Description
All students new to CLA are required to attend an orientation program to introduce them to the college and assist them with their initial registration. The length, format, and location of these programs vary according to the status of the incoming students and the time of the year they first register. Orientation for fall semester is held during June, July, and August; spring orientation occurs mid-January during the semester break. Generally, students arriving for orientation fall into one of 5 categories:

1. New high school (NHS) students;
2. New advanced standing (NAS) students;
3. Post Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) students;
4. Intra-University Transfer (IUT) students;
5. Inter-College Transfer (ICT) students.

Listed below are general descriptions of the above groups.

1. New high school (NHS) students The Office of Admissions defines NHS students as students who have not enrolled in a college or university after graduating from high school. Many NHS students may have taken college courses through the Post Secondary Enrollment Option. The orientation program includes large and small group meetings and a 30-minute appointment with an adviser. NHS students who enter CLA fall semester attend a two-day NHS orientation program. Students who enter spring semester are invited to a one-day NHS program. Students sign up through the CLA Student Information Office in 49 Johnston, 612-625-2020.
2. New advanced standing (NAS) students (students transferring from outside the University system) NAS students are defined as students who have enrolled in a college or university since graduating from high school. The number of credits they transfer may vary greatly. The orientation program is a one-day program including a group meeting, meeting with departmental advisers, and help with registration. Students sign up through the CLA Student Information Office in 49 Johnston, 612-625-2020.
3. Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) students The PSEO program enables Minnesota high school students to take college courses at Minnesota institutions of higher education while still in high school. Most of these students who elect to attend the University upon graduation from high school attend NHS orientation in fall or spring. PSEO students who have 26 semester credits completed or in progress, taken on the Twin Cities campus, and who have paid their confirmation fee by May 1 for the following fall are eligible for a special orientation allowing them to register during fall registration in May. Students meeting the qualifications are invited to a program on University-wide issues organized by Orientation and First-Year Programs as well as to individual appointments at their convenience with the appropriate student community. Student Communities contact students directly to arrange a one-hour appointment. Students who do not schedule an appointment by the date specified in the invitation letter and who wish to attend CLA must go through regular NHS orientation described above.
4. Intra-University Transfer (IUT) students (students transferring from another college within the University system) As with all students new to the college, IUT students are required to participate in orientation. IUT’s from outside the Twin Cities campus (i.e., Duluth, Morris, Crookston) are invited to regular NAS orientation.
5. Inter-Campus Transfer (ICT) students (students transferring from another college on the Twin Cities Campus) Students transferring from another UMNTC college (i.e. General College) are required to attend group transfer advising meetings. These small group sessions, covering current CLA policies, regulations, and opportunities are led by an adviser. ICT meetings are offered at over 20 different times a term. Like IUT, they are eligible to register before attending a transfer advising meeting.

The student’s folder
The student’s folder may contain assorted information:

1. NHS & NAS files contain a copy of the Student Admission Profile (SAP).
2. Nearly all IUT files contain transcripts from the previous U of M college showing the student’s previous work, including courses completed while enrolled in the student’s previous college, as well as any advanced standing coursework that transferred to that college upon admission to the University.
3. Some folders may also contain a Transfer Record of Articulated Courses (TRAC) for students with courses from other institutions. The admissions office prepares a TRAC report of all transfer work.
4. 4The file should also contain a degree audit, which shows how previous coursework applies to CLA.

Delaying registration at the University
Sometimes a student attending an NHS O/R adviser appointment decides not to register for classes. NAS students may tell the adviser leading the group meeting directly. Since the student’s admission is in effect only for the first semester of admission, the student will need to reapply to the University unless the student updates his or her application for a future semester.

If students are planning to delay registration at the University until a subsequent term, for up to 1 year, they must notify the Office of Admissions (240 Williamson Hall, 625-2008) of their intention to start classes in a future semester (thus updating their application). The admissions office, which the student must notify by the application deadline for the desired semester, will admit students on a space available basis. Students intending to register for the next semester should be referred to 240 Williamson immediately to check on space availability for the next semester. Encourage students to complete the orientation session even if they don’t intend to register.

Students who update their applications for a future semester will be invited automatically to orientation. University admissions will forward admission papers to the Student Information Office (49 Johnston) so that an O/R invitation can be sent and a student file prepared. Students will be exempted from NHS orientation if they completed the original orientation, including the adviser appointment (NHS) and college meeting (NAS), and are admitted again within a year. NAS students must stay for the group meeting. Exemption from orientation when the student updates his or her application depends on evidence of the adviser appointment in the student’s file, and is done by 49 Johnston.

Students who have delayed their registration may contact the Student Information Office (49 Johnston, 612-625-2020) for registration instructions shortly before their time in the registration queue. Students will not be allowed to register unless the Student Information Office has received new admission papers from University admissions indicating that space is available that semester.

Assignment of New Students for Advising
Students are assigned to an adviser in the community that advises the major in which they indicated an interest on their application. “Undecided” students are assigned to communities equally. Students are assigned an adviser when they come to orientation. The MLK and Honors Programs advise all majors and are assigned those students who have joined their communities (determined prior to orientation).