2025 is underway and the winter semester has begun. For many, this week marked the start of their BYU experience. Though BYU Continuing Education (BYU CE) is not associated with the New Student Orientation held on BYU campus for matriculated BYU students, many BYU CE programs offer services to help new students as they adapt to their new experiences and environments.
FlexGE
BYU Continuing Education is home to the FlexGE program, which allows students not formally admitted to BYU to take classes for BYU credit and participate in campus life, events, and activities. This semester, FlexGE welcomed another group of incoming students.
“When I first started here, [FlexGE] didn’t have any new student orientation,” says Clint Payne, manager of the FlexGE program. In September 2022, FlexGE created their own new student orientation exclusively for FlexGE students. While this was a huge step in the right direction, some challenges remained. “Our FlexGE students often lived with matriculated BYU students and at times felt a bit left out,” Clint explains. This led to the BYU Office of First Year Experience agreeing to allow FlexGE students to participate in on-campus New Student Orientation (NSO) starting in the 2023 Fall semester.
Being a part of the same new student orientation as matriculated BYU students has allowed BYU FlexGE students to feel a greater sense of belonging. Additionally, they still have the opportunity to receive FlexGE specific orientation during the portion of NSO in which matriculated BYU students are divided into their University 101 classes. “It’s the best of both worlds,” Clint shares.
BYU Online High School
In addition to the college freshmen who began their BYU educations, BYU Online High School (BYU OHS) welcomed almost 20 new freshmen this semester. Whether it’s college or high school students, BYU Continuing Education is doing everything it can to help orient and guide new students.
In the two years since Jennifer Chamberlain became principal of BYU Online High School, many efforts have been made to improve the new student experience. From weekly newsletters in the weeks leading up to the start of school to informational video calls for parents, BYU OHS seeks to answer the questions of each student and their parents and to provide the needed support. Before the 2024 fall semester, BYU OHS also began having an online orientation day on Friday before the Monday when classwork begins.
These changes have allowed the BYU OHS staff to have more communication with students and their parents prior to the start of classes, ensuring that the questions and concerns of each new student are resolved as they begin their BYU education. “It has been life changing for the students,” says Jennifer Chamberlain, witnessing the difference the BYU Online High School’s new student orientation has had.
BGS
Many who will begin taking classes through BYU this year are not “new” students in the traditional sense but rather returning students. BYU’s Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) program allows former BYU students who never graduated to finish their degree through BYU Independent Study. For these students, there is no new student orientation, but that doesn’t mean they’re left to figure things out on their own!
New BGS students are required to take the Student Development 100: Essential College Skills course. This class is designed to help prepare students for the challenges presented by online classes. “[BGS] students do have college experience, but they may need a reintroduction or a brush up on skills. [The course] teaches time management and different study skills... it helps [students] learn to be more successful in Independent Study classes,” says Matt Greene, Program Manager of the Bachelor of General Studies program.
Conclusion
The beginning of the 2025 Winter Semester is an exciting time for all, especially those who are new to BYU. BYU Continuing Education is happy to be helping new students of all varieties as they orient themselves with lifelong learning.
