Starting to hear the buzz

Fletcher was closed yesterday for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, but we’re back today for a shopping spree.  Shopping for classes, that is.  Students have the opportunity to listen to an introduction that may guide their choice of whether to take a class, and with introductions offered all day, a lot of their questions will be answered.  The day is broken into 50-minute blocks.  During each block, professors give two 20-minute presentations, with the remaining ten minutes available for students to move from one introduction to another.  Registration is ongoing this week, and classes begin for real tomorrow.  (Not every class is included in Shopping Day.  Most of the options are new classes, or classes offered on Monday/Tuesday because those didn’t meet this week.)

Shopping Day isn’t the only activity bringing a little buzz to the building.  Last Wednesday, the new Januarians arrived for Orientation.  In three days, they gathered all the information that it takes us a week to present to fall semester enrollees, and in just a few weeks they’ll be indistinguishable from the students who started last August.  Team Admissions joined the fun on Thursday to lead some icebreakers, including a scavenger hunt.  I don’t want to point fingers, but a few of my Admissions pals are a little over-competitive!

We always enjoy a few quiet weeks to get projects done, but by the time students return from winter or summer break, we’re ready for them.  It will be a treat to welcome them back and hear their updates.  Speaking of which, with the spring semester starting, I’d better speed up the sharing of fall semester updates from the Student Stories writers.  I’m going to dedicate more blog space to them this week and next.  I hope you’ll check them out.