The University of Colorado is making big changes to the way it does first-year orientation, including moving much of the information new students receive into the digital realm.

Starting this summer, CU is no longer hosting mandatory, two-day campus orientation sessions for new students. Instead, students and families can attend optional campus visit days and will have access to most orientation materials online.

The change is part of Chancellor Phil DiStefano’s goal to improve student retention and significantly increase the campus’s six-year graduation rate. To do that, he’s asked all campus units to think about ways to improve the student experience and make it more likely for them to succeed academically during their time on the Boulder campus.

“We’ve been doing orientation the way we’ve been doing orientation for a long time,” said Provost Russ Moore. “Really what we’re trying to do now is reach out to the students earlier and communicate with them in ways that young people are interested in communicating.

“A lot of that’s digital. This involves connecting with students via short videos, and providing personalized information that makes it easier for them to assimilate, as opposed to a day-long session where they just get bombarded with information.”

One of the perks of going digital for orientation is that students can revisit the materials online anytime they want, Moore said.

That’s critical for topics that aren’t necessarily relevant to students in June, but become extremely important when they arrive on campus in August, like parking, the student code of conduct, meal cards and campus safety, Moore said.

They’ll get that important information over the summer and again during the week before classes, said William Kuskin, associate vice provost for education innovation. The redundancy is key, he said, to ensuring that information sticks and is accessible to all students, including those with no home Internet access.

Students will be able to videochat with professors, talk to advisors, access discussion forums and view step-by-step instructional videos about the class registration process at CU. They’ll also get personalized reminders and tips via email and social media channels.The campus is modeling its online orientation after similar programs at Duke and Stanford, Kuskin said.

The shift to online orientation sessions over the summer makes way for greater emphasis on a student’s academic success when they get to campus and meet face-to-face with advisors, faculty and staff, Moore said.

“We’ll try to reserve our contact with the students for real information and question and answer sessions, as opposed to using that time for mechanical or transactional things,” Moore said. “In today’s day and age, we don’t need to spend our time doing that. What we really need to do is spend our time fostering that connection with our students and familiarizing them with what it’s like to be successful at a flagship research institution.”

Moore said he wasn’t sure yet of the financial implications of the orientation overhaul, but guessed the campus wouldn’t be saving any money because of the changes. The campus is hoping to invest $3.7 million next year into online and retention efforts, according to a recent budget proposal before the Board of Regents.

If anything, revamping orientation has led the campus to evaluate the way it provides other services and programs, Kuskin said. The campus is implementing a new campus-wide advising system and has plans for other changes to come.

“It’s a powerful opportunity to look at everything we do and make the things we do better,” he said. “Especially in the academy, you have to be willing to reassess the practices that you’ve been doing because otherwise you become static.”

Sarah Kuta: 303-473-1106, kutas@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/sarahkuta