2. Creating a ‘Student Experience’ Pre-arrival Natasha Black Teaching Organisation Marketing Manager The School of GeoSciences @UoEGeos_TO www.facebook.com/geosciences natasha.black@ed.ac.uk 0131 650 7542

3. How do we want our new students to feel? Included Excited Motivated Valued Secure Unafraid

4. How do we get them to feel this way? Regular, personal communication Regular, formal communication Virtual Open Days Informal online chat sessions …..Get them to do it themselves….!!

5. Empowering our new students Using Wordpress we created a Campaign Site: uoegeosciinductionw eek.wordpress.com/

6. What we used it for One-stop-shop for: Programme handbooks Programme structures Putting faces to names including a welcome from HoS Induction timetables Q+As / Chat wall Going forward Pre-selection of option courses

7. Benefits One-stop-shop for all Induction info Faces to names / personal touch Q+As / chat wall – takes pressure away from Admin It’s easy to use, maintain and update! Gets students familiar with Wordpress / Blogging sites Pre-selection of option courses

8. Fun add-ons Social media /#EdFreshers Chat wall Count down Survey – how students found out about us and why they chose to come Polls – what I am most looking forward to

9. The Stats… August 2014 Views - 3382 Visitors – 574 Views per visitor – 5.89 Sept 2014 Views - 4599 Visitors – 1104 Views per visitor – 4.17

10. Feedback “The Induction website was a great addition to our pre-arrival communications with our new cohort. We were able to hold information for each programme such as pre-reading lists, links to programme handbooks, programme timetables and programme-specific induction timetables. We were able to direct new students to this one site for all of their information needs and we knew they were viewing the most up-to-date material. Whereas before we had to send multiple emails with multiple attachments / updates to documents, we were able to sign post this website and make changes quickly and easily. It saved us a lot of time and meant we had more capacity to respond to more bespoke queries. Its design was really personable and friendly too which was very welcoming to new students. ” Olivia Eadie, Deputy Manager of Teaching Organisation and PG Team Leader

11. Questions…?