Even though it’s summer, and it is relatively quiet, groups of students are happily making their way around campus. Our incoming first year class is taking part in SOAR (our Summer Orientation and Registration program), and it’s been lovely seeing their interest and enthusiasm about the adventure that awaits them in the fall!

Started in 1984, SOAR was designed to get much of the administrative duties of students’ initial arrivals in the fall out of the way so they can instead focus on their social and academic life when they begin their first semester.

One of the biggest tasks SOAR was meant to accomplish was registration, which is such an important part of the academic experience, but before SOAR, was also a complicated and stressful one for newcomers. There was the thrill of picking new classes, but there was also the anxiety of not getting the classes you need, and the headache of navigating the process.

Furthermore, if we think registration is a headache now, imagine going through registration when there wasn’t a technological system to support the complicated process. Imagine the difficulty of managing enrollment numbers, schedules, classroom spaces, students needs, and instructor needs, all without the assistance of technology. The paperwork involved in early college registration processes must have been a nightmare! Also imagine a process that needs to begin at the same moment for every student happening in a physical location, not online. Chaos!

As you think about your courses for the fall, and gear up for registration, check out these photographs and newspaper articles about what registration used to be like here at Western New England. There were long lines, waits, crowds, and bad feelings all around during the event.

We are certainly thankful for SOAR, and for our current registration system!