2. Welcome Week briefing for Schools and Institutes
Elena di Mascio
Engagement, Retention and Success

3. Content of today’s session
Overview of Welcome Week 2018
Main changes and developments to the planning of Welcome Week 2019
Room booking process for WW 2019
Use of space around campus during Welcome Week
A ‘model’ WW timetable
Sharing good practice from around Queen Mary
How we can help and support you in your planning.

4. Overview of changes for WW 2018
WW planning group
School briefing sessions
Use of marquee
Standardised timetables
QMplus training in PC labs
WW survey

5. Main challenges in WW 2018 Room bookings
Last minute changes to timetables
Management of marquee
Signage and way finding
Pre-arrival communications
Your suggestions …

6. Developments for WW 2019 WW strategy group WW planning website
Focus on dressing campus
Redeveloping New Student website
Updated room booking process

7. Room Booking process
End of Feb: schools receive spreadsheet End of March: deadline to return spreadsheet to ERS End of June: rooms will be confirmed We can discuss room needs at any point

9. Use of space during WW Access to Great Hall limited in 2019
Particular pressure on Arts2 LT & all large LTs
Use of space for socials
Marquee
Drapers lounge
Foyer space

10. A ‘model’ WW timetable Welcome Talk Programme Information
Meeting Academic Advisor
Enable meeting staff and students (socials)
QMplus training session in a computer lab
Support in Octagon for the enrolment session
This is not a list of things that should not be included – we are just asking you to revisit and be clear what the purpose of each activity is. This is subject specific, as Schools you will know what your students need to know in Week 0, and what could be shared at another time.
It is important that information is relevant to the students at that time.
We should not be spoon-feeding them, but giving them tools
PGT – often overlooked, they have different needs. Could there be collaboration with other schools if your numbers are small?
Campus tour – what is the purpose, often this is the same as what is on open day, but the students’ needs are different
Giving information in a lecture theatre is not always the most effective learning, can it be delivered in a different way (we are happy to support)

11. Good practice from WW
Using Social media pre-arrival to create communities
Real opportunities for students to meet staff
Timetables planned for students
Targeting information for students
Reinforcing important messages
Giving access to relevant information (not information overload)
We know that students who have a sense of belonging to the institution are more likely to succeed (they seek help earlier, and persist). This sense of belonging should start before they arrive. Some schools will start the idea of community by using social media before arrival e.g. a closed Facebook group for students that will be studying together. This activity would need a member of staff, or student ambassador etc. to manage it and lead conversations etc., but can prove to be a useful tool in building a sense of belonging throughout Welcome Week and a useful way to communicate quickly with students. Most schools have recruitment/marketing staff that will have experience with this work – but they are often not involved with the stage of the student journey. The best practice is to use the expertise of staff that are based in your schools.
Students should meet their personal tutor in Welcome Week. It is best if a timeslot is built into the timetable. If possible it is beneficial for the students to know who their tutor is before they meet them; perhaps sending an with the name, photo and brief profile of the tutor. Making this a human interaction from the beginning is more likely to build the relationship.
Students should have the opportunity to talk to staff (not just their tutor). Most schools run some form of social activity, some take their students on a trip, some have quizzes. These all have advantages and disadvantages. When planning the social activity it is important to have the aims of WW clear so you can assess whether it meets the aim. The more senior level buy-in the easier it is to achieve. One School encourages (very strongly) that all staff are present all week during WW; and activities are timetable fro the full week – meetings do not take place etc.
Information should be targeted to the right students. Using tools like mentimeter in talks means that you can ensure that the information you are delivering is relevant to the students in the room. Some schools will give Welcome talks to all students in the school, but then deliver some information in programme/subject area groups to keep it relevant to the students in the room. This is more likely to keep them engaged.
When there are key message that you want students to take on board it is important to repeat these, and investigate whether there are other ways in which to deliver the messages. For example one school has highlighted a key message, and repeat that at the beginning of each lecture for a large module throughout the first semester.
Some students express a lack of confidence in using Qmplus. Some schools offer a training sessions on Qmplus in a computer lab, with exercise developed by Elearning. This active learning is more successful that deliver the concept of Qmplus in a lecture theatre.
For some schools commuting students can feel isolated, one school is tackling that by timetabling tutorial groups so that commuting students do not have such an early start.
Of course through the Review of Welcome Week 2017 we also found some examples of activity that was not quite so successful. We give the students a huge amount of information through WW and before. Some school welcome talks give much of the information that is in the student handbook, as it may be felt that ‘this is the only time we will have them all in the room so we should tell them everything’. However there is no evidence to show that this an effective way of teaching them the information. In fact there is some evidence to show that they do not retain the information when given in this way. We need to give students access to the information, and we would like to find different ways to deliver information when students are more receptive to it. The amount of contact from schools varies massively – some have about 3 hours of contact up to about 20 hours. Some have timetables that ask student to attend one session on a day, when there is little activity on campus. Through the coordinated planning we hope to avoid these issues in the future. All schools have sessions where students can meet staff, but some of these are not particularly successful. We would like to create opportunities for students to interact with staff not just see them. All School WW timetables are formatted differently and some are very hard to decipher. Some are not accessible to all students, or on all devices, and some are missing vital information.

12. Support on preparing your Welcome Week timetable
ERS can support planning sessions or timetable (the earlier the better)
ERS can help checking content of sessions
What support would you like?

13. Any Questions Queen Mary University of London www.qmul.ac.uk /QMUL