When, who and what?

When is the best time to do the call?

We recommend hosting your welcome call sometime in the week following results day (9 August for Scottish Highers, 18 August for A levels). This gives you as a CU time to publicise the event to new students and for them to find the information.

You may want to consider having a second welcome call closer to the start of term to give another opportunity to welcome students who have gone through clearing. If the majority of students at your university go through clearing you could even have this later date as your primary welcome call.

What do you need for the call?

In order to host the CU welcome call in the way we’re suggesting, you’ll need a Zoom Premium account – this will allow you to use breakout rooms and will remove the time limit. You may opt to use Google Meet as a free substitute to Zoom.

Who do you need on the call?

• A host/MC. Choosing the right CU member to host the welcome call is crucial to its success. You’ll need someone who brings energy and enthusiasm, and who can keep the “room” engaged. A good MC will greet people as they join the call, communicate personably and warmly, and will make the overall experience a lot of fun. Make sure they’re someone who is confident in front of camera, can keep the meeting on track, and (perhaps most vitally!) has a good internet connection.
• Tech person. If the MC brings the fun, the tech person brings the function. Having someone working behind the scenes to set up the call, create breakout rooms, moderate the chat window and troubleshoot tech issues with participants is important for a smooth CU welcome call. Choose someone who is comfortable with Zoom and understands the functionality of it all.

• Breakout Hosts. Breakout hosts should be current CU members – Impact Group leaders are great people to enlist for this job. They should host the breakout room discussions taking place within the call.
• Current students. It may be tempting to have a large CU presence to give the new students a taste of your university. Yet if too many current students are on the call they are likely to begin talking among themselves alienating the newer students on the call. Consider which members of the CU you’d like to be present and remind them of the CU’s need to welcome them well.
• Other people. It could be beneficial to ask if an SU officer would be willing to be part of the welcome call. They could be an additional member of the panel during the Q&A section of the call. Alternatively, you could ask them some questions prior to the call so you can provide up-to-date and accurate information to the new students.