Conceived and executed by Assistant Director of Communications Lendon Ebbins in fewer than three months, the Pre-Orientation microsite provided 716 incoming first-year NYU Stern undergraduate students with a frictionless onboarding experience. Fast-tracked in response to real-time COVID-19 developments, the platform’s content spanned the five pillars of the NYU Stern student experience (Academics, Global, Social Impact, Professional, and Community) and included videos, written content, and quizzes featuring leadership, faculty, students, and staff across NYU and Stern. 98% of students completed Pre-Orientation, and 90% of students agreed that as a result of Pre-Orientation, they know more about the resources available to them, and 94% agreed that they know more about the expectations associated with NYU Stern’s five pillars. The Pre-Orientation experience strategically launched the week before Orientation—ramping them up with important information and resources before the virtual Orientation (due to COVID-19) took place, with a focus on community building.
From the Judges
The first-year experience looked very different for millions of students last year, forcing universities to quickly adapt to virtual onboarding. NYU Stern was the best one we reviewed, thanks to intensive user and comparative research, and diligent project management of numerous subject matter experts and stakeholders across the organization. The team managed to create a focused, digestible, easy-to-navigate onboarding experience that felt relevant and useful, and did so under an extremely tight timeframe. The metrics spoke for themselves: 98% completion rate and 90+% satisfaction with the pre-orientation content.
