By Rebecca Wyatt Thomas, OU Web Writer

Orientation and New Student Programs has launched a new system for signing up for Oakland University’s orientation programs and it’s now online. Beginning Oct. 1, students participating in any of OU’s upcoming orientation sessions were able to log on and register, change or cancel their orientation sessions.

The first group of students using the program is the nearly 500 winter admits. This has allowed Orientation to use the system with a smaller group of students before the more than 3,000 will use it this spring for the fall 2008 orientation programs next summer.

“The online system streamlines the way students get information about orientation,” said Sara Webb, assistant director of Orientation and New Student Programs. “The students no longer have to fill out the paper registration forms and rely on us to choose their orientation dates. They don’t have to mail anything back, saving on postage.”

When the students log into the system, the dates for the available orientation sessions are posted and students are able to select their preferred time and date. They can do this up to four hours before the orientation session as long as space is available.

Once the student signs up for a session, they receive a confirmation e-mail along with a link to OU’s orientation guide, which provides information on placement testing, important contact information and deadlines, and an overview of the orientation program.

Since the system launched, Orientation has seen a decrease in the number of phone calls to the office regarding session sign-up since many of the common questions are now answered online.However, the office staff is still available to help students with the system or any questions they have about orientation.

For more information, visit the online orientation sign up Web site or contact Orientation and New Student Programs at (248) 370-GOLD or gold@oakland.edu.