Welcome to Orientation – Spring 2023
Orientation is our opportunity to welcome you to the Richmond community and help make sure that you’re ready to make the most of University life when term begins. During the week we will ask you for details, share with you important information about your time with us, and organise opportunities for you to meet new friends.
Orientation takes place in two phases:
- Before you arrive, we will run a series of webinars to help prepare you for your arrival experience and answer any immediate questions about getting started;
- When you arrive, we will offer you a series of in-person and online sessions between 30th August – 2nd September to help you get registered and understand how we can help you make the most of Richmond. These will be supported by an online learning module with all the recordings and additional materials.
Before You Arrive
Before Orientation, we offer all incoming students the chance to meet the key teams you’ll be working with at Richmond, we call our webinars ‘Getting Ready for Richmond’.
Join us on Wednesday 7th December at 16:00 BST on Zoom for our Spring Starters’ Getting Ready for Richmond webinar!
Links to each webinar will be sent to your registered applicant email address the week before the session. Recordings will also be shared in the following week for those not able to join live.
When You Arrive
The UK currently has no Covid-related restrictions, although we do recommend testing before and after you travel to London.
Once you arrive, we offer a week-long programme of Orientation activities to all new undergraduate and visiting students, and an intensive one-day introduction for postgraduate students. These will take place primarily on our Chiswick Park campus (or Leeds campus for RIASA students), and will be supported by a mix of live and pre-recorded online content.
For visiting and undergraduate students joining us from overseas, we will offer an airport pickup service from London Heathrow airport on Monday 9th January which will travel to iQ Haywood House, our student accommodation provider. We will also have student staff stationed in major airports throughout the day to help you prepare for public transport if necessary. Airport pickups are offered on a first-come, first-served basis with preference given to single-term visiting students. To register for your free airport pickup, you must complete the pre-Orientation form emailed to you in advance of Orientation.
Our plan for Orientation week is as follows:
- Monday 9th January – arrivals and residential move-in; welcome from the Vice-Chancellor
- Tuesday 10th January – document checks for overseas students
- Wednesday 11th January – academic information sessions and registration for transfer students
- Thursday 12th January – student life at Richmond and introduction to your major
- Friday 13th January – extracurricular activities and wellbeing
Throughout Orientation, we’ll also be running a range of events and activities for new students to meet one-another. Find out what’s on at store.richmond.ac.uk.
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Review the Campus Orientation Schedule below to find out what sessions are offered during the week. Be sure to save live academic and social events to your calendar.
Campus Orientation will be delivered via a mix of in-person and virtual events. The virtual sessions will be hosted on the university academic portal, Blackboard. You will be added to a Campus Orientation Fall 2020 course in the lead up to the event.
Campus Orientation is an opportunity to get to know the campus and local community better. We will be hosting club and Student Government events, as well as small, socially-distant sessions so you can get to know your classmates. Both staff and student leaders are very much looking forward to meeting you soon!
Have any questions?
Visit our FAQs section for more details about Fall 2022 Orientation.
“We are all so excited to welcome you to Richmond. Orientation is our welcome to the student community here – it’s a great opportunity to meet new people, find out about the support available, and get involved in everything that University has to offer!”
Allison Cole-Stutz
Vice President for Student Affairs/ Dean of Students
ORIENTATION STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
Take a look at your next steps in your Richmond journey.
Step 1: Complete your Pre-Orientation Checklist
Around two months before you are due to start, you will be given access to your University email account. We will send to this account a Pre-Orientation Checklist for you to complete. This is a final confirmation of your attendance at Richmond. (It should only take you a few minutes to fill in!).
Step 2: Access to Orientation
Keep an eye on your inbox!
If the steps within the Pre-Orientation Checklist have been completed and we do not need any additional information from you, then in the days leading up to Orientation you will receive an email invitation to the university portal, Blackboard. This is where we will provide the materials that support our in-person Orientation activities.
If you submit the Pre-Orientation Checklist, but it is incomplete or a staff member contacts you for additional information based on your responses, those tasks need to be completed prior to receiving an invitation to Blackboard.
If you are having any trouble with this, please email studentaffairs@richmond.ac.uk.
Step 3: Log into Blackboard
Once you receive an invitation to Blackboard, log into your account to test it out and make sure you see the Orientation course. You are welcome to explore the content available right away, but please note live sessions and virtual social events won’t begin until Virtual Orientation Week starts.
If you are having any trouble logging in, please email studentaffairs@richmond.ac.uk.
Step 4: Orientation Schedule
Before Orientation Week begins, we will send a personalised timetable of sessions that apply to you to your student email address. These will include a mix of academic and social activities to help you get started on your Richmond journey.
Step 5: Meet Your Student Leaders & Other New Students
Orientation is not just about academics and administrative tasks. It is also about getting to know current Richmond students as well as other new students. We have provided opportunities to do this in a number of ways:
- Peer Mentor Weekly Sessions
- Student Government Sessions
- Virtual Social Activities
- And more!
See the Meet Your Student Leaders webpage and the Orientation Schedule for more information, once the schedule is posted.
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