In 2021, administrators floated the idea of a hybrid option, but due to lasting effects from the pandemic and budget cuts, the program was temporarily set aside.

This year, MSU will attempt to reintroduce in-person orientation through Spartan Welcome Days. The pilot program will host around 1500 transfer and first-year students for one-day orientations on June 15 and 16, and June 22 and 23.

Portia Watkins, assistant dean of transitions and transfer student success, serves as the head of the pilot program. Watkins said she is excited to welcome new students to campus through the program, saying that it has been a long time coming.

"This gives us an opportunity to bring students to campus a little bit sooner, as well as engaging with families and supporters," Watkins said. "I'm looking forward to reengaging with MSU's campus."

Some students will start the day with advising, while others will start the day with new student orientation. Students will also have the opportunity to stay the night prior to their program start date. 

During NSO, students will spend half the day with getting information about housing opportunities, wellness and public safety. From there, they will be separated into small groups where they will spend time with student coordinators before a break for lunch. After, students will go to their respective colleges to get their advising and enrollment plans.

There are seven MSU colleges participating in this year's pilot program: James Madison College, the College of Social Science, the College of Education, the College of Natural Sciences, the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, the College of Arts and Letters and the Office of Undergraduate Education.

According to an Instagram post from MSU NSO, students must complete their New Student Orientation D2L module to register for the program. Once completed, students can register for their in-person date using their CampusESP portal.

"With it being such a small pilot, we are just wanting to see what we can get with students that are interested in those colleges," Watkins said.

Once the summer program is concluded, Watkins will gather and analyze information about what things went well, where there are opportunities for growth and opportunities to scale the program up for later use. 

Watkins is hopeful that the program will provide the necessary information to be able to move forward with restoring orientation in person.

"We don’t know if this is the final model of what something will look like, but this will give us a great starting point to see what we would like to do moving forward," Watkins said. "Its really important for us to be able to enhance what we’ve already had regarding orientation."

MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz told The State News in March that transitioning to in-person orientation "may be an uphill battle."

"We want to provide that opportunity for everyone, so it may be that we’re going to need to raise some resources for students that live across country...so there are certainly logistics to figure out," Guskiewicz said.