Auburn's First Year Experience Office released its plans for Camp War Eagle this summer with a mix of 14 in-person sessions with hosts on-campus and four virtual sessions.
The 14 in-person sessions will be capped at 325 people based on a first-come, first-served model and the virtual sessions will be limited to about 150 people, each allowing only one parent to accompany each student.
According to Mark Armstrong, executive director of academic partnerships, the hybrid model of Camp War Eagle allows students and parents to pick the orientation session that is best for them.
“To give students options, we will be offering sessions both on campus and virtually,” Armstrong said. “There will be 14 of the on-campus sessions from late May to late June, with the virtual options largely taking place in June as well.”
The in-person sessions, which will begin May 24, will look slightly different from the typical Camp War Eagle experience students had in previous years.
Advising and registration will continue with the same virtual model from last year. Each college will structure its virtual advising how it deems best, and students will have the support of Camp War Eagle staff and academic advisors during the process of registration.
Students will receive their time ticket for registration on June 25 determined by their orientation date. Students will then register at 9 a.m. on their designated day, from June 29 to July 15.
Additionally, instead of an overnight stay, students will only be on campus at the University for one day, in which Armstrong says they plan to make full use of in order to pack in all the information incoming students need.
“We have a team of camp counselors who are ready for the challenge and who will make it their mission to make all of our incoming students feel prepared and connected,” Armstrong said.
All students will have some virtual portion to their Camp War Eagle experience.
“There will be some work in Canvas … includ[ing] some information that prepares them for their academic advising meeting and prepares them for their orientation session,” Armstrong said.
Despite the changes to Camp War Eagle this year, Armstrong said staff remain hopeful that students will be able to have a good experience while remaining safe.
“I hope the one thing that remains the same is the feeling of confidence students have when they leave a session,” Armstrong said. “Confident that they made the right choice, confident that they can be successful and confident that they understand the resources Auburn has in place for them.”
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