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New Student Orientation

Welcome to LWTech!

We are all so excited to welcome you to be part of our LWTech family. New Student Orientation is designed to introduce you to what it means to be a student at LWTech. There are two orientation experiences for all new students. Learn more below.

Welcome to Fall Quarter!

Message from President Amy Morrison

Hello LWTech Lions!

President Amy MorrisonI want to take this opportunity to welcome you to LWTech! All of us at the college are so glad you’re here! Your commitment to getting your education is inspiring, and we are here to support you, every step along the way.

Your health and safety are our priority. Being that we’re still in the midst of the COVID pandemic, LWTech is what the Governor is calling a “vaccinated campus.”

On Friday August 27, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee updated the requirements for higher education. The most relevant proclamations are Proclamation 12.5 and Proclamation 12-14.1. Based on these proclamations, LWTech, like all other public colleges in King County, will be requiring vaccines for employees and students as well as tracking the vaccination status of all enrolled students who come to campus.

If you plan to come to campus for any reason (attending classes or accessing other services), you must use this link in order to attest to your vaccination status.  If you haven’t already done so please complete this process as soon as possible.

When you go to the link you have the options of:

  • Attesting to the type and dates of the COVID19 vaccine you have received OR
  • Attesting that you have a medical exemption OR
  • Attesting that you have a sincerely held religious exemption

If you attest to a medical exemption, a college employee will send you a form that must be filled out by your healthcare provider. Please return the form promptly so it can be reviewed as part of your exemption request. Approval or denial will be communicated in writing to your student email address.

If you attest a sincerely held religious belief has led to your exemption, a college employee will review your request and an approval or denial will be communicated in writing to your student email address.

You can read more about how to plan for your visit to campus on our website.

Student Support Services

Advising, Assessment, Counseling, Disability Services, Financial Aid, Enrollment Services, TRIO, Veteran’s Services, High School Programs, and WorkForce Development are open and available on campus on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. All of these offices are also scheduling online appointments over Zoom Monday - Thursday. Be sure to check out our website for specific department office hours. All of us at LWTech are here to support you. Be sure to reach out to your advisor, faculty, or a member of our staff if you need assistance during the quarter.

Technology Support

As in previous quarters, the college has technology available for students to borrow, including basic tablets with internet access, laptops, and webcams. To learn more, visit our website where you can submit your technology request. We also have tutoring available to you in the Learning Lab, which is now located in the Library in room T217.

Campus Amenities

I’m also happy to share that our library and bookstore, the Stopwatch Espresso stand, and our student-run Bakery will all be open this quarter.

Finally, I wish you a successful Fall quarter! We are so glad you’re here! Take care, and I look forward to seeing you on campus!

Amy

Fall Quarter Online New Student Orientation

Welcome to 2021 Fall quarter! Take our New Student Online Orientation and go through our open, and non-timed orientation. Complete the orientation by clicking through the end of the orientation to take a short quiz. Your quiz will be counted as you completing the online orientation.

Start the New Student Online Orientation

New Student Services Navigation Information

As a new student, there are many things to be aware of. Whether you are in one of our specialty populations, coming back after years of being out of college, or it is your first time in college you have much in common with everyone, you need to start somewhere. The information below can help navigate the various services available to students as you get ready for your first quarter. 

After you figure out your first quarter, you will continue to learn more about the college and find connections that will help with social and academic success. Please use the information below to learn what services or supports we believe are important for students before their first quarter.

All students have some level of access to apply for funding through financial aid by using the Free Financial Aid for Student Aid application. This application is online, and managed through the federal government. It is recommended any student applying for federal aid to attend LWTech apply using the FAFSA at least three months in advance of starting their first quarter. Processing time may limit a student's ability to pay for tuition and supplies.

Other funding options might be available from scholarships or through LWTech's Worker Retraining Department. 

Finally, all students are encouraged to learn more about scholarships that can supplement costs to attend.

A great resource for all students is the Student Handbook that can help you learn more about academic and student life. The student handbook is for all students and covers resources and services all students are eligible to use.

All students need to take the time to get their student identification card. That card is used for entering campus while we are in remote operations, accessing library materials online or in person.

Students can find the textbooks needed for their classes by visiting the bookstore’s "get your textbooks" webpage. You will need your class schedule when using the bookstore textbook search function. Use Student Toolbox to get a copy of your schedule to look for textbooks.

All students, after registering for classes, can access their quarterly schedule through the online student toolbox. This is a great online resource to check all your college information including checking grades, changing you personal identification number, or checking your registration time. 

Canvas is LWTech's online learning software. This is the system you will use when taking any classes that are online, have a hybrid component, or faculty use for holding information. There are several help pages that outline problem solving, if you have any issues figuring out how to use the software.

At some point, all students will use the college bookstore to purchase unique supplies, books, buy college apparel, or get a snack. 

Legend is your way to connect with your academic advisor and professor about how you are doing in your class. You will see academic plans, kudos, and resources you can use for academic success.

There are several maps available for you to use when figuring out where your labs and classes are. There are four buildings that make up the total campus buildings and each building has different services, amenities, classrooms, or labs in them.

Generally speaking, this is the list of building with their services:

  • West building includes classrooms, labs, student services, human resources, and the president's office.
  • East building includes several classrooms and labs. It also includes food for purchase, student activities and student government, TRIO, and the RISE and Fitness centers.
  • Allied Health building includes classrooms and labs for health care programs.
  • Technology center includes classrooms, labs, the library, and the information technology department. 
There are several options for student involvement including attending student activities, starting or joining a student club, engaging with student government, visiting the veteran center, or utilizing the RISE Center. 
Finally, if you cannot find information you need here or at other webpages, please visit the ASK Me webpage and ask your question. A college employee will get back to you with an answer.

College After COVID

LWTech is committed to the physical and emotional safety of our students. Managing academic course work through the pandemic has been difficulty for many students. LWTech recognizes that many of our students coming to campus fall quarter will have been in remote learning for over a year. To help with managing coming back to campus, please use these tips for a successful academic and social experience.

The pace of in-person learning tends to be much faster than in online learning, and you need to be aware that professors will expect reading and studying to be done prior to in-person lectures, discussions, labs, or projects. While the volume of online learning may be greater, the pace of in-person instruction means that you arrive prepared, ready to listen, and able to keep up, as lectures cannot be paused or replayed, like online content.

If you thrived in online learning environments where you were often able to focus entirely on content, being in-person means having to spend little mental energy on understanding the nuances and impacts of social dynamics on the learning process. A return to in-person learning means that you will need to again consider social interactions and manage your social environment.

  • How will you join small learning groups?
  • How many questions are appropriate for your classroom environment?
  • Are you comfortable walking into a room full of people?

There are no right or wrong answers, but thinking through some of the likely scenarios can help you feel more prepared for in-person instruction.

In-person learning means a return to not only a social environment, but also one with a host of sensory inputs which may feel overwhelming or overstimulating. While at-home, online learning meant you could dress comfortably, and were often in a comfortable environment of your own choosing, a return to in-person learning will mean being prepared for a host of sensory inputs—sights, sounds, smells, ect., which were often not a part of the home learning experience. If at all possible, consider increasing your exposure to sensory input early, in non-learning environments, so as to reduce the likelihood of sensory overload/overstimulation in a classroom.
Online learning often meant you could roll out of bed, into some comfy clothes, and over to your computer, desk, or learning station, which was still set up from the day before, and it’s possible that the entire preparation time lasted under 10 minutes. A return to in-person learning means that you will have to schedule in ample preparation time to get up, get fed, bathed, dressed for public (not just the portion of themselves visible in a video conference!), and then travel out of your living space and into a classroom. What once took 10 minutes, might now take an hour or more. Additionally, walking out the door means remembering all of the things that are needed for the day—school supplies, chargers, food, water, etc. Consider starting out with a checklist of all the important items needed for a day of in-person learning, to ensure you are prepared for the day ahead, until these steps are re-integrated as habits.
A return to in-person learning is exciting, but it is going to take everyone some time to get back into the flow of “normal life” after so many months having been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. You and your classmates, professors, and school administrators and personnel will all be working on reintegrating into old and new ways of doing things. Be patient with yourself— and others—as you work your way back into in-person learning. Change takes time, and we are all navigating this new world together. Talk to friends, professors, and others if things are feeling hard or overwhelming, as engagement with support systems early on will provide students the best opportunity to course-correct if things get off to a rocky start. 
Returning to in-person classes may mean some extra steps, and new challenges, but it also will open new opportunities for social connections, intellectual conversations, and positive learning experiences. Online learning has a lot of advantages, but in-person learning does as well, and as we begin to open back up after the pandemic students around the country can look forward to a return to dynamic and engaging learning opportunities.

Content referenced from Mansfield Hall, an online, student focused living and learning community.

Have a great quarter! We hope you tailor your LWTech experience to meet your expectations. If we can help in anyway, please let us know.

New Student Orientation
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(425) 739-8100


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