Weeks of Welcome 2026: Early Assessment Highlights
Overview
VCU’s Weeks of Welcome (WoW) provides students with opportunities to connect with the university community, build relationships, explore involvement opportunities, and learn about resources and supports available to help them succeed at VCU.
WoW 2026 spans the first three weeks of the semester and continues through September 6. The assessment results below provide an early snapshot of student participation, reach, and experience, with additional events and data collection still underway.
Reach and Scale: WoW includes a broad range of programs and activities offered across the university.
As of Friday, August 28th,
- A total of 100 scheduled WoW event sessions across the three-week WoW period.
- 75 sessions (75%) have been completed, with 25 sessions (25%) still to come.
- A total of 9,722 RSVPs and 5,919 recorded check-ins have been captured to date, representing 3,575 unique students.
- WoW programming spans activities intentionally designed to advance these three primary goals. Among 59 distinct WoW events:
- Connection and Sense of Belonging – 27% (16 events): Helping students feel welcomed, included, and connected to the VCU community.
- Engagement and Involvement – 36% (21 events): Helping students explore campus life and find ways to get involved.
- Resource Awareness and Student Success – 37 (22 events): Helping students learn about resources and support available to help them succeed at VCU.
- Highest-Attended Events to Date (by check-in)
- FloydFest Monroe Park Block Party: 1,500 student check-ins
- The Sound of Ram Nation: Black & Gold Wednesday Kickoff: 623 student check-ins
- SOVO Fair: 1,216 student check-in
Key outcomes: What Students are Telling Us
“Everyone was coming together and showing their pride in becoming a Ram. It felt like home.”
“I also met my new best friend there, which made me excited for the rest of this semester.”
Participant surveys are being administered across several major WoW signature events. To date, assessment data are available from five signature events, with individual event response rates generally ranging from approximately 30% to 33%.
For the three signature events with comparable core measures—FloydFest Monroe Park Block Party, Black & Gold Wednesday Kickoff, and SOVO Fair—early findings point to several consistent themes.
Students feel welcomed, a strong sense of belonging, and connected. Across signature events, students report high levels of feeling welcomed and connected to the VCU community.
- 97% of survey respondents reported feeling welcomed.
- 93% reported that attending the event increased their sense of belonging at VCU.
- WoW is strengthening school spirit and connection to VCU
Students consistently reported strong school spirit at major WoW events. Events designed around VCU traditions, such as Black & Gold Wednesday, are helping students recognize and participate in shared aspects of university life.
- 93% reported feeling a strong sense of school spirit at the events.
- Students see value in their WoW experience
Survey results indicate high levels of satisfaction and positive perceptions of the value in attending WoW events.
- 94% agreed at various levels (somewhat to very) that attending the event was a worthwhile use of their time.
- 95% reported a positive overall event satisfaction rating.
Building Momentum for Continued Involvement. Early findings suggest that WoW experiences are encouraging students to remain engaged beyond the opening weeks of the semester.
- At the FloydFest Monroe Park Block Party, 95% indicated that the experience encouraged them to attend future campus activities.
- At the Black & Gold Wednesday Kickoff, 92% agreed that the event helped Black & Gold Wednesday feel like a VCU tradition, and 70% indicated plans to participate some, most, or every week during the semester.
- At SOVO Fair, 96% indicated that they found at least one organization or opportunity that fits their interests and 95% reported feeling more confident about how to get involved at VCU.
- 71% plan to join or follow an organization on RamsConnect and 77% plan to attend a student organization meeting or event, after the SOVO Fair.
Taken together, these early findings suggest that WoW is contributing not only to student participation at the beginning of the academic year, but also to important student experience outcomes related to welcome, belonging, school spirit, tradition-building, and continued engagement.
“Everyone was so sweet, welcoming, and patient with me. They didn’t mind me asking questions and genuinely made me feel comfortable. That is the type of experience I was hoping to have when exploring [involvement].”
Looking ahead. Weeks of Welcome continue through September 6, with 25 additional events still scheduled.
Assessment will continue throughout the remainder of WoW, including:
- tracking attendance and participation across remaining events;
- examining the reach of WoW across key student populations;
- collecting additional participant feedback;
- comparing outcomes across signature events; and
- identifying broader patterns related to student belonging, engagement, resource awareness, and connection to VCU.
A more comprehensive assessment report will be available after WoW concludes and all participation and survey data have been compiled.
Categories Fall 2026 - Spring 2027, Uncategorized