New Student Orientation

• Log into your MyPlattsburgh portal page
• Click on the Admissions Tab
• Click on the “Sign up for Orientation” link
• Select an Orientation Session Date
• Fill out the Orientation Form
• SUBMIT

All students must take the English Placement Questionnaire in order to enroll in first-year composition courses that satisfy your general education (GE) requirements, unless you have transfer credit equivalent to ENG 101. Certain other subject areas require a demonstrated level of proficiency before you can enroll in them — such as Math, Calculus, and advanced level Foreign Language.

Our Placement Exams and Proficiency web page provides detailed information about each one. It is essential that you take relevant placement tests that apply to you as soon as possible. Otherwise your department will be unable to register you for courses you might need.

Visit the Placement Exams Page

From late May through June, academic departments and special programs offices will be hard at work building fall 2020 schedules for students. You might have already noticed some preliminary course registration activity on your account. This is done on your behalf to secure seats in the classes you will need to meet your degree requirements. You also might have been sent a new student questionnaire to complete, or have placement tests to complete, which assists your department chair in future conversations about your schedule.

You will have the chance to connect with your academic department this summer to discuss your major and fall semester. In June, you will receive an email with your department contact and information about one-on-one advisement or any special live events that might pertain to you.

First-year schedules typically include courses or prerequisites for your major plus general education requirements. They are carefully chosen for you so you can have a great start to your SUNY Plattsburgh career. It is advisable to remain in your course schedule, and to discuss any concerns with your department. If you must make changes (e.g., add a course, already received transfer credit, conflicts with work or athletic schedule), you will be able to make these adjustments at one of our July course registration sessions. You will receive an email in June with your July registration date, time, and a Zoom link to the group session. This session is only required if you must schedule adjustments.

Advisement for new, main campus, transfer students began on Friday, May 22, 2020. Contact your academic department chairperson to receive course advisement, discuss your pre-registered schedule, and to obtain the registration (PIN) code you will need to adjust or register for additional courses.

Online registration for new transfer students with a PIN code begins on Friday, June 19, 2020 at 10 a.m. For a list of department contacts and Banner registration instructions, refer to the advisement and registration web page information that Admissions provided you in your transfer credit evaluation correspondence (Degree Works audit report).

Transfer Advisement & Registration

You will be assigned to a SUNY Plattsburgh student who will serve as your orientation leader throughout the summer. This student will contact you to share the dates for live group meetings via Zoom where you can learn more about SUNY Plattsburgh and what to expect, as well as ask any questions you may have. You will also be assigned to a smaller group of incoming students and be given access to a special social media app where you can get to know some of your classmates a little better before coming to campus. Look for an email from your orientation leader at the beginning of June.

Join us in a tour of the campus facilities and services at your convenience.

Live orientation information sessions were held earlier this summer. Recorded sessions are available below.

Yes to both questions.

The Student Association Shuttle runs from the Angell College Center to the mall, a grocery store, and a pharmacy.

Visit https://www.plattsburgh.edu/about/directions/parking/index.html for more information.

Dining in seating capacity will be reduced to 50% of room capacity.

Two weeks prior to the semester, you’ll be able to register and activate your Cardinal Cash account at http://www.plattsburghcas.com/id-card. At your account summary when you login, it will display your Cardinal Cash, Dining Dollars, Express Dollars balance and more.

All students living on campus must have a meal plan.

Your meal plan options will be on your college billing statement. You’ll be pre-selected for the Anytime +$125 meal plan for all freshman (mandatory for first and second semester freshman). If you are a student transferring in at a sophomore credit status, you’ll have the option to choose: Anytime +$125, Flex 150 and the Flex 120. For those students who qualify for all of the 3 options, you have 10 days to switch your meal plan once the semester starts (second Wednesday at 4 p.m.); after this deadline you’ll be locked on the current meal plan until the end of the semester. For more information please visit: http://www.plattsburghcas.com/dining/campus-meal-plans-1.

For information on CAS services and more, go to plattsburghcas.com. For information directly related to meal plan options you can use this shortcut: http://www.plattsburghcas.com/dining/campus-meal-plans-1.

Housing Placement will take place at the end of July. Students will be able to find out their placements by clicking on the Housing link in the MyPlattsburgh portal.

Contact the Office of Campus Housing & Community Living for more information at 518-564-3824.

Students will only be allowed to have guests that already live on campus. Students can certainly have guests from off-campus or non-student, they just will not be permitted into the residence halls. Guests will also be asked to fill out a health screening form prior to arrival to campus.

• Masks will be required in public (exceptions will be suites and rooms). This will include hallways, lounges, bathrooms and lobbies. The college will be providing two masks for every student.
• Education regarding social distancing and safety precautions will be a strong focus of the community living staff.
  Indoor areas will have crowd limit sizes to prevent large activities from occurring.
• All residence hall programing for the foreseeable future will be digital.
• Guests will be limited to only other on-campus students.
• There will be only one main entrance into each residence hall.
• Regular health screenings are required for students and staff.
• Quarantine and isolation spots have been identified, in case someone gets sick or comes in-contact with an infected individual.

For questions about what to bring to campus, what types of items are permitted in the residence halls, storage and more, visit https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/housing/housing-faqs.html.

Check-In starts for new students on August 18 and will continue until August 20. On August 21st, 22nd and 23rd returning students will start moving on-campus. Students will receive a time and date on when they are permitted to move in from the Office of Campus Housing & Community Living.

Only two people will be allowed to help move you in. Helpers will also have to take a health screening before arrival and wear a mask.

Yes, student athletes and new international students are permitted to arrive earlier. However, they should get in contact with their coach or the Global Education Office for more information.

No, move-in times will be selected at random and roommates will not be permitted to move in at the same time. Your roommate may move in on the same day, but it will not be at the same time. The exception to this rule of course will be if the two students were siblings. If this is the case students should reach out to Campus Housing to verify this, especially once they have received their check-in dates.

There will be a process for students to request a different time. However, times cannot be guaranteed as the Housing Office needs to be sure that the campus is maintaining a safe check-in process, where social distancing guidelines can be adhered to. More information about changing your time will be provided later.

Meals plans will start at noon on Tuesday, August 18th.

Join in the Town Hall meeting on Thursday, July 23 at 2 p.m. to hear more about campus plans for COVID-19 prevention and response. Information will be sent to your campus email about how to join that webinar.

Contact your academic department for more information.

We cannot limit your visitation. However, we do highly recommend that you remain on campus in our community as much as possible. If you do need to go home, we ask that you continue to practice social distancing, wearing a mask when out in public, and practice good handwashing. If you travel to another state listed on the NYS mandatory quarantine list, you will need to quarantine for 14 days when you return to campus. Unless this is absolutely necessary we recommend that you postpone such travel if possible. We do understand that such travel may be necessary.

You will be contacted by a contact tracer from the NYS Department of Health that will assist you with the best recommendation for your care. You may need to be in an isolation room until you can be picked up by a family member if this is in your best medical interest.

Students that arrive in NYS from those states and countries that are on the mandatory quarantine list will need to quarantine for 14 days before they are allowed to participate in college wide activities including face to face classes. There are designated isolation and quarantine rooms on campus for that purpose.

Students will only be allowed to have guests that already live on campus. Students can certainly have guests from off-campus or a non-student, they just will not be permitted into the Residence Halls. Guests will also be asked to fill out a health screening form prior to arrival to campus.

Daily screenings once you arrive on campus are not mandatory at this point in time. This advice may be subject to change depending on the current pandemic situation. Currently we will only be testing students that exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 and any other students that the NYS Department of Health asks us to based on certain criteria of exposure.

For more information about FAFSA, visit https://www.plattsburgh.edu/cost-aid/apply.html.

For information about scholarships at SUNY Plattsburgh, visit https://www.plattsburgh.edu/cost-aid/scholarships/index.html.

Withdrawals can be requested online by logging onto your account, by phone, or by submitting a Withdrawal Request Form. Qualified higher education withdrawals for attendance at eligible educational institutions can be sent to: the account owner, the beneficiary, the eligible educational institution. For more information: https://www.nysaves.org/home/faqs-managing-your-account.html#how-withdraw.

We anticipate the status of the Excelsior application will be announced prior to billing. At that point, we will determine the appropriate accommodations to make under the circumstances.

Check your FAFSA and ensure that you reported two in college.

As long as a student has satisfied all of the requirements for the loan (accepted the loan, completed the Loan Agreement, and completed Entrance), the loan will be deducted from the charges on the bill.

You can access it on MyPlattsburgh under Student Services tab, Financial Aid, My Award to see aid package.

Loans are the same, but the subsidized loan is better in a sense because interest doesn’t accumulate during school, while unsubsidized loan interest kicks in and accumulates while students are in college. For more information: https://www.plattsburgh.edu/cost-aid/scholarships/loan-programs.html.

As long as we have a valid FAFSA on file, you should be emailed an award summary within two weeks of your acceptance by Admissions.

It is $35. You can enroll in a payment plan online after you get the online bill, but the following paper form provides a description: https://www.plattsburgh.edu/_documents/cost-aid/payment-plan-application.pdf.

Head to Handshake in the MyPlattsburgh portal where jobs are posted. Look for the position and apply for it, none are yet posted but should be posted soon.

The Excelsior Scholarships covers any portion of tuition that is not already covered by TAP, Pell, or any other scholarship or grant that can be applied toward tuition.

Yes, contact the Financial Aid Office via phone at 518-564-2072 or email at [email protected] to set up a conversation.

It will be about three weeks after your bill is generated. Your bill will specify the due date.

Check your award summary on MyPlattsburgh and then contact the Financial Aid office via phone at 518-564-2072 or email at [email protected].

Yes, you can submit a loan adjustment on MyPlattsburgh or send us an email from your Plattsburgh account ([email protected]) requesting that we cancel or reduce your loan.