UVI welcomes a new class of new and transfer students with a week of orientation activities beginning Monday, Aug. 18. Orientation, which is a requirement for all new students, begins with residence hall check-in from noon to 7 p.m. on Aug. 18. Formal sessions which bring new and transfer students together with UVI administrators, faculty and advisors will continue throughout the week.
Included in orientation are placement testing, student advisement, registration for classes and campus tours. The goal is to enhance each student’s academic and social adjustment to college life, and acquaint them with the wide array of opportunities the University offers. There will also be an introduction to UVI’s rules and regulations. Special sessions are set for parents to help them understand how best to provide support to their students as they embark on their new college careers.
Orientation will also feature first-ever convocation sessions for new and transfer students on both UVI campuses on St. Thomas and St. Croix. “This year marks the beginning of a new tradition: the New Student Convocation,” UVI Provost Dr. Camille A. McKayle said. She described the convocation as a “formal activity that underscores, for the new students, that this is the beginning of a new phase in their lives – different from high school and uniquely UVI.”
Faculty, wearing academic regalia, will attend, and UVI President Dr. David Hall will present a formal address. The new students will then be “pinned” with specially designed UVI pins designating them as members of the University. “It will be a welcome to higher education,” said Dr. McKayle. Parents and spouses are invited to attend, and coverage by the media is encouraged. Members of the University staff are also invited to attend, and those who wish may also wear academic caps and gowns. On the St. Thomas Campus New Student Convocation is slated at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 20. It takes place on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 21. Both convocations will be followed by welcome receptions for the newly minted UVI Buccaneers.
Formal Orientation Week activities continue on both campuses through Aug. 22. Welcome fairs are planned for the new students on both campuses on Wednesday morning. Other sessions will cover a range of topics from UVI’s library and Information Technology offerings, to campus security, health services and student activities. There will also be individual sessions for international and National Student Exchange students, and others designed to help students learn to better network among themselves.
Complete orientation schedules and information packets have been distributed via email to all students accepted by UVI. All incoming students are also encouraged to keep checking the Prospective Students section of the UVI website – http://www.uvi.edu – to see the latest updates to the orientation schedule and for additional details, such as campus maps, class schedules, downloadable forms and residence hall information. The New Student Orientation page is also available from this direct link.
Fall Semester classes begin on Monday, Aug. 25, on both campuses.