Departmental Welcome Week activities
Helping new students feel they belong to their department
Departments are encouraged to run a series of events during Welcome Week that provide students with the opportunity to:
- get to know other new students
- meet their Personal Tutor
- meet their Peer Mentor
- meet their departmental administrators
Students tell us that relationships with people in their department are crucial throughout their studies. Fostering these relationships during Welcome Week should help new students to start to engage with their course, while also helping them to build confidence to try out at least one other event being run by the University and Students’ Union throughout the Welcome period.
Department information
Department information should help new students:
- know that each department event is compulsory
- know the benefits of attending
All undergraduate Peer Mentors will also be prompted by the Undergraduate Peer Mentor Team to send personalised emails to their mentees, inviting them to attend their Welcome Events (reminding them of the date and the time). Departments might want to contribute to the content of those messages.
Checklist for each event
- It is interactive and informal.
- It is structured to facilitate interaction eg. ice-breakers.
- Helps students to get to know other students.
- Helps students to get to know at least one staff member.
- Helps students to know the role of personal tutors, peer mentors, and others who provide key support within the department.
- Has a clear focus; not a stand-around event that requires staff and students to make small talk with people that they haven’t met beforehand.
- Provides students with the opportunity to ask questions in a non-threatening environment.
Further information
For more information about the logistics of Welcome, or planning interactive sessions involving staff and students, contact the Welcome Oversight Group belong@essex.ac.uk
