First Year Undergraduate Orientation: January 2009

On-campus housing: opens January 2, 2009
Students who have been assigned on-campus housing are welcome to move in beginning Friday, January 2, starting at 12:00 p.m. Students should report to the front desk of their assigned residence hall.

English Assessment Test: Tuesday, January 6, 2009
All non-native speakers of English are strongly encouraged to take the University's English assessment test before orientation. Please click here for more information.

January Orientation: January 7-9, 2009

On behalf of New Student Programs and International Student and Scholar Services, welcome to American University! One of the best ways to prepare for your time at AU is to participate in January Orientation on January 7 - 9, 2009.

During the orientation program, you’ll have a chance to:

• Meet other new students
• Learn about your immigration responsibilities and rights
• Confirm your class schedule
• Take the Math and Foreign Language Placement Exams
• Learn about campus services and resources
• Get your AU photo ID
• Set up your bank account
• Purchase your books

International Student and Scholar Services will present mandatory immigration and culture orientation sessions for international students beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 7. International students will then join the university's general orientation sessions for all new undergraduate students beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.

ORIENTATION REGISTRATION & FEES

There is a fee to attend January Orientation (for students and family members). Students are advised to bring additional spending money for off-campus dining and other activities. The fee covers two lunches, program materials, and program activities.

You will need to register for January Orientation using the my.american.edu web portal beginning Monday, November 24th. If you’ve already activated your <my.american.edu> portal account, simply log in using your user name and password and click on the button marked “Activities and Events” on the right side of the screen. Click on Student Checklists under Personalized Links, choose the New Student Checklist, and then follow the screen instructions to secure your space at January Orientation.

If you haven’t yet activated your account, you’ll need to visit <my.american.edu> and click on “Create New Account” (at the bottom of the page). You’ll be prompted to enter your seven-digit AU ID number, which you received with your admittance letter from the Admissions office. Follow the instructions to create your account, then complete the quick tutorial, which will introduce you to the portal. Once you’ve completed the tutorial, you’ll be returned to the <my.american.edu> log-in screen, where you will key in your new user name and password. Then click on the button marked “Activities and Events” on the right side of the screen. Click on Student Checklists under Personalized Links, choose either the New Student Checklist or the New Transfer Student Checklist, and then follow the screen instructions to secure your space at January Orientation.

REFUNDS & CANCELLATIONS
Cancellations of orientation registration and refund requests must be sent by e-mail to orientation@american.edu and must be received by Tuesday, January 6, 2009. No refunds will be honored for cancellations and refund requests received within 48 hours of the program start date.

FAMILY PARTICIPATION in ORIENTATION
Family members of new AU students are welcome to attend the January Orientation. While we do not offer a separate family orientation program, there are specific sessions for family members offered on Thursday, January 8. Families are then welcome to join their students for the remainder of the orientation program. We have created a limited list of hotels in the D.C. area. You will find additional information on the New Student Programs office website. Click on “Parents” (on the left side of the screen).

CLASS REGISTRATION
Your school or college will send you information about class registration. The Freshman Guide to Academic Programs and Registration and class registration paperwork is also available on-line on the Registrar’s website, and due to the frequent delays in international mail, we recommend that you take some time to look over this material on-line so your class registration will not be delayed. Please review this information, contact your academic advisor with any questions, and return your requested classes and any other documents to your advisor in December. During orientation, you will meet your academic advisor to modify your class schedule if needed based upon the results of the Math and Foreign Language Placement Exams, and you will receive a final copy of your schedule.

 

MATH PLACEMENT EXAM*
All new students are required to take a math placement exam during orientation regardless of AP course completion or choice of major. The results determine your course placement in mathematics. There is no need to register separately for the exam; it will be one of your orientation sessions on January 9. The exam consists of basic math and algebra problems, which we encourage you to review. You will not be permitted to use a calculator during the exam.

 

LANGUAGE PLACEMENT EXAM*
Students who plan to study a language besides English during the Spring semester are encouraged to take the foreign language placement exam on-line using their my.american.edu web portal. The link for the exam is located on the right hand side of the screen in the grey shaded area, marked Language Placement. After completing the exam, please remember to report your score to your advisor to be placed in the correct class section.

*Students who need disability-related accommodations for placement exams during orientation should contact one of the following offices in advance to provide documentation of their disability and request accommodations. Guidelines for documentation are posted on the appropriate website.

• The Academic Support Center at 202-885-3360 or asc@american.edu for students with learning disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorder.
• Disability Support Services at 202-885-3315 or dss@american.edu for students with physical or psychological disabilities or other access-related concerns

 

 

Again, welcome! We’re looking forward to meeting you at January Orientation!