University News

New Student Resources: Student Services at Work

August 16, 2016

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MACOMB, IL -- How do I stay on track to get good grades? What are my responsibilities as a student? How can I get involved on campus?

These are common questions often asked by new college students, and a Western Illinois University committee, comprised of student services staff, came up with a "one stop shop," so to speak, that provides direction and guidance to incoming students. The new site, wiu.edu/welcome, answers these questions and much more, and all new students will be given a Leathernecks lapel pin, complete with the website on the pin's card.

According to Leann Meckler, marketing director for University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS), the pin itself marks the beginning of the student's journey at WIU.

"It is a symbol of their bond with Western and the ethical standards that make them Leathernecks, while the new student landing page provides students with a quick link that includes everything they need to get started and be successful during their time at WIU," she explained. "When a student chooses Western Illinois University, they are a part of a community that provides a wide range of resources. Many people who are here to help them succeed. This page was created to help easily connect our students with those resources, from the very start."

Meckler said over the past few years, student services has been reviewing how to merge publications that new students receive when they arrive to campus as not only were the myriad of publications expensive to produce, the number of pieces could be overwhelming to a new student. In the past, students received a student planner, a calendar/handbook and a residence hall student handbook. Over the past few years, the publications were merged into one piece, which was then given to all new students as they arrived to campus.

"In an effort to reduce costs, while still providing new students with the information they need to be successful, we came up with the idea for this landing page, which can be accessed anywhere and on any device, and with this, the idea of a pin, which was actually brought up a few years ago, to tie in with this new page came up," Meckler added.

She said the group will review the responses to both the page and the pin, and if favorable, they will perhaps design a new pin each year and further enhance and build upon the landing page.

"We want students choosing Western Illinois University as their institution to be proud of that decision, and we continue to keep that at the forefront when making decisions," Meckler said. "We hope that when they receive their Leatherneck pins, they will put it on their backpacks or their jackets, and wear it with pride, and also visit the landing page to explore the various resources and opportunities Western has to offer."

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing