Higher Education
July 23, 2012
By: Cherise Lesesne
The beginning of fall semester is steadily making its way forth and this week Morgan’s class of 2016 is fueling themselves for the start of school with the ACCESS orientation program. From Sunday, July 22nd to Wednesday, July 25th, Morgan is hosting its last orientation session for in state residents. With a total of four weekly sessions, the Office of Residence Life sponsors a series of events that assists incoming freshman with the cultural and academic transition from high school to college.
Beginning on the Sunday prior to each weekly session, students are directed to check in their designated dormitory rooms from 12pm to 3pm. Once they are settled in for the session, they move into the Murphy Fine Arts Building for the opening program. Welcomed by the Office of Residence Life, the board of ACCESS orientation, and current Morgan students, the freshman class are introduced to the history and expectations of being a student at Morgan State.
MSU Junior Angel Kyler interviews Dr. Tiffany McMillan-Mfume about ACCESS orientation.
Video: Dr. Tiffany McMillan-Mfume's interview
Dr. Tiffany McMillan-Mfume, director of ACCESS orientation, distinguishes the orientation program from others by noting, “What makes ours unique is what we call a cultural transition.” Mfume continues, “We start by understanding the Morgan culture; the more that they understand the tradition and legacy of Morgan, the more likely they are engaged to being successful.”
Like most schools, Morgan demands that each incoming freshman takes the placement exam during the orientation. The score of the exam will then function as a barometer for students as it assesses the amount of academic rigor a student can handle for the upcoming semester.
In addition to class selection, Morgan students get a chance to prematurely enact the life of a college student by eating cafeteria food in the dining halls and camping out in the dorm suites. In order to do so, students are assigned an identification card, referred to as their “bear card,” to access different areas of the campus.
After familiarizing the incoming class with life on campus, the board of ACCESS orientation prides itself for escorting the students around the city of Baltimore to famous sites like the National Great Blacks in Wax museum. Mfume comments, “They rate the museum experience as the favorite part of orientation, just identifying with history in terms of why we have HBCU’s, why they exist, and what is our history as African Americans. Even our diverse students, who are not African American themselves, say they love the museum trip the best!”
With one more weekly session to go, specially designed for out of state students, the ACCESS orientation board continues to put forth an effort to constantly improve orientation for the incoming class. Since the orientation program has been declared as an effective tool of retaining Morgan State students, the board wants to ensure this program can be a profitable foundation for new students.
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Posted By: How May I Help You NC
Tuesday, July 24th 2012 at 11:31AM
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