Why Orientation?
WSU requires undergraduate Orientation for incoming, degree-seeking freshmen, transfer students and returning or transferring adult learners. Orientation is an important piece to your transition as a new student in Shocker Nation and one that's directly connected to student success.
At Orientation, Transition Mentors will connect you to important people and resources, help answer any questions you may still have about enrollment, introduce you to campus life and help prepare you for your first day of classes. We'll also have lots of fun!
Students starting at Wichita State directly out of high school will have a flexible, multi-phase transition process that begins once you have signed up for a Freshman Orientation program and completed your Enrollment Questionnaire and continues throughout your first semester. See phases below:
In the confirmation you receive after completing your Orientation Reservation and Enrollment Questionnaire, you will see a link to online modules you will need to complete in Blackboard (our online learning management system) PRIOR to attending the Orientation program for which you signed up. These modules will be available May 1, and are a required part of the transition process. The in-person Orientation program will reference material in the modules, which will take about 30 minutes to complete.
If you have already signed up for Orientation and need to find your confirmation, you can click on the "Sign up here!" button below, login, and you will be forwarded to your confirmation page.
Freshman Orientation is a required, in-person, one-day program that will help you connect to people and resources on campus designed to help new students be successful and get the most our of their Shocker experience. Each program will have an optional, separate family/guest program, so we encourage you to bring supporters who will be supporting you in your transition to college life at Wichita State.
Within two weeks after attending Orientation, you will receive a link to the New Shocker Toolkit "course" in Blackboard, explained in Phase Five.
We offer a number of programs the weeks leading up to the beginning of the fall semester for specific populations of students. See a list of options here. The summer 2024 options are currently in the planning stages and a full list will be available in the spring. If you qualify for the Pre-Season Programs, you will receive information at your @shockers email account.
SHOCKFEST is scheduled the Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August immediately before the start of fall classes. We'll kick the weekend off with the Fall Lunch and will have activities scheduled throughout the weekend. Planning for the weekend is currently underway and will be available here in the spring and updated frequently.
The New Shocker Toolkit is a course you will find in Blackboard listed among your other classes. You will not enroll in this course and it is FREE. Information in this course will supplement what you learn at Orientation, and provides a place to find information, resources and services where and when you need them. This course will remain in Blackboard throughout your first semester.
You will be able to access this course in Blackboard about two weeks after you attend Orientation.
Transfer students who have earned college credits from other institutions after high school and those who are adult learners make up a large amount of our new students each year. New Student Orientation is a modified orientation program to help you transition to life as a Shocker.
You will have two options to complete your Orientation requirement. You can attend an in-person half-day program that provides a deeper introduction to what being a member of the Wichita State community means, and connect with people and resources designed to help you be successful and enjoy your experience as a Shocker. If you are unable to attend an in-person program, you will have an option to complete online modules in Blackboard. More information will be sent in the mail and to your email account about both options.
Browse sample orientation agendas See orientation program dates