Transition with Purpose: Pathways from English Language to Academic Study

99 PSU NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION BACKGROUND All students admitted to PSU for undergraduate study are required to attend a PSU New Student Orientation session before enrolling in full-time academic coursework. Both domestic and international students are required to complete PSU’s orientation, a policy established by the university. Students in the Pathways Program will attend New Student Orientation during the term when they are enrolled in the Pathways Final Seminar and are taking their last IELP classes. Generally, students attend an orientation session that is linked to their term of admission, and sessions are held in the one or two months preceding the start of that term. For example, a student admitted to PSU for the winter 2019 term will attend an orientation session sometime in the months before January, usually in November or December. Although these sessions take place during fall term, they are known as “winter” orientation sessions. Students in the Pathways Program do not follow the typical pattern outlined above. Many students in the Pathways Program have a PSU admission term that is in the past. Rather than attending a PSU New Student Orientation session before their first term of study, Pathways Program students attended an IELP New Student Orientation session in the months preceding their first term of study. For example, students admitted to PSU for fall 2016 who did not meet the university’s English language proficiency guideline began their studies in the IELP and attended an IELP New Student Orientation session before fall term started. SIGNING UP FOR AN ORIENTATION SESSION Pathways Program students will attend PSU New Student Orientation in their last term of IELP study and in preparation for their first term of full-time academic study at PSU. PSU’s New Student Orientation office schedules the dates for orientation sessions, sets the agendas for the sessions, and coordinates academic advising at the sessions with academic departments. At this time, signing up to attend a New Student Orientation for Pathways Program students is facilitated by the Pathways Advisor, who will communicate directly with Pathways Program students by email about the available session dates, usually in week 5 of the term. When there is a choice of session dates, students will work with the Pathways Advisor to select their preferred date. After the Pathways Advisor notifies students about the session dates and students sign up accordingly, students will receive an email within approximately one week from PSU New Student Orientation ( orientation@pdx.edu ) with details about their session (time, location, agenda). Students must attend an orientation session in order for their orientation hold to be removed. Only the PSU New Student Orientation Office has the authority to remove an orientation hold.