Welcome, New Badgers and Families!
The Office of Student Transition and Family Engagement (OSTFE) helps incoming students and their families adjust to life at UW–Madison, while educating faculty and staff on ways to connect with first-year students.
Focus Areas
Orientation
Your first step to becoming a Badger is attending Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR). Once you move in, you'll start acclimating to campus through a suite of events known as Wisconsin Welcome.
Academic Engagement
The Academic Engagement area coordinates and supports first-year seminars; tutoring & learning support resources; and teaching resources and support for faculty, staff, TAs, and peer leaders who work with first-year students.
Transfer Transition Program
The Transfer Transition Program aims to understand and improve the transfer student experience at UW–Madison. We offer pre-transfer academic advising for prospective students and host social and educational programs at the Transfer Engagement Center.
Parent and Family Program
We recognize the role parents & families have in a studentʼs success. The Parent and Family Program keeps these folks connected to campus while serving as an ongoing resource throughout their studentʼs college career.
Information for:
Students
We help incoming students transition to UW–Madison through orientation and welcome programing. While you're here, join us in a first-year seminar course and learn about campus. We also offer transfer student advising and programming.
Faculty/Staff
We collect and share information and resources, support institutional initiatives, consult on projects or courses, and provide training and workshops for faculty, staff, TAs, and students who teach or work with first-year students.
Parents
We're committed to providing parents and family members with the necessary tools and support to help facilitate a successful transition for their student.