We are excited to share the launch of ACC’s inaugural Student Affairs New Employee Orientation experience in October 2025. The intention of our Student Affairs New Employee Orientation is to:

• Introduce all full-time and part-time Student Affairs Staff to the Student Affairs Division, Mission, Vision, Values and Functional Areas
• Introduce staff to their CliftonStrengths
• Ground staff in Student-Serving Expectations through a Customer Service Training

New Employee Orientation is intended to be a unified foundational experience for all new Student Affairs Staff, ensuring staff are set up for success and ready to lead our students to success.   

*For a more detailed look into the plan, please see the Student Affairs New Employee Orientation Agenda.

Student Affairs New Employee Orientation will be a required three-day experience offered on the first Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each month, beginning in October. Each month's cohort will consist of the staff whose start date fell in the previous month. For example, any staff who start in October would attend the November SA NEO.  

October will be the exception. For the October orientation, we hope to capture any new hires since our last Staff Culture Training in July. That includes any staff or supervisors with a start date between July 14 and Sept. 30.

• All Orientations will take place at the Highland Campus
• Orientations will be Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

We will send communication to all new hires with details on their specific orientation. Supervisors will be CC’d on any communication we send.  

As a reminder, the Student Affairs New Employee Orientation is the first step in welcoming our new employees. Supervisors take over where we leave off to onboard new employees to their functional area and unique role. For a refresher on the tools & resources shared during our Student Affairs Supervisor Onboarding Training visit our Onboarding Tools Page on our SA Professional Development Site.

We appreciate your support in advance to ensure all our new staff have the opportunity to attend orientation.  

If your new hire is a supervisor, they will be required to attend an additional day of training. This training will cover:

• Best Practices in Leadership
• Building relationships through 1:1s and coaching conversations
• Onboarding new staff

It will be held on the third or fourth Friday of the month, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Managers, please plan ahead and work with your new hires to ensure they are available to attend.

I appreciate your collaboration in best welcoming our newest team members to Student Affairs. When they start strong, our students start strong.

With Kindness,

Emily Demerath

Manager, Student Affairs Staff Coaching & Team Development

Austin Community College | austincc.edu