"A petition signed by more than 1,400 people protests a new Cal Poly policy that entering students must enroll in two orientation programs or lose their offer of admission to the university.
But university officials counter that the Student Life Orientation Days (SLO Days) and Week of Welcome (WOW) programs are critical to helping students transition to life on campus and develop the skill set for college success.
Orientation programming includes workshops in personal safety, substance abuse, self-esteem and sexual assault, academic guidance and adjustment to campus life.
The petition says that the university is creating a hardship for working, low-income and out-of-state students, contending they may not be able to afford the combined $365 registration fees and may face difficulty in paying for travel costs." …
I can see both sides of this argument. Certainly, the SLO Days and WOW programs have value, but a public university has to extend access to all accepted students without causing undue financial burden. Hopefully, some type of middle ground can be found to accommodate all students while keeping the core programs in place.
They’ve been around for quite some time. I wonder why there’s now a militant “attend or be banished” approach? Most students do attend WOW and if SLO Days is anything like SOAR was, it’s nice, for the family and the student, but not necessary. Why not simply keep it elective?
The University over enrolled. Forcing mid-summer visits was a method of culling students, basically students who would have hardship coming to campus for un-planned mid-summer vacation. If the program is darn important, than ask all first years to arrive a few days earlier in the fall. Duh…