New Student Services/Family Outreach Renamed to the Office of Orientation and Transition
The New Student Services/Family Outreach (NSSFO) office has officially changed its office name to the Office of Orientation and Transition (OT), effective December 2024.
The name change will move the office into better alignment with and reflect current functions and responsibilities. Previously, students and families/supporters have had difficulty easily identifying the office managing orientation and onboarding processes and resources.
Information about the Office of Orientation and Transition can be found on our newly renamed website: https://orientation.wwu.edu/ and our department email has been updated to Orientation@wwu.edu. In day-to-day conversation, we are adopting the simple use of “the Orientation office” as reference.
In determining the new name, the OT staff conducted a significant Peer Institution Review for state and national naming trends used by similarly functioning offices and reviewed best practices and trends with our national-affiliate organizations and other campus departments.
All campus departments are invited to begin updates now to help the transition move swiftly. In the coming weeks, the OT office and WebTech will work with campus partners to identify and update the myriad of webpages, weblinks, and notations on campus websites.
In addition to the department name change, we are also pleased to announce that Lisa Moeschler has moved into a new role as our first Orientation Navigator. Many of you may already know Lisa, who has served as our Family Outreach manager for almost six years. As the Orientation Navigator, Lisa continues to expand her work to further develop, support, and implement outreach initiatives and communications. She will serve as a support and coach for new students and families/supporters as they complete required onboarding tasks, request connections and referrals to critical services and resources, and seek support with common developmental and transition needs.
Lisa will also continue responsibilities with our signature communications assets, including our annually produced (and award-winning) WWU Family Calendar and the monthly Family Connection e-newsletter (co-produced with WWU Communications). We’re excited to continue and evolve our longstanding partnerships with so many of you as we move forward.
Please reach out if you have any questions or need assistance with how to update your website or communications! Thank you!
Office of Orientation and Transition
360-650-3846