UGA Orientation

June 9, 2025•1,775 words

Faculty member:

  1. Attend class - engage and students do better
  2. Active learning - actively create knowledge and reflect rather than lectures
  3. Ask questions and seek resources - raise hand in class, gets easier the more you do it
  4. Best time to start working on grades is at beginning of the semester
    • Office of student success and achievement
    • Offers tutoring, coaching, success courses, student workshops, writing center
  5. First year odyssey course is good way to meet people, a bit like a home room class, small around 16 people. With same professor and students every time you meet. FYO/TRL seminar course. First year odyssey (FRO)
  6. Commit to managing time. Super critical and harder now due to screen distractions. Most power companies in history have business model designed to capture our attention. Those that can self-manage their screen time have a huge advantage, making you a super human giving hours back in a day.
  7. Academic honesty. Cheating is plagiarism, theft, lying/tampering, unauthorized assistance. Commit to responsible use of AI, disclose when you use it. Avoid over reliance on AI.
  8. Experiential learning: internships, leadership, research, service, global, creative.
  9. Commit to building an academic community. Form study groups to learn from peers.
  10. Stay engaged with advisor. Run things by the advisor. Inform them of anything that may be relevant.

Lead from Second Seat:

Pick course beat for your student:

https://ossa.uga.edu/courses/all-courses/

Encourage faculty relationships, how are classes going? (attending class is most important), engage outside of class, start early (when need help)

Best thing to support students success: Listen, support, ask what did you do to solve it or who did you seek to get help from on the issue?

  1. Adjustments
    • Larger student body
    • Rigorous curriculum
    • Manage workload and free time
    • Navigating self-expectations
  2. UGA resources
    • Academic advisor
    • Office of student success and achievement
    • UGA faculty

Social engagement:

  1. Start early. Start somewhere.
  2. What brings you joy?
  3. Encourage student to give things a fair chance
  4. Stay in the know

UGA resources

  1. UGA involvement network - events going on
  2. Welcome UGA events - take the opportunities, starting Tuesday before classes with stadium pic.
  3. Transition leaders - Pick up after orientation all the way through 4 years of experience
  4. Peer leaders
  5. Parent & family engagement - for family or parents to help if needed

To find a good fit for a student organization:

https://uga.campuslabs.com/engage/

How can you encourage exploration without creating pressure: Ask questions??

Basic Needs

  1. Encourage personal agency - why don’t you give a certain office a call or stop by?
  2. Normalize help-seeking - encourage them to seek help
  3. How are you caring for yourself? - (sleep, food, water, etc.)

UGA resources

  1. Let the big dawgs eat scholarship
  2. Bulldog basics
  3. UGA food pantry
  4. Professional clothing closet (SGA). Student government association, 1 per year.
  5. Student care and outreach - just struggling with something it’s a good place to start
  6. UGA and ACC bus system - helps make large campus seem small

Has bus route information

https://eits.uga.edu/web_and_applications/mobileapps/

One commitment to support your student: listen, it’s hard for everyone, and guide them to resources. In tough times, time cures all so keep engaging, using resources.

UGA social - connections. Stay in the know.

  • digital dogs - free food, events, study abroad info, etc.

https://www.uga.edu/social-media?utm_source=orientation&utm_medium=qr_code&utm_campaign=students

Housing

  • Dawg house - student only portal. Room change request, floor plants, etc.
  • Beginning Aug 8 but need an arrival time staggered by building. Start going live 7/7 but based on building.
  • Virtual tour at housing.uga.edu
  • Community Guide details housing policies and expectations. Where you can park your bike.
  • Partner vendors: GradGuard and MyCollegeFriend.
  • Make sure you sign your housing contract. Keep checking UGA email for updates. Choose a move in time.

Housing site:

https://housing.uga.edu/new-student-hub/

Auxiliary services - Dining and Transportation

https://auxiliary.uga.edu/

Dining

  • Oglethorpe - hand craft burritos and quesadillas. Tree nut free.
  • Village Summit - fresh fruit smoothie and all day omelet
  • Snelling - Open late, yogurt bar, power bowls
  • Bolton - central, baked goods, Asian-inspired stir fry, special selections line

UGA red app has build your plate app with access to menus and nutrition allergy info.

Meal plans are 5 days 7 or unlimited. Two complementary guest passes per semester. Block plans you use and loose, don’t roll over. Paw points do roll over semesters. Tax-free and used on anywhere served on campus such as Starbucks, Panda Express, Chick-fil-A. Autonomous markets - take what you want and it charges your card. Meal plan is voluntary.

If sign up today no money is due until tuition due on 8/13

Transportation and Parking

  • Discounted rides to ATL

Bookstore

  • Rent and save program to save 50%
  • Used textbook with yellow sticker
  • Will come into cart pre-selected by professors. Pick up in store.
  • Tech center - apple, etc. Repair center. Dorm supplies.

Student Employment

  • Bus drivers $16 per hour and get a CDL
  • UGA bookstore $12.50/hr
  • Dining $12.50 / hour and free meal / shift

Emergency Communications

  • UGA alert - emergency messaging - immediate and significant threat. Students already signed up.
  • UGA safe app - shows how to respond. If need help from police can contact through app. Mobile blue light can send your location to police. Can chat with police.
  • Safety advisors can escort you 7 days per week or virtual friend walk where they follow you virtually

Sign up for alerts

https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/login.action?pa=UGA

Police

  • Theft #1: Crime of opportunity. Leave electronics alone.
  • Lock the dorm room. Lock when sleeping.
  • Drugs: alcohol, mamajuana, prescription drugs
  • Sex: Consent both parties and not one time thing
  • If don’t know who to call, call police and they will figure it out. May handle or hand off.

Academic Advising

Advising.uga.edu

  • Mandatory each term
  • Assigned by major
  • Tomorrow
    • Step 1 form - helps advisor prepare and conversation better
    • Review pre-college credit - AP review
    • Confirm your major - check Athena
    • Make notes of any questions
    • Discuss next steps - email or follow up appointments
  • Can be a confidant and know resources and services
  • Registering for classes
    • It’s a marathon not a sprint
    • Stay open minded - may not be perfect
    • Take advantage of drop/add week - can change times, polish schedule
    • Questions, ask advisor. Ask about availability concerns.

Mary Frances Early College of Education

  • Kinesiology - 3rd floor Ramsey Center
  • All lead to B.S. ED Don’t really know why for health sport sciences
  • Will engage in parallel planning in case not get not exercise science
  • Help choose courses that are a good fit based on interest and goals
  • They expect, student is active participant, schedule appointment in SAGE every semester, prepare for appointment by reviewing DegreeWorks (google UGA Degreeworks) And consider courses of interest/concerns.. Check your UGA email daily they only use this and respond to UGA email
  • Planning your schedule: Not set in stone but can adjust through drop / add period. May have an 8am or not get first professor choice. Go for a balance. Science important for exercise science. Get difficult class with a hard class. Take classes spread out over the week.
  • Encouraged to take first year odyssey class best to do first semester. Have 10-15 options. FYOS list.
  • Advising tools: SAGE.UGA.edu, degreeworks.uga.edu, bulletin.uga.edu, Athena.uga.edu
    • Bulletin has general core curriculum, major requirements, course descriptions
    • Degreeworks - monitor Degreeworks progress, view advising plans, GPA calculator/what if

Student Alumni Council

Mission

  1. Alumni connections
  2. Philanthropic Action
  3. Spirited Traditions

Student Affairs

Office of Financial Aid - Paying Your Bill

osfa.uga.edu

706-542-6147

  • Student sets up parent as an authorized user to pay the bill. Seen in student account.
  • Student accounts is office that handles invoicing and payment
  • Tuition out of state is $51k
  • Uga.scholorshipuniverse.com to find external scholarship's
  • Work study: sign up and get matched for a job and pay student directly
  • Subsidized loan, dept of education picks up interest while student

Paying the bill:

  • Bill found on Athena
  • Click on students & parents
  • Bursar.uga.edu
  • Mid-July charges for fall will begin. Student will get email stating there is a balance. Late July, net bill comes out reflecting any aide.
  • August 4th finalized aide and 13th deadline. Late feeds start 8/25. 8/28 students get pulled from class.
  • Permission to pay
    • Student account menu in Athena
    • Authorize
    • Pay with web check to avoid extra fee.
    • Payment plan for $75 to spread over 3 mos.

Presentation shown below:

https://osfa.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/Summer_2025_Undergraduate_Orientation_Information.pdf

Your Academic Journey - First year Odyssey, Double Dawgs, Comprehensive Learner Record, Registration

Odyssey

  • Required first-year
  • 350 seminar topics, small class size, discussion format, taught by tenure/tenure track faculty, fosters student engagement, required, grade A-F
  • FYO.uga.edu
  • Doesn’t need to be tied to major
  • Can be used for recommendation letter to honors or other programs
  • Attend cultural experience engaging lecture, or research opportunities as part of it, all three are out of class requirement
  • Professor builds connections with students, build community for freshman. Professor can become mentor.

Fyo@uga.edu

Double Dawgs

  • Accelerated masters program. 4+1 format, undergrad and masters. Can take graduate level counting to undergraduate and graduate degree.
  • Apply 3rd year. Begin working on these courses 4th year. 5th year full graduate level.
  • Don’t need to be within same college as undergraduate

Doubledawgs@uga.edu

Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR)

  • Highlights achievements and competencies
  • Online visual credential that combines courses and activities
  • Can be shown to employers showing skills like analytical thinking, communication, creativity/innovation, critical thinking, etc. Each will show what the experience was in that area.
  • Can seek out how to add for certain areas, such as wanting more critical thinking.
  • Validated through UGA making it more official

CLR@uga.edu

Registration - UGA Bulletin

  • Details programs, classes, includes descriptions, who to talk to, pre-requisites, etc.
  • Some will include syllabus and maybe the prior semester syllabus

Reghelp@uga.edu

Degreeworks

  • Online platform that helps students and advisors track degree requirements
  • Shows yellow, red, green status
  • What if feature, check out change major, etc.

Student We’ll-Being