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For Newly Admitted Students

Welcome to Summer Orientation for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources(AGNR)

New Student OrientationCongratulations to new freshmen on joining the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources as members of the Class of 2009! And, an equally warm welcome to those of you who will become part of the AGNR family as transferring students. The staff of AGNR Academic Programs is looking forward to having each of you here. We offer our full support to insure that you are succesful in your pursuit of a university education. Your first step along that road will come this summer during orientation. Here are a few facts and tips to make that orientation a fun and productive experience:

You must attend an AGNR-specific orientation All class registrations are done on orientation days. Students who do not attend an orientation must wait until the first day of classes to register. Seats may be at a premium, especially in freshmen classes. So, don't delay getting your registration completed.

Sign up early! Orientation dates for AGNR are:

1. Wednesday, June 21st - Transfers
2. Thursday, June 22nd - College Park Scholars
3. Thursday, June 29th - General Freshmen
4. Monday, July 10th - Honors
5. Wednesday, July 12th - Transfers
6. Monday, July 24th - General Freshmen/Athletes
7. Friday, August 18th - Late Freshmen/Transfers
8. Monday, August 21st - Late Freshmen/Transfers

REMEMBER!!! Please register for your earliest option date. The earlier in the summer you come to orientation, the better your chances of obtaining the course schedule you want.

Prepare for the math placement exam Unless you are transferring math credits equivalent to calculus (MATH140) with a grade of "C" or better, you WILL be taking a timed, multipart math exam on the first morning of orientation. For those who completed high school math requirements as juniors or earlier, you may well be 'rusty'. Registration in certain key courses (e.g., biology and chemistry) is contingent on successful placement in an appropriate level math. Therefore, review, review, review and practice problems, practice problems, practice problems! Computer Lab
Visit the Orientation web page The Orientation Office has already mailed detailed information to you.
Be sure you are familiar with it (contact the orientation office if you have questions - just click Orientation E-mail ). Also, visit their website at Orientation for information on the program, dates, etc. Details of the math placement exam, including a practice exam, are on that page. There is also information on programs for your parents.
  1. Thinking about courses One of the many tasks you will do while at orientation is prepare your first semester schedule. You can help make this process a little easier by gaining some familiarity with the kinds of courses about which you will be deciding. Two major categories of courses will be most relevant to you now:
  2. CORE courses. These are the courses in the general education requirement that all university students must take. Freshman math and English, humanities and arts, science and math, social sciences and history, and diversity are among the areas you will have to fulfill. For details on the CORE program, please visit CORE
  3. MAJOR courses. These are the courses specified by your program as being required for the satisfactory completion of the major you have selected. They will include courses within the program itself, as well as designated support courses offered by other departments. You may visit these course requirements by checking out the web page of the department that offers your major. Please visit Majors to view departmental pages.
  4. 4-Year Plans In your first semester, you will be preparing an individual 4-year plan. More information about that plan and how to do it will be included in your summer orientation. However, you might view sample plans now to get an idea of the sequences of courses that work! To see sample 4-year plans, please visit 4-Yr Plans. Keep in mind that with some very recent curriculum changes some sample plans now at that site may have errors; some have been taken down and will be re-posted just prior to AGNR's first summer orientation date. If you don't find your plan today, please re-visit the site later on (but prior to coming to orientation). The Department of Animal and Avian Sciences has just released its newly approved curriculum. For updates on the new and revised major offerings, please visit ANSC. With that descriptive information and the 4-Year Plan sample, you will be able to make some intelligent decisions about courses you will want to take this Fall.
  5. Visit Testudo! A click on Testudo will bring you to one of your more valuable resources as a student here. Select the 3rd menu item (Schedule of Classes) and pick "Fall 2005" to view all of the courses that will be offered in your first semester. As you navigate this page, you can look at specific courses and determine time and place of offering, number of students already registered, etc. You can also look at available CORE classes. Coming to orientation with some of those classes in mind will make your first on-line registration experience much more productive!
Continuing your orientation: UNIV100 Campus resources to help you succeed and to have wonderful experiences outside of the classroom, Campus and AGNR policies related to academics, time management, on-line course resources, study skills, making appropriate choices as you establish full responsibility over your own life decisions, how to get involved, etc. are all topics included in UNIV100, The Student in the University. This is a 1-credit seminar course that builds upon your initial experiences during orientation and is designed to help you make the transition into university life. AGNR requires all new freshmen to enroll in UNIV100 during their first semester here. Since the course is specific to this college, AGNR students may only register for sections 1501, 1502, 1503, or 1504. Check them out in Testudo. If you were invited to University Honors or the Gemstone program, you will have a similar course offered through those honors programs; you will not need to take one of our sections as well. If you are a transfer student who feels strongly that this course will be of significant benefit to you, you may inquire about seat availability during summer orientation.
The Academic Programs staff looks forward to seeing each one of you this summer. Your orientation will be very busy, but you will learn a lot about your new University, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and you will leave with a schedule in hand, ready to begin your educational pursuits here. Welcome!

Go TERPS!

For more information, contact Donna Walther

Last updated: 08/18/2008