The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) established standards, guidelines and rating scales to assess 43 functional areas in community colleges and universities. Orientation programming is one of the areas. The CAS mission statement postulated that NSO should help new students integrate into the academic and social culture of the institution, inform students of the institution's educational offerings, and make students aware of the institution’s expectations for success. Parents, guardians, and families must be included in the NSO process to support students’ transition to college. NSO must support the college’s enrollment management and retention plans (Council, n.d.).
Standards of quality orientation programs (OP) under CAS include:
(a) a regularly reviewed mission statement consistent with the mission of the college,
(b) clear student learning objectives identified by various departments in the college to achieve student persistence,
(c) identified personnel to ethically manage and supervise the OP in coordination with various college departments,
(d) sufficient number of graduate degreed staff trained to implement Op who will keep up-to-date with trends in the field,
(e) written practices that align with local and federal laws and college policy,
(f) creation of an equitable, welcoming, harassment free, and accessible atmosphere embracing diversity,
(g) development of relationships with external (e.g., civic, ethnic, transfer institutions) and internal (e.g., academic affairs, facilities, bursar) partners knowledgeable of the in-coming student population and solicit feedback from the partners for improving OP,
(h) reliable funding to maintain quality programming with efficient use of resources in accord with college policy,
(i) an accessible technology infrastructure sufficient to support OP in face-to-face and online environments and a referral system for students with adverse reaction to technology,
(j) accessible, suitable facilities for OP with sufficient resources for maintenance and replacement of equipment, and adequate staff work space with areas for private conversations, and
(k) an assessment plan supported by sufficient funding and staff to assure that OP objectives are met and to provide data for warranted OP changes.
The CAS goal is for every institution to incorporate every standard into the OP plan; however, a number of colleges are only able to incorporate a few standards.
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. (n.d). Role of orientation programs: CAS standards contextual statement. Retrieved from http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/noda.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/Docs/CAS_Standards.pdf
Standards of quality orientation programs (OP) under CAS include:
(a) a regularly reviewed mission statement consistent with the mission of the college,
(b) clear student learning objectives identified by various departments in the college to achieve student persistence,
(c) identified personnel to ethically manage and supervise the OP in coordination with various college departments,
(d) sufficient number of graduate degreed staff trained to implement Op who will keep up-to-date with trends in the field,
(e) written practices that align with local and federal laws and college policy,
(f) creation of an equitable, welcoming, harassment free, and accessible atmosphere embracing diversity,
(g) development of relationships with external (e.g., civic, ethnic, transfer institutions) and internal (e.g., academic affairs, facilities, bursar) partners knowledgeable of the in-coming student population and solicit feedback from the partners for improving OP,
(h) reliable funding to maintain quality programming with efficient use of resources in accord with college policy,
(i) an accessible technology infrastructure sufficient to support OP in face-to-face and online environments and a referral system for students with adverse reaction to technology,
(j) accessible, suitable facilities for OP with sufficient resources for maintenance and replacement of equipment, and adequate staff work space with areas for private conversations, and
(k) an assessment plan supported by sufficient funding and staff to assure that OP objectives are met and to provide data for warranted OP changes.
The CAS goal is for every institution to incorporate every standard into the OP plan; however, a number of colleges are only able to incorporate a few standards.
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. (n.d). Role of orientation programs: CAS standards contextual statement. Retrieved from http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/noda.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/Docs/CAS_Standards.pdf