July 30–August 5, 2008, Number 503
Passport to Discovery: First-Year Student Information
Sooner than we can all imagine it will be time for this year’s Orientation week at Michigan Tech. Last week’s article was geared specifically towards the Parent and Family aspects of orientation, so this week the article will have information about what the students will be doing. I can say from personal experience that Orientation week was a big part of making my first year at Michigan Tech successful and so much fun. I met people who are still great friends of mine and enjoyed the great times of learning about what Michigan Tech offers me. I know that all your students will have just as much fun with their orientation experience as I had with mine.
Just to clarify, a first-year student is any student who will be starting their first year in college or is a transfer student who has fewer than 30 credits. These students are required to attend the weeklong orientation put on from August 24 to August 30. For those students transferring to Michigan Tech with more than 30 credits, they are asked to come to a different one day orientation which will take place on Friday, August 29.
Check-In
Starting things off, I’m going to reference back to the Orientation 2008 booklet that I spoke of last week. Turning to the first two pages of this booklet, it has some really important information: New Student Check-In. All first-year students must check in to get their Orientation packets, room key, Orientation team assignment and other information that will help them during this week. The Rozsa Center on campus is where you can check-in. On Saturday check-in runs from 10:00am to 7:00pm and starts back up again on Sunday at 10:00am until 4:00pm. If you arrive after these designated times, but would still like to check-in, stop by the Wadsworth Hall Reception Desk and the staff there will be happy to assist you. In the very back of the Orientation booklet is a map of campus, where you can find the Rozsa Center building 10.
Move-In
Once you’ve collected your Orientation packets, room key, etc from the Rozsa Center, you and your student can head to their designated Residence Hall. Move-in officially starts Saturday, August 23 at 10:00am. One great aspect about move-in is that we have lots of student and faculty members volunteer to help students and their families find their room assignments while also assisting in hauling in some of the luggage the student brings. I volunteered last year, had a lot of fun with it, and definitely look forward to doing it again! One great aspect of the Residence Hall rooms starting this fall is that ALL of them will have what is known as loftable furniture. This makes it really easy for students to have extra space for materials within the room. For images of what the rooms will look like when your student moves in, check out their website. The rooms can be changed to the way the students would like them once they are moved-in.
Orientation Teams
I mentioned above the Orientation team assignments that all students will be placed in. This is a group of about 20 students of the same (or a similar) major that will be lead by an Orientation Team Leader (OTL) to help assist the students in all the week’s activities and answer questions. During the week the students will be required to go to different scheduled events for Orientation week. There is a tentative schedule posted online. Your student will be busy during this time as they become acquainted with what Michigan Tech offers academically, athletically, etc. Most of these events will be done while your student is with their Orientation Team.
Academic Advising
Also during this week, students will receive academic advising from the department that they are in. Each department is different in how they handle the academic advising meeting. Some do the meet one-on-one with the student and others do a large group meeting. Students will also have the opportunity to visit with an advisor one-on-one through open office hours set up during the week if they have further questions about their schedule for the current academic year and the following years. The main portion of Orientation week wraps up with class registration on Thursday, August 28, so the students will have plenty of opportunities to meet with their academic advisor before they complete registration.
Placement Tests
Placement tests for different courses are available during Orientation week as well. These tests include Chemistry, Math, Computer Science, Modern Language, and the Spatial Visualization Test. On pages 12 and 13 of the Orientation Booklet it describes information for the students about how to know which placement test is right for them to take. The Spatial Visualization Test is a requirement for all Engineering majors. Spanish, French, German, and Ojibwa are the four Modern Languages that Michigan Tech offers. Taking the Modern Language test can place students at the appropriate level for future classes and will also give them college credits for the classes that they test above. The booklet explains more information for those who are interested.
Summer Reading
Each year the students that participate in Orientation week are required to do a summer reading. The Summer Reading is set up as a way of preparing students for college-level reading, inquiry and discussion. This year’s book is Three Cups of Tea – One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. During Orientation week the students will then engage in discussion groups within their teams as well as a with a faculty or staff member from the university. It will be extremely helpful if your student has read the entire book before they arrive to Michigan Tech for Orientation week. The Orientation booklet has information about this year’s summer reading as well.
Orientation Week Trips
After the long week of meetings and required info sessions, the students have an opportunity to go on Orientation Trips. Check out pages 6 and 7 of the Orientation 2008 booklet to read about them. This year there are six different trips that students can participate in. These include Overnight at Copper Harbor, Porcupine Mountain Trip, Geological Excursion, and Habitat for Humanity Build, just to name a few. Some of these trips are overnight and some are just for half of the day. There is limited space for these trips and spots fill up quickly, so if your student is interested in participating in these excursions have them go to the Trip Reservation site online to purchase tickets or call the Rozsa Center box office (906)- 487-3200. These trips are a lot of fun and give the students a chance to experience more of the Upper Peninsula.
I know this is a lot of information to digest, so I can not stress the importance of checking out the Orientation 2008 booklet as all the information I have listed here is there as well and goes into more detail. Also, check out the Orientation 2008 website to find out more information about what Orientation week has in store. The booklet and website also hold information about internet services in the Residence Halls, the Academic Calendar for the 2008-2009 school year, and so much more.
If there are any questions or comments about this article please email me at my personal email address. Also, Michelle Nightingale, Assistant Director of COMPASS is available to answer questions regarding Orientation 2008 at orientation@mtu.edu. Looking ahead, I will cover more information about the impending school year, such as book shopping, preparing for the school year, etc. If there any suggestions for future article topics please let me know.
Until next week,
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885