decision even harder. So, although Table 2 shows similarities for 1997 and 1998, the impact of the past year’s events may have shown up in the decision-making process.

    Women also had greater difficulty in 1998 than in 1997. Perhaps the events of last year affected women who chose to live in FSILGs. (In 1997 and 1998, 15 and 23 women respectively who were survey repondents lived in FSILGs. The response rate for the 1998 survey was 75%, and the response rate for the 1997 survey was 54%.)Women who chose to live in FSILGs in 1998 were twice as likely as those in residence halls to say the housing decision was difficult (52% compared to 27%). These differences between students in FSILGs and residence halls will no longer be an issue in a couple of years, since President Vest has announced that all freshmen will be required to live on campus in the year 2001.

    Men and women tended to be equally satisfied with their living group choice. Since the majority of women are housed in residence halls, receiving or not receiving a bid has little bearing on their satisfaction with their living group choice. Not surprisingly, men who Rushed and received a bid from the FSILG of their choice were more likely to be satisfied than men who Rushed and did not receive a bid. Also, men who lived in FSILGs were somewhat more satisfied with their decision than those in residence halls. (See Table 5.) This pattern of increased satisfaction with FSILG living has been seen in other surveys – the 1994 and 1998 senior surveys as well as the survey of freshman year 1994-95. These surveys indicate that features such as communal dining, good social life, close friendships, a sense of community, supportive upperclass students, alumni whom they considered friends/mentors, and intellectual stimulation were more commonly found in FSILGs than residence halls. Perhaps some of these features begin to have an impact right away.

    In 1997, 23% of survey respondents were dissatisfied with orientation, while in 1998, 10% were dissatisfied. (See Table 6.) A number of reasons may be offered for this decrease. Perhaps the introduction to MIT was a more positive experience because Rush was not the focal point that it has been. Perhaps having an orientation group leader that one can form a relationship with from the beginning helps the adjustment process. Another possibility is that information was more timely and more accessible. The Freshman Handbook was mailed out earlier; all the residence information was sent together in the same packet; the Residence Midway was introduced to provide needed information; and Academic Expo may have been more informative since it contained hands-on, interactive activities.

    Orientation satisfaction increased for males in residence halls, while it decreased for those in FSILGs. (See Table 7.) This may be an indication that other activities besides Rush played an important role in Orientation ‘98.

    In 1997 and 1998, the receipt of a bid from a favored FSILG had a greater impact on women than men, since it did not affect men’s overall satisfaction with orientation while it did affect women’s satisfaction. In 1998, 76% of the women who Rushed and received a bid and 53% of those who Rushed and did not receive a bid were satisfied with orientation. In 1997, 80% of those who Rushed and received a bid and 63% of those who did not were satisfied with orientation. This is an expression of the important role Sorority Rush plays in the lives of freshman women. An important question to be pursued in the future is whether there are any long-range effects associated with not receiving a bid.

    In summary, Orientation ‘98 was associated with a number of positive changes, including giving freshmen better access to academic and residence information, providing them with more time to make a decision, and increasing the orientation satisfaction of men in residence halls, a group which evidenced very low satisfaction last year. But the residence selection decision was difficult for over 40% of the students, and it was a bigger problem for men than women. Having all freshmen live on campus in 2001 should greatly ameliorate this problem since freshman men will only have to choose among ten residence halls, rather than ten residence halls plus thirty-four FSILGs.

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