With an estimated 3,506 up-coming Iowa State University students walking with campus maps in hand, it could only mean one thing — the summer orientation program has begun.

Ardys Ulrichson, program coordinator for orientation, said attendance has increased this summer.

“We are slightly above our attendance from last year, and we have had really good sessions so far,” Ulrichson said.

An orientation experience involves two days of activities, including meeting with facility and financial-aid advisors, registering for fall classes, and joining in programs to become better prepared for the new experience of college life.

One new program this summer is a touch-tone demonstration and computer presentation in Carver Hall.

“A cyclone aide actually calls in a schedule and uses speaker phone so students will know what to expect on the second day of orientation when they schedule by themselves,” Ulrichson said.

Staff members also come from the Durham Center to go over general information about computers on campus.

A hospitality room was added in Carver Hall this year. Family members can get refreshments while students take placement tests.

“This is a nice place for family to spend time waiting for their students,” said Ulrichson said.

The resource fair in the Great Hall has been one of the popular events for the orientation program, Ulrichson said. Campus and community representatives are available to provide materials about programs, activities and services at ISU.

Angie Brallier, cyclone aide, feels the question/answer session with the cyclone aides, called “student transitions,” is informative. The cyclone aides give the students insight on what to expect and how to prepare for college.

“Parents are gone during this time, so students can ask any kind of questions,” she said.

Brallier said most of the students attending the sessions are up-coming freshman. One-day programs were available for transfer students during March and April.

Summer orientation ends June 30 with nine one-day sessions left. The sessions overlap, Ulrichson said, so part of the students are on their first day and the rest are on their second day.

“We have our entire operation up and running,” she said.

The staff includes 26 cyclone aides, two cyclone aide advisors and one graduate assistant.

“Going away to college is a very important event in an individual’s life cycle, and we do whatever we can to help with the transition,” she said.

Families are encouraged to attend orientation, Ulrichson said, because it informs them about the policies and procedures students will encounter.

“Parents also have to deal with their own change that they will go through when the student leaves in the fall,” she said.

There are reserved rooms in Willow Hall and meals in the Oak-Elm Dining Center or the Maple-Willow-Larch Dining Center being made available for families and students through the university.