New Coug Orientation Goes Through a Revolution, As a Result of WSU’s Systemwide Reforms

Starting in Fall 2026, the Admissions team is rolling out a reworked New Coug Orientation, one that is tailored to better support incoming students as they take their first steps as new VanCougs. 

The new change comes amid system wide reforms to better align with the WSU system. The first change was to move New Coug Orientation from Student Affairs to Enrollment and Admissions, which is the case at every other WSU campus. 

The updated New Coug Orientation aims to smooth over the process of entry, ensuring that new students leave the orientation with a full schedule, an understanding of what comes next, an understanding of student resources, and to begin to instill a sense of community on campus. New Cougs will now be guided through key processes that weren’t explicitly explained before, including how to get a Cougar Card, a parking permit, their financial aid, and more.

Assistant of New Student Programs Jamie Greene explained that the ethos behind the new orientation is to better support new students’ arrival, and to give them the tools needed to succeed. 

“We want to stay on top of that and make sure that we’re listening to what student needs are and trying to follow the research on that, too, to make sure that we are staying up to date on what the students need most,” Greene said.

One of the flaws of the old orientation that Greene mentioned was that students were leaving orientation without a full course load. She said they are trying to streamline the process so students will have everything they need.

The driver behind the change is a realignment with the WSU system. Orientation at WSUV was previously under the Engaged Learning and Career Action Center, which is now under Student Affairs. Meanwhile, orientation will now be under Enrollment and Admissions, leading to a reevaluation of how orientation is done.

In addition to giving incoming students valuable information and teaching them about resources available to them, next Fall’s New Coug Orientation also aims to give them a sense of belonging and community. 

“Orientation is like much more centered on making them feel like they belong, finding your social group, basically having that sense of community and interaction with your peers”, Greene said.