ACC is Ready to Greet Students at the Front Door

This fall, ACC launches the “Front Door Initiative” at each campus to welcome and assist new students during the first week of classes. It’s the brainchild of the Student Life Office, which is organizing all members of the ACC community for the effort.

“The goal of the ‘Front Door Initiative’ is to make sure that students can overcome their anxiety when they come to ACC,” says Student Life Coordinator Tynisha Wooley, who is leading the project. “Each encounter with a student is an opportunity to welcome them. We can grab that chance to make a positive first impression of ACC.”

The “Front Door” refers to every administrator, professor, and staff member employed with the college.

‘Everyone plays an important role in welcoming and retaining students.’

“Everyone plays an important role in welcoming and retaining students,” Wooley says. “In previous years, ‘welcome week’ activities have been seen as Student Life’s, but we really want to broaden the participation and demonstrate what ACC can do as a campus community.”

Each campus has a team of faculty and staff that is organizing its own activities for the week, such as ? with the majority of volunteers assisting on Monday and Tuesday.

“We don’t often get a chance to talk with people outside our departments even though we’re on the same campus,” Wooley says. “This has been an opportunity to network with other people, see what each other is doing, and build an integrated system that benefits students.”

An important part of the “Front Door Initiative” is the creation of the one-referral rule. When a new student asks a question, an ACC representative should take time to explore what they need and direct them to the person best able to assist them.

“Rather than telling the student where the library is, why not walk them there so they have that connection with you and they feel welcomed?” Wooley says. “Especially for first-time students, this will really ease their fears.”

It’s not too late to participate in the “Front Door Initiative” – just contact the Student Life Office at any campus.

“We really want everybody involved – campus police, facilities, administrators, everybody. We want a culture of collaboration with each other and a culture of care with the students.”

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