Hi! I’m Nicole.

Headshot of Nicole

I’m a student affairs professional working in orientation at the University of Victoria. Much of my current role focuses on the development and implementation of an online orientation program to support the transition of new UVic students, but I’ve been training and engaging students online for over 10 years now.

  • As a student at Dalhousie University, I was a part of the student-led Orientation Committee for five years. During my last year on the committee, I developed an online training program for our 300 orientation leaders for the first time.
  • During a short stint as the Orientation Coordinator at Saint Mary’s University, I created a monthly email newsletter for new students.
  • While working as the Coordinator, New Student Transition at Queen’s, I created a weekly summer webinar series for incoming students.
  • Now, as the Coordinator, Curriculum and Communications at UVic, I work on an online orientation program for our incoming students.

I’m also currently an M.Ed student studying Educational Technology at the University of Victoria, where I focus on how to develop effective and engaging online learning experiences for students. This focus has, unsurprisingly, supported and enhanced my online orientation work.

Connect with me: Personal blog | Twitter | LinkedIn

UVic’s Pre-Arrival Program

The Pre-Arrival Program displaying on a laptop screen

UVic’s Pre-Arrival Program aims to support incoming students prior to their arrival on campus, helping them to: learn what to expect, inside and outside the classroom, learn what support and services are available, explore some strategies for success, and feel prepared and confident to start at UVic. A pilot of the program was run in January 2019, and the full program launched for the first time in September 2019. The program was well-received by our students, and has also been well received by the orientation, transition and retention (OTR) community, winning several awards:

  • Innovative Program Award, NODA Region 1 Conference (2019)
  • Oustanding Non-Print Media or Emerging Technology, NODA (2019)
  • Innovative Program Award, CACUSS (2020)

Taking Orientation Online

The goal of this website is to act as a comprehensive guide for folks who are interested in creating or redeveloping an online orientation program. The site has two major sections: Explore our program recreates the eight modules of UVic’s Pre-Arrival Program, while Build our program provides evidence-based information about how to design your own program, through a series of blog posts.

This website was created to fulfill, in part, the requirements of the major project required for my M.Ed in Educational Technology at the University of Victoria.