Many institutions struggle to translate early student excitement into lasting involvement, especially during the critical first 90 days on campus. It’s key to look at how structured onboarding, identity-affirming experiences and continuous personalized communication can significantly shape students’ long-term connection to their institution. In this interview, Romando Nash discusses the emotional drop-off students face after orientation and the critical role of personalized communication in driving sustained engagement.
The EvoLLLution (Evo): How have you personally seen structured onboarding programs influence students’ sense of belonging, especially within the first 90 days of being on campus?
Romando Nash (RN): Structured onboarding in the first 90 days is crucial for building student belonging. It helps students form early relationships. Often, just one meaningful connection can anchor them to the institution. These programs also offer guided exposure to campus culture, empowering students to navigate confidently rather than feeling lost or overwhelmed.
Beyond logistics, structured onboarding provides identity-affirming experiences through clubs, orgs and affinity spaces, allowing students to see their values reflected in campus life. Personal touchpoints, like administrators serving food at welcome events, humanize the institution and build trust. This all contributes to stronger engagement, emotional investment and ultimately better retention.
Evo: What are the biggest challenges when bridging that gap between the initial excitement and ongoing student involvement during onboarding, and how can institutions overcome those challenges?
RN: One of the biggest challenges after orientation is what I call the post-excitement drop-off—when the rush of welcome events fades and students suddenly face the reality of campus life. Overloaded with information early on, students often feel disconnected without continued engagement. To address this, institutions should use a drip approach, sharing bite-sized updates via apps, emails and social media to keep students informed and involved.
It’s also crucial to create early personal connections through affinity groups, clubs and peer-led storytelling. Student leaders can help set realistic expectations and ease the transition by sharing authentic college experiences. Institutions must also break away from passive engagement models and offer interactive, flexible and inclusive options across times, modalities and departments. Recognizing students’ competing priorities, from work to family, means designing onboarding that meets them where they are and operates as a coordinated campus-wide effort.
Evo: How does more personalized communication during onboarding impact student persistence and retention?
RN: Personalized communication during onboarding significantly boosts student engagement and retention by making students feel seen and valued as an individual. Generic messages are easy to ignore, but when outreach reflects a student’s interests—like a follow-up from a club they signed up for—it builds connection and relevance.
That sense of belonging is especially powerful for marginalized students and can help reduce summer melt and early dropout risk. Personalized nudges, reminders and behavioral check-ins between admission and enrollment keep students engaged during critical transition periods. Even small touches, like messages saying, “90% of STEM students found this session helpful,” can prompt action and deepen investment. Ultimately, personalized communication transforms one-size-fits-all interactions into meaningful, student-centered experiences that support persistence and success.
Evo: What role does cocurricular tracking during onboarding play in shaping students’ long-term narrative of achievement and identity on campus?
RN: Cocurricular tracking during onboarding plays a powerful role in shaping a student’s long-term identity and sense of achievement. When done well, it acts as both a mirror and a map, helping students reflect on who they’re becoming while guiding them toward future goals. Tracking involvement in clubs, service and leadership lets students visualize progress, fostering confidence and clarity around their values and interests. It also supports identity development, encouraging goal-setting and deeper engagement.
Early tracking validates small wins, boosts belonging and helps students build a compelling personal narrative they can later use in job or grad school applications. When integrated across advising, career services and student engagement, this data creates a holistic view that enables proactive support and equity-driven interventions. Institutions that connect these dots early on set students up to not just participate but to lead, persist and thrive.
What I tell my staff sometimes is that what gets tracked gets valued and what gets valued gets repeated.
Evo: How do you measure the success of these onboarding programs in building student affinity and institutional loyalty beyond their first year?
RN: Measuring onboarding success goes far beyond first-year retention. It’s about long-term belonging, connection and loyalty. Institutions should define clear outcomes like sense of belonging, perceived support, campus connectedness and sustained engagement. Tracking how students engage over time—through cocurricular participation, persistence rates and campus involvement—provides valuable quantitative insight, but numbers only tell part of the story.
Qualitative feedback from focus groups, climate surveys and targeted questions like “Do you feel like a valued member of this community?” or “Would you recommend this institution to others?” uncover students’ lived experiences, perceptions and emotional ties. Understanding which onboarding experiences still resonate can shape future improvements.
Longitudinal tracking is critical—following students from year one through graduation and even into alumni engagement. Look for patterns in pride, involvement and student identity development. Moments of shared pride, like a sports championship, can boost institutional affinity if leveraged well. Onboarding is just the beginning. Real success is proven when students stay engaged, feel a deep connection and proudly represent the institution beyond year one.
Evo: Is there anything you’d like to add?
RN: Onboarding should always be reviewed, questioned and improved based on student needs, but nothing is more critical than the first six weeks—or that first 90 days—for retaining students.
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