This document is a round-up of the DVCA Academic Portfolio Forum held in September 2026. It summarizes the key themes and ideas shared by staff about creating a more connected and supportive onboarding experience for new students, from the moment of offer through their first trimester.
This document is a wrap-up of the DVCA Academic Portfolio Forum held in September 2026. It is intended for staff and stakeholders involved in student onboarding and aims to summarize the key discussions and outcomes from the event.
The first section outlines the purpose of the forum, which was to address the challenge of ensuring every new student feels ready, connected, and confident from offer through their first trimester. It explains that the workshop focused on the entire onboarding journey, not just Orientation Week.
The document then lists the main findings from the workshop, including that students encounter services rather than a connected journey, information is not always usable, and orientation ends before onboarding does. It also highlights the importance of human connection and proactive contact, as well as the need for academic basics to be available earlier.
A section on existing strengths notes that there are strong services and approaches to build on, such as accommodation onboarding, the Student Centre, the Tauranga Hub, and culturally grounded support like Pālu Navigators and Pacific@Waikato. Peer connection and orientation activities are also mentioned.
The final sections present the ideas put forward by participants, such as a single student checklist, catch-up routes, earlier access to academic information, bookable call-backs, and more peer mentoring. The document concludes with next steps, including the creation of an orientation team to review the suggestions and plan for future intakes.