Issue date: 6/23/09 Section: News

High school seniors sometimes have a hard time transitioning from high school to college, feeling anxious and sometimes intimidated by the new atmosphere. Programs such as EIU Debut help ease those feelings by playing a role in the students' transition from their high school to Eastern.

All incoming freshman are required to attend a Debut day, which serves as an orientation, advisement and registration program. During that time, students are presented with information that can prove to be vital to making a smoother transition from being a high school senior to a college freshman.

Students are able to learn about the academic expectations during Debut day, rather than entering their first college semester with no knowledge about what is required of them to obtain a degree.

During Debut, students and parents are also given information that does not relate to academics, like the uses of Panther cards, financial aid and Eastern's billing process.

According to Kimberlie Moock, director of New Student Programs, there are usually a number of questions from students about the adjustment to college. 'What will it be like to live in university housing?' and 'how do I get involved on campus?' are two common questions that have been asked throughout the years.

"We have a lot of those (adjustment conversations)," said Moock.

The importance of involvement and connections is something else that is expressed to students during their Debut day. Students are informed about different parts of the campus they can go for help such as Career Services and Health Services.

"It's really important for new students to get connected to as many things as possible," Moock said.

Another way the New Student Programs office attempts to make the transition to college easier for incoming freshman is through the students that are selected to be orientation leaders in the Debut programs.

"We look for a well-rounded group of student leaders who have had a wide variety of experiences," said Moock. "We want to make sure we have a well-diversified group of students."

The Debut program, as well as other similar programs, are described as "really critical" by Moock, who believes they play a very important role in the students' success throughout college.

"The more ways we can connect to a student, the more successful they are going to be," Moock said. "Our goal, as in institution, is to make sure we start every new student off to the best of their abilities - with as much information and as prepared as we possibly can."

Moock believes the programs play a major role not only in the student transition to college, but also to the freshman retention rate.

She said the likelihood of a student who attended the program being retained, when compared to a student who did not, is "significantly different."

"Eighty-one percent of our freshmen are back for the fall semester," said Moock. "And that's well above the national average."

There are 26 freshman programs that will run through July 21.

Incoming freshmen are also required to be involved with EIU Prowl, another transitioning program, in the fall.

Spenser Nobles can be reached at dennewsdesk@gmail.com or at 581-7943.