New Student Enrollment & Orientation Fee (NSEOF)

Since its founding, the University of Washington Tacoma has offered orientation for new students. In 2005, when the campus was getting ready to welcome its first Freshman class, a drastic change to the way new students were welcomed to campus was proposed. Staff recognized that all students needed an opportunity to get acclimated, be introduced to resources available and learn how to be successful at the UW.

A proposal to implement an enrollment fee for all new students, both freshman and transfer, was created to fund this new initiative. It came from the idea that orientation should emphasize academic values, stress the importance of intellectual discovery, value diverse learning opportunities and actively pursue academic excellence.

With the implementation of the NSEOF, the office of New Student and Family Programs was created, with the purpose of implementing and facilitating programs and services for new students. Campus partnerships were utilized and strengthened to ensure students would have the opportunity to meet their fellow new Huskies, discover the resources campus has to offer and register for classes for the upcoming quarter.

Today, the NSEOF funds the office of New Student & Family Programs, which is responsible for coordinating Advising & Registration Days, Orientation Programs, Transition 101 and 201 online courses, and the Pack Advisors. Through the Pack Advisors, NSEOF funds the wages of student employees who work as orientation leaders and peer advisors for Freshmen & Transfer students through their first year. A portion of the NSEOF also funds programs and services that support the persistence of new undergraduates, including orientation and persistence programming for International Students, participants in the Childcare Assistance Program, and students with minoritized identities through the Center for Equity & Inclusion Affinity Welcomes. NSEOF funds also provide partial support for Convocation and we have a New Student Success Partnership Fund for emergent ideas through the school year.

The NSEOF can only be increased through approval by the UW Board of Regents. The fee was $100 from 2006-2019, increased to $159 in Spring 2019, and increased to $162 in Winter 2022. New Student and Family Programs does not receive state funding from the University, but does operate other programs and services for students and families, including a Family Orientation program, that has optional fees.

Utilizing unspent funds from previous years, the approved allocations for 2021-22 exceed projected revenue by $53,474.

Orientation Programs (79% or $289,620)
Programming and staffing (93%)
Student wages (7%)

Pack Advisors (15% or $55,095)
Programming (4%)
Student Wages (96%)

Partnerships (6% or $22,850)

Whole or partial funding of the following programs for all new undergraduate students is provided by the NSEOF:

Orientation Programs

• Advising & Registration Days
• Autumn, Winter, and Spring On-Campus Orientations
• Transition 101 and 201 Canvas Courses
• Childcare Assistance Program Orientation
• International Student Orientations and Support via the Global Affairs Fellows

First Year Success Programs

• Pack Advisors
• Convocation
• Affinity Welcomes

NSEOF recommendations and activities are reviewed by the NSEOF Student Advisory Council and Orientation Advisory Committee. The current Advisory Committee members include:

• Amanda Figueroa (Chair), Senior Director of Student Transitions & Success
• Bonnie Becker, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success
• Deirdre Raynor, Director of Undergraduate Education
• David Reyes, Interim Dean of Nursing & Healthcare Leadership
• Shannon Carr, Assistance Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Services
• Mentha Hynes-Wilson, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs

2021-22 NSEOF Student Advisory Council

• Jake Stroud, Co-Chair
• Halanna Williams, Co-Chair
• Naia Elizarraraz
• Derek Laudino