Plan a Week of Welcome event
Week of Welcome (WOW) is a week-long series of academic, educational, developmental, and social events designed to provide a solid foundation for new and returning Cougs. The programming focuses on helping students meet basic needs on campus.
WOW event details are hosted in Coug Presence andshould not conflict with scheduled WOW Signature Events. Submit your event by the June 10 priority deadline so we can promote events throughout summer orientation sessions.
Guiding principles for Week of Welcome activities
“As a student, why should I attend and what will I gain?”
- Introduce tradition(s).
- Familiarize students with resources and services.
- Establish desirable social situations.
- Ease transition.
- Connect with the Pullman community.
- Make faculty, staff, and/or peer connections.
Meet students where they are at! In addition to Coug Presence, promote your event on any of your organization’s social media platforms.
- WOW events should be planned to not conflict with WOW Signature Events.
- Let students know HOW they will be participating (to ease anxiety).
- Plan for all forms of accessible participation.
- Students should feel welcome, seen, and included.
“As a student, how can I expect to build community during this event?”
- By interest: civic engagement, social, recreation, etc.
- By academic field.
- By identity.
- By residence hall or apartment.
Why should I continue to stay engaged with your organization? Where can I find future events and engagement opportunities?
- Create a sense of excitement.
- Connect attendees with student leaders in your organization.
- Inform students where they can find similar ongoing events or engagement opportunities.
- Coug Presence, email, social media, community spaces.
How will you know your event was successful beyond tracking attendance? How can you track success year over year?
- Increased use of resource(s) after WOW.
- Community inclusion.
- Qualitative or quantitative evaluation of what success is after the event.
How to submit a WOW event
Do you have questions about planning an event or the Week of Welcome schedule? Please contact orientation@wsu.edu.
If you already have an organization in Coug Presence:
- Log in to wsu.presence.io using the person icon at the top right.
- After logging in, select “Admin Dashboard” from that same menu.
- On the Left-hand navigation, select the “+ Create” button.
- Choose “Event” from the floating window.
- Fill out the form answering questions as completely as possible.
- Include the date(s), time(s), location, and a one sentence summary of the event.
- Select a Host. If you don’t have any other relevant option please choose “Week of Welcome – Presented by BECU” as the host.
- Add the “Week of Welcome” tag (required).
- Add audience tags so all students know who is welcome.
- To complete the form, scroll back to the top of the form and click “Submit”
If you do not have an organization in Coug Presence:
- Please have your event contact fill out the Department Access Request form. They will receive access and instructions for event submission within two business days.
Other ways to get involved
Looking for more ways to get involved in Week of Welcome? Host a table or volunteer at the All-Campus Picnic and Resource Fair!