James Orr puts students first

James Orr is six months into his new role at Carolina, but with more than 20 years of experience in academic affairs, undergraduate education, student life and enrollment management, he has hit the ground running. The senior vice provost for student success is focused on improving every step of the student journey, from application to graduation — and beyond.

The Well sat down with Orr to talk about what his office has accomplished so far and the opportunities he’s most excited about for 2026.

Why did this new role appeal to you? What do you think its impact at the University might be?

I was thrilled about this opportunity and that Carolina was saying, “How do we implement an integrated strategy to support students?” It excites me to have the chance to come and work across enrollment, undergraduate education, student experiences and other large programs that support students to create an integrated strategy. I’m working closely with leaders across the University to elevate the great work already happening and to find opportunities to better align campuswide.

When I spoke with Chancellor Roberts during my interview, it was very clear to me that he is a student-centered chancellor and wanted to develop a coordinated strategy to serve students. Carolina is a very large and complex organization, and I think the greatest opportunity we have is to create a system that is easier for students to navigate.

What are your top priorities for this year?

One of my first priorities is ensuring that students and their families have the highest-impact experience possible the first time they interact with the University. That starts with a review of our campus visit programs. We want to make sure that campus visits really give a sense of Carolina that many of us feel, a connection to the University, our community of care, and the traditions that make this place special.

I also appointed a committee comprised of students, faculty and administrators to review our new student and family orientation program. We want to know, after you’ve been admitted to Carolina, what should we cover prior to you coming to orientation? And during orientation, what are the key engagements that you need to have? Then, through your first year with College Thriving courses, we’re connecting the dots across our large organization —more than 30,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students — to support student engagement. I’m excited about that because it’s going to provide students with opportunities to have a more robust experience.

What projects are you focused on to improve the student experience?

The Students First Project is focused on enhancing the experience that students have when they register for courses. We’re essentially adding a degree planner to ConnectCarolina. You can plan your degree and the courses you’ll take multiple years in advance. If a student comes to an academic adviser to drop a course, the adviser can tell them the next time that course is offered or what they might need to take in place of that course.

Connected to that is the idea of the OneStop, which we plan to roll out by the fall semester. We want students to be able to go to one place and get all their questions answered. We don’t believe that students and families should have to know the organizational chart to receive services. The OneStop will bring together professionals from across areas that support students at both the undergraduate and graduate level, so that when a student asks how to drop a course, we can tell them how to do that, as well as the impact it will have on their financial aid and progress toward their degree. A student advisory committee and student focus groups are helping us ensure we approach that work with the student experience top-of-mind. Students will have one location, both virtually and in-person, where they can do everything they need to be a Carolina student and receive a concierge-type services when they need to be connected to other offices.

As the University continues to increase student enrollment over the next decade, what are the opportunities you see to support that growth?

First, I’d like to see more North Carolinians apply to the University. I’m excited about the opportunity to increase that number. I also believe that when you look at our course, degree and program offerings, we have the opportunity to ensure that we’re putting all of those degree programs out in front of students so that they know what the pathways are to a Carolina degree. I’m also excited about the chancellor’s priorities to grow our reach in the engineering field, where there is a strong workforce demand. The last piece that I think is important is the strategic approach that we’re taking to optimize processes, strategies and programs, because that allows us to ensure that, as we grow, we also enhance the student experience.

The Carolina North expansion is also top-of-mind for me. It’s going to provide enormous opportunities for our students and Chapel Hill community.

Carolina was named the nation’s No. 1 best value public university by U.S. News & World Report for the 21st consecutive year. How do you define “value” when talking about the holistic student experience at UNC-Chapel Hill?

We know that when students and families begin talking about college, they are often asking three questions. The first is, “If I attend your institution, what will the outcome be?” They want to know what career outcomes look like and the impact on postgraduate success. I love that at Carolina, we not only educate students in their discipline, but we want to prepare them for their third, fourth, fifth job in their career because they’ll be working in a world that literally does not exist today.

The second question they ask is, “What is the return on investment? Is it actually worth it?” At Carolina we meet 100% of demonstrated need for every student who enrolls. We are deeply committed to making sure that we offer an affordable education for students, particularly for our North Carolina residents.

And the final question is, “What is the experience the student will get while they’re at Carolina?” And we know that when you think about Carolina being a top five public university with an outstanding student experience and great athletics, it brings together that holistic experience that students and families believe is important when they’re making decisions about college.

The combination of affordability with the experience students get once they arrive on campus is what really sets Carolina apart.