Family and Friends Orientation

What is Family and Friends Orientation?

Family and Friends Orientation at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is designed to help you, a family member or friend of the student, understand more about what UCCS has to offer your student and what you can do to help your student. This orientation is separate from your student's orientation and is meant to best assist you with your own unique questions and concerns related to having your student go to college.

Our friendly staff will lead you through your day and answer any questions you have during orientation. Your orientation and your student's orientation will run during the same time frame. We will help you to meet back up with your student at the end of the day.

You do not need to register for Family and Friends Orientation. Your student should list how many guests he or she plan on bringing on the student reservation form. Please note that no more than two guests per student are permitted due to space limitations. If your student needs to bring more than two guests please call 719-255-3098 for details.

Family and Friends Orientation Checklist

In order to ensure that you are prepared for Family and Friends Orientation please complete the following items prior to arriving on campus:

1. Talk with your student about what you have questions about. Your student might already know the answers to some of your questions.

2. Think about joining the Parent's Association. This group offers many tips and insights to parents at UCCS. It is an excellent resource for you when you have questions or concerns about your student.

3. Be prepared to spend a majority of orientation away from your student. Helping your student to be independent is difficult. We understand this. We also know that you cannot be with your student in classes. To help your student begin to learn the UCCS campus and meet other new students we separate our student and parent orientations so that each of you can learn what you need to learn to be prepared.

4. Remind your student to do everything on the student checklist. Transfer, freshman, and military and veteran students have different items they need to take care of prior to orientation. If your student needs help, call the Orientation Office at 719-255-3098.

5. Relax! Orientation is busy, but it's a fun day for you to learn more about your student's new school. We will do our very best to make sure that when you leave UCCS you will feel confident that your student made the right choice to attend here.

Family and Friends Orientation schedule

Please note that this is a sample schedule. Your actual schedule may be slightly different. The Freshman Family and Friends schedule is first, followed by the Transfer Family and Friends schedule.

Freshman Family and Friends Orientation Schedule

Check-in and Breakfast
Pick up your orientation materials and enjoy a bite to eat on us!

Welcome
We start your morning off right with an introduction and warm welcome from our Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Enrollment Management, Homer Wesley.

Now that your student is a Mountain Lion
This presentation will cover a variety of topics, including an overview of the day, information from the Financial Aid Office and Student Financial Services, and what your student can do with their Lion One Card.

10:00-11:00a College Academics 101
Ever wonder how your student will be able to complete all the credits before graduation? We will take a few minutes and talk with you about our Student Success Office advisors and briefly discuss with you the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and what this means for you as a parent or family member. We will conclude with our Director of Freshman Seminar talking with you about our amazing Freshman Seminar class and what it can do for your student.

Break and travel time An OWL will lead you to the next location
After a morning full of presentations we will have a short break and then take you to Centennial Hall where we will continue with Parent Orientation. Staff will be around to guide you to the next location

Public Safety
Director of Public Safety Steve Linhart will talk with you about how your student can stay safe on campus.

Student Panel
You will be able to ask questions and hear from current UCCS students about their experiences here at UCCS.

Now that you're the parent of a college student & questions for the way home
Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of your student? Or what to do now that your student is no longer in college? Assistant Director of First Year Experience, Ellen Pettijohn, will talk with you about what you can expect from your new college student and help you think of questions to ask while you travel home.

Travel to meet with students An OWL will take you to your student(s)
During this time staff will accompany you to meet up with your college students prior to the next activity.

IDs (with students)
A staff member will take you to meet your student and then there will be time for your student to obtain a Lion One Card.

Lunch (with students)
Enjoy a delicious Mexican meal provided by Sodexo catering. Faculty and staff will be joining you to talk with you about UCCS.

Breakout sessions
During this time a variety of breakout sessions will be offered on topics about UCCS. Descriptions for these breakout sessions, along with time and room number are listed on the back of this sheet. Each session will be 25 minutes long with a five minute break afterwards. At the end of the breakout sessions we will have staff available to guide you to meet back with your student's group.

Brief campus tour (with students)
A staff member will again take you to meet your student and then your student's OWL will guide you on a short campus tour.

Resource fair, campus tours, Math Placement test (with parents and families)
You will end your day with the chance to ask any unanswered questions to office representative at the resource fair. Extended campus tours will be going on during this time and will be announced in the Upper Plaza prior every 10 minutes. The Math Placement test will also be available during this time. If your student needs the Math Placement test talk with an OWL about its location.

Future Mountain Lion Resident Info
Interested in on-campus life? Meet with Residence Life staff and learn about the different room types, application process, and see a tour room.

Breakout Sessions

Campus Resources
Want to learn more about all the different resources available to your student while they attend UCCS? Hear from a panel of members from the Student Health Center, Counseling Center, Parking and Public Safety, IT and Helpdesk, and Bookstore about all the services they offer students.

Money Matter Part Two
Still have unanswered questions about paying for your student's tuition, or student loans, scholarships, and more? Stop by this session and have time to talk with members of the Financial Aid Office and Student Financial Services/Bursar's Office.

Academic Resources
Concerned that your student might need extra help with classes? Come to this session on academic resources and hear about our Centers for Academic Excellence, First Year Experience Office, and tutoring opportunities for your student.

Getting Involved at UCCS
With over 200 club offerings, a variety of entertainment opportunities, including large-scale concerts, significant speakers, comedians, mentalists, illusionists and the like, UCCS provides involvement opportunities for everyone! Add to that many outlets for leadership development, and you have a robust student experience that promotes exploration, creativity, character development and fun! Join Brad Bayer, Executive Director of Student Life and Leadership, as he shares information about all the unique and engaging involvement options at UCCS.

 Tour the Recreation Center
Want to see where your student has the opportunity to stay active while on-campus? One of our Orientation Welcome Leaders will walk you to the Recreation Center and show you around inside. We have gyms, pools, workout equipment, and a rock-climbing wall. Due to the distance of the Recreation Center from the University Center, this tour will take two sessions to complete.

 Tour the University Center
The University Center at UCCS is a hub of student life. In it we have the dining hall, coffee shop, Office of Student Activities, MOSAIC office, Copy Center, meeting rooms, Clyde's, pool tables, Ent, Information Desk, and much more! Join us as one of our Orientation Welcome Leaders takes you around and shows you what your student can do between classes.

Transfer Family and Friends Orientation Schedule (times will vary)

Check-in time & Resource Fair
Intro: Campus Resources & Student Health Center
What you can do with your Lion One Card
Money matters
Public Safety
Student Life
Families and Students split
Transitioning to Transfer: How to continue to help your student help themselves (Parents and families only)
Student Panel (Parents and families only)
UCCS Academics: Advising, FERPA, how classes transfer, how to purchase books, etc. (Parents and families only)
Now that you're in the Mountain Lion family (traditions, Parent Association (Parents and families only)
Break (Parents and families only)
Campus Tour
Get IDs