More than 3,000 incoming students learned their way around campus last weekend by playing games and doing community service through Destination Iowa State.

Tisha Simpson, co-director of community service for Destination Iowa State, said the admissions office program began four years ago to increase the retention rate of first-year students. She said about 75 percent of the incoming freshman participated this year.

“The word is really getting out about how much this is assisting new students,” said Simpson, junior in child and family services. “It’s really exciting.”

Students were divided into groups of 10 based on their housing situation.

Simpson said it was a change from previous years, when students were randomly assigned to a team leader.

“We noticed one of the big comments was `I didn’t get to meet enough people I was living with,'” she said. “We’ve put them with team leaders who have been there before – either lived there before or lived there now.”

On the teams, the new students learned all about campus – from how to check e-mail accounts and getting around the dining halls to finding classrooms and talking with professors about succeeding in class. The program also worked in social events – such as “Late Night at the MU” and televising Saturday’s football game against Florida State in Hilton Coliseum.

Most groups had a pair of knowledgeable older students to lead them around campus for the weekend – an unplanned detail most leaders said worked to their advantage.

“I think maybe it was a little bit disorganized at first, but every program is like that,” said Jill Millhollin, junior in elementary education who found herself without a team until she joined another group. “Still, we’re working with smaller groups, and that’s a bonus.”

Marc Harding, director of campus admissions, said the Destination Iowa State Program allows new students to come together before classes start and help them find a place here.

“In the admissions office, we work on figuring out if Iowa State is the right place for them,” he said. “This is closing the loop. Destination Iowa State is a great way to start the whole college experience.”