New student programs office requires transfer students to take part in SOAR

The Office of New Student Programs recently updated its policies to require all students transferring to the university to attend an on-campus SOAR orientation program prior to enrolling for courses.

This change, effective immediately, applies to all students transferring from other UW System institutions, with the exception of those participating in the UW Connections Program. Prior to 2007, students had been allowed to enroll without attending orientation.

Campus research, student evaluations and staff experience demonstrate that new transfer students benefit from attending an on-campus orientation program, says Carren Martin, SOAR coordinator.

On the Madison campus, January and June orientation sessions allow the best timing for these sessions. This timing does not require transfer students to miss classes or exams on their current campuses, and UW–Madison has an established process for reserving course sections for students at this time.

Students transferring from UW System institutions will have first enrollment priority by attending one of the Student Orientation Advising and Registration (SOAR) sessions reserved for System transfers only, held ahead of sessions conducted for other new transfer and first year students.

Students will be informed of these priority sessions and provided with instructions for making a reservation via an insert in their admissions packet as well as a postcard reminder prior to registration.

For more, contact Martin at cmartin@odos.wisc.edu or 263-0363.