Rites of passage set the stage for a stellar school year


Even before students cracked open a book or cranked up their laptops for the start of classes Aug. 20, many had already participated in activities intended to set the stage for a great academic year.

For about 250 freshman, Panther Camp offered three days of meeting new friends, learning about FIU and building school spirit. FIU organizes the gathering – which took place three times during the summer in Lake Placid, Fla., about 150 miles from Miami – to help ease students into college life by promoting campus involvement, which can lead to greater overall contentment and higher academic achievement.

New Panthers become fast friends at camp.

“Not only are students more excited to be at FIU, but they have found the support networks they need as a result of the Panther Camp program,” said Marc Mobley, assistant director for Orientation and Parent Programs. “Students make connections with other entering students, the students leaders who are running the program and the numerous university staff members who participate as advisors. By alleviating these transitional concerns, the students are able to jump right into the university and take advantage of everything it has to offer.”

Freshman Shelly Baeza found the program a springboard for success.

“Without Panther Camp, I can’t even imagine my FIU experience,” she said. “I gained confidence, advice, support and friends.”

For the first time, transfer students could participate in a camp just for them. While many might not at first recognize the value of such an activity, coming as they are from another college or university, explained Amy Woltman, interim director of Orientation and Parent Programs, acclimating them to FIU can ensure that they get started properly from day one.

“We’re just leading them in the right direction,” she said. Campers learned about resources available on campus and where to go for help and answers.

That type of hand-holding went a long way for Rebecca Reyes, who transferred from the University of Central Florida. Initially reticent to attend but convinced to go by Woltman, she found the information and the overwhelming friendliness of the facilitators a great introduction to FIU.

“I didn’t feel even a quarter as comfortable [starting at her previous university] as I do coming to FIU,” she said, attributing the easy transition to her camp experience. “The minute I stepped foot on the FIU campus, I was, ‘This is where I belong.’”

Another important area covered during transfer camp: understanding how many credits and which courses students still need to earn an FIU degree. Each camper received a printout of his or her personal Panther Degree Audit, which listed previous courses for which FIU accepted credits and the names of courses to be taken at FIU.

The Panther Degree Audit is an important record of academic progress for all FIU students as they work toward degrees. University officials hope that the real-time reports, which students can review online, will help them to graduate in a timely fashion.

FIU has renewed efforts to encourage students to complete their undergraduate coursework within four years of matriculation, including making available more academic advisers. Studies show that students who take longer to complete degree requirements often get discouraged or otherwise derailed and, consequently, never graduate.

FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg delivered that message and, along with other university official and student leaders, gave incoming students a rowdy FIU welcome during Freshman Convocation, a ceremony held on the day before classes started.

“Tomorrow the great stuff begins,” he said later at a celebratory barbecue for students and families.  “Go Class of 2016.”