Orientation FAQs

Online Orientation is required for all new undergraduate students to complete. It is an opportunity for new students to receive important preliminary information about academics, student services, getting involved on campus, policies/safety, academic advising, and more! Once you complete your online orientation, your orientation hold will be removed the next business day. For students that are required (Fall 2025 Freshmen) or select Online Orientation + New Student Orientation (NSO) you must complete Online Orientation at least 2 weeks prior to your NSO. Academic Advising & Course Registration are included in the NSO program.

For students that have the option to complete Online Orientation ONLY this removal will notify Academic Advising that you are eligible to schedule your advising appointment. You will be contacted within 2 weeks after you complete your Online Orientation, Academic Advising will send an email to your UTSA email account with instructions on how to schedule your advising appointment. If you are not contacted by Academic Advising, please email advising@utsa.edu.

You can sign up for Orientation through your Rowdy Ready Checklist on your myUTSA Admissions portal. Once logged in, you will find your application under “My Admission Applications” section. From there, click on the orange “Review Details & Checklist” at the bottom of the tile. Under the “Your Rowdy Ready Status” section, you will see a “Sign Up for Orientation” checklist item with a link.

Online Orientation takes about 1 to 2 hours to complete in one sitting. You can complete this in one sitting or at your own pace; your progress is automatically saved.

We highly recommend you complete Online Orientation as soon as possible since completing it will make you eligible for academic advising either in-person through NSO or online (if this is an available option for you). Typically, orientation closes a week before the start of classes for the upcoming term.

Within two weeks of you completing your Online Orientation, your UTSA Academic Advisor will reach out to you to schedule your advising appointment. It is during your academic advising appointment where you will be advised on your first semester of classes along with an overview of how to register for classes. Your Academic Advisor will send an email to your UTSA email account (@my.utsa.edu) to set up an appointment. Make sure you have access to your UTSA email account, if you’re not sure please visit https://my.utsa.edu/ and click the link that says “Email Account” under the student resources tab.

For students that are required (Fall 2025 Freshmen) or select Online Orientation + New Student Orientation (NSO) you must complete Online Orientation at least 2 weeks prior to your NSO. Academic Advising & Course Registration are included in the NSO program.

For students that have the option to complete Online Orientation ONLY You will be contacted within 2 weeks after you complete your Online Orientation, Academic Advising will send an email to your UTSA email account with instructions on how to schedule your advising appointment. After you meet with your advisor you can register for classes. If you are not contacted by Academic Advising, please email advising@utsa.edu.

No, you can sign up and complete Online Orientation before your Rowdy Ready requirements are complete.

For students completing Online Orientation + New Student Orientation (NSO) Academic Advising and Course Registration is included in the program. For students that have the option to complete the Online Orientation experience ONLY (this option is not available for Fall 2025 Freshmen) you will be contacted within 2 weeks after you complete your Online Orientation, Academic Advising will send an email to your UTSA email account with instructions on how to schedule your advising appointment. If you are not contacted by Academic Advising, please email advising@utsa.edu.

If you need to update or edit your orientation reservation, you can log back into your myUTSA Admissions portal (under your Rowdy Ready Checklist) and make edits as long as your edit button is visible on your Orientation confirmation page. Students that are signed up for Online Orientation and New Student Orientation (NSO), you have up to two weeks prior to your program date to make any changes. Two weeks prior to your program date, the orientation sign up period will end and you will no longer be able to edit your reservation. Should your plans change, or an emergency arise, please reach out to the orientation at orientation@utsa.edu. orientation@utsa.edu Please note, your orientation fee payment is non-refundable, even if you no longer plan to attend UTSA.

Yes! Visit our Family Orientation page to learn more about our in-person and virtual Family Orientation options.

For students who are military-affiliated including active duty, veteran, guard/reserve and family members using their parent’s/spouse’s benefits, you can check out the Center for Military Affiliated Students and take advantage of the great resources they offer such as their getting started check-list and sign up for a benefits workshop today!

When you sign up for Orientation, you will be asked to pay a non-refundable fee by credit card in order to confirm your orientation reservation. Once registration is complete, a confirmation page will appear indicating your confirmed reservation and your non-refundable payment receipt. Please note that orientation is not supported through tuition dollars and the orientation fee must be paid at the time of sign-up. The UTSA orientation fee supports the staffing, programming and technical costs of producing quality orientation for our new students.

Fee Deferrals (Pay Later)
There is no waiver for the orientation fee. Students who meet certain financial criteria will have the option to defer the orientation fee at the time of sign-up.

If you are unable to defer at sign-up and have extenuating circumstances, you can submit a request to defer the orientation fee by emailing the office directly at orientation@utsa.edu. Please allow 3-5 business days for us to review your request. Decisions will be emailed directly to your myUTSA email account.

Please remember, the orientation fee is non-refundable, even if you decide not to enroll at UTSA. If you deferred the fee to your tuition account, the fee will become an outstanding balance and will have to be paid by the stated payment deadline for the semester you intended to enroll.