Arrival Orientation Quality Standards and Criteria

From AFSWiki

Staffing and Training

1. Volunteer Orientation Coordinator is recruited to organize each orientation.
2. The Orientation Coordinator has completed the training provided for the target orientation.
3. One group leader per 10-12 students is identified to assist the Orientation Coordinator.
4. All volunteers assisting with the orientation must be registered volunteers and will be assigned the appropriate affiliation (Orientation Coordinator, Orientation Group Leader, Orientation Volunteer or Orientation Donations Coordinator) and this information is recorded in OPUS/Global Link
5. The Orientation Coordinator ensures that all Group Leaders receive training on their role prior to the orientation, including a copy of the target orientation Participant Handbook and Leader’s Guide.

Content

1. The Orientation Coordinator must use the most recent version of the Leader’s Guide and Participant Handbook provided by AFS to plan and implement the orientation.
2. If the Orientation Coordinator substitutes any of the activities from the Leader’s Guide or Participant Handbook with those of his or her own choosing, the activity must at minimum accomplish the learning objectives of the activity which was replaced.
3. The Orientation Coordinator must provide any substitute orientation activities to the appropriate staff member within three weeks upon completion of the hosting arrival orientation so that the activity may be evaluated and be considered for use in future Handbooks and Leader’s Guides.

Compliance

1. Each orientation participant will sign an Attendance Sheet and/or Orientation Acknowledgement
2. All Attendance Sheets and/or Orientation Acknowledgements must be sent to the Regional Office within three weeks of the event.
3. Should a participant miss the group orientation, the Orientation Coordinator must ensure that s/he receives the same information in a one-on-one setting or other manner, ie, late arrival due to illness, and submit the orientation acknowledgement form.

Evaluation

1. All orientation participants and volunteers involved assisting with the orientation shall be given the opportunity to provide a written and confidential evaluation of the event. Since participants and volunteers should be given the evaluation to complete while in attendance at the event, it is expected that the response rate should be 90% or better.
2. Overall satisfaction ratings from the completed evaluations should be 85% or higher.
3. Orientation Coordinators will review the evaluations and share any applicable feedback with appropriate staff and volunteers.

Minimum Number of Participants

1. It is our experience that all participant orientations are more effective with a minimum of 10 participants per each orientation session. This number helps ensure rich discussion and also allows for effective small group work. We recommend that Teams work together to meet this minimum participant number.

Important Note: It is important to note that there is a clear distinction between the hosting arrival orientation quality standards and the hosting arrival pick up locations. Hosting arrival pick up locations are determined by a different set of criteria and standards.