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Academic Advisors vs. Orientation Advisors
Academic Advisors
Academic Advisors play an essential role throughout your student’s Longhorn journey. Every college/school has a team of knowledgeable, full-time professional academic advisors who counsel and guide students through their undergraduate careers. Academic advisors can help your student with many different things including:
- Choosing the right major;
- Considering minors, certifications and specializations;
- Answering questions about courses and track to graduation;
- Adding, dropping and registering for classes;
- Making decisions about career paths;
- Addressing personal issues that impact their academic process and much more.
During orientation your student will meet with an academic advisor to help them prepare for their fall class registration, which will happen on the final day of orientation. Your student will leave the meeting with their advisor prepared to register for their first UT classes.
Orientation Advisors (OAs)
OAs are connectors for your student to the UT experience. These trained student leaders will be on-hand to encourage, advise and guide your student throughout orientation. OAs are enrolled in an academic, credit-earning class to prepare them for the various roles they will play in your student's orientation experience. Please know that great care is being placed on ensuring your student's orientation experience provides multiple touch points to connect with other students including the OAs.
In addition to helping your student understand information regarding academic requirements within their respective college/school, OAs will remind them to focus on their overall well-being during their time at UT. Students will be introduced to physical and mental health resources available through the University, including within Healthyhorns and RecSports.
Orientation Structure
Part I: Pre-Orientation Canvas Modules
Your student is required to complete Canvas modules as part one of their orientation. Students will receive an email when their Canvas modules become available two Fridays before the start of their on-campus orientation session. They will log into Canvas (canvas.utexas.edu) using their UT EID and password. The self-guided modules will teach students about important campus resources and departments, like Health and Safety at UT, Campus Life and Support Resources, and take approximately 2 hours to complete. Students can complete the modules in one sitting or save their progress to finish later, but they must complete all modules prior to attending their on-campus orientation.
Part II: On-Campus Orientation Session
Following your student's successful completion of their Canvas modules, they will be ready for their on-campus orientation session. Please encourage your student to visit newstudentservices.utexas.edu for more information on what to pack and what to expect!
Class Registration
On the last day of orientation, your student will register for classes. There will be academic and orientation advisors as well as other UT staff available to assist them with any questions that arise.
Make sure your student accesses their Registration Information Sheet (RIS) via registrar.utexas.edu no later than two weeks prior to their orientation session to ensure there are no holds that will prevent them from registering.
Students' advising hold will be cleared when they meet with their academic advisor at orientation. Their medical hold will be cleared once they have submitted the appropriate documentation to UHS (healthyhorns.utexas.edu). If they have an international hold, that will be cleared once they have completed the check-in process with Texas Global (world.utexas.edu).
Encourage your student to bring their test scores (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, etc.) sent directly to UT. It's helpful for them to gather all test scores and transcripts for completed college-level courses and have them during the advising appointment at orientation. Test scores are NOT required to be able to register for classes, but are helpful in the advising process.
Seats in some classes are blocked off so that students in every orientation session have the opportunity to register. This way, no matter which session they attend, all students will get the necessary classes to keep them on track for graduation.
Pre-Orientation Checklist
We have a Pre-Orientation Checklist on our website to assist your student in being as prepared as possible before coming to the Forty Acres for their orientation session. We have been including to-do items from this checklist in your Next Steps Newsletters, but you can find the list in its entirety at newstudentservices.utexas.edu.
Can I join my student at their orientation? No, only students can participate in New Student Orientation
It is important to note that you are not able to join your student while they complete their New Student Orientation program as this will be the first milestone of many whereby they are expected to complete meetings independently as a UT student. The separate Family Orientation program has been uniquely created for you and aligns with Day 1 of your student's session. While your student is at their orientation, this Family Orientation your chance to learn all about UT and your student's journey. Keep reading to learn more about what you can expect at Family Orientation.
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