Phase One is now in full swing, with some 20 orientation days taking place this summer. All new students--this year numbering around 3,500 freshmen and transfers--will attend this academic orientation and register for classes.

"On a typical day, we have about 180 students and their parents on campus," said Harrison Greenlaw, director of orientation and testing. "We usually have 200 or so parents."

To the unpracticed eye--or to an alumnus who attended orientation some 20 years ago--it is surprising to see more parents than students at orientation.

"We strongly encourage parents to attend," Greenlaw said. "That's one reason we have a one-day orientation. Just about everyone can take off from work for a one-day orientation. Many schools have a two- or three-day orientation. But with our three phases of orientation, one day works well for us."

"We started to encourage parents to attend orientation about 12 years ago," he continued. "Sometimes, giving specific information to parents is better, and some information is better given directly to the students. Plus, parents want to be in the loop, they want to know what is going on."

"About 40 percent of the time parents and students are separate during orientation, and about 60 percent of the time they are together," Greenlaw said. "We offer information and development sessions for the parents, but not campus tours. About 90 percent of our students and their families are already familiar with our campus, so we spend this time getting them ready to start classes."

Greenlaw likes to describe the orientation process as a triangle. "The university, the student, and the parent each form a side of the triangle, and each must do their part for the student's success here. Most of the time, with the parents involved, the student will be more successful."

Orientation begins for everyone at the Koger Center. After an initial welcome, information packets are distributed and everyone heads to the Russell House. Students get to practice walking across campus, something they will do a lot in the next four years; parents get to ride a bus.

At the Russell House, counselors talk with students and answer questions about the university. Lunch is served, and students can meet and talk with each other. Parents catch up with their children here and many take this time to compare notes. Then it's off to the Information Fair in the Russell House lobby, where students learn about on-campus parking, student organizations, and student services.

When the students go to their respective colleges for advisement and registration, their parents go to the financial aid office, or the library, or the Career Center. A final step for the families is to fill out an orientation evaluation form.

"The evaluations that we get from both parents and students about our orientation are overwhelmingly very positive," Greenlaw said. "Many parents say, 'This is my third, or even fourth, child in college. We've been to all their orientations, and this is by far the best'."