Supporting a Student Through the Onboarding Process
If you're helping a student as they begin their journey at Oregon State University—whether you're a parent, family member, friend, or another trusted supporter—this page is designed for you. Its purpose is to point you to resources that help you understand the onboarding process and share recommendations for how you can support your student along the way.
Step 1: Start with the Onboarding Sequence page.
This page provides a clear overview of the five steps your student will complete, along with key dates and important reminders to keep them on track.
Step 2: Explore These Tips for Supporting Your Student
- Check OSU Email
Remind your student to regularly check their OSU email for the invitation to start the onboarding process. The entire sequence takes about a week to complete—so encourage them to begin as soon as possible!
- Highlight the Benefits (and Why Timing Matters)
Timing is essential! The Prepare online modules take about 60–90 minutes and include critical information before advising and registration. Completing them early unlocks access to the next steps, gives your student more flexibility to organize their schedule, and helps them secure preferred advising appointments before attending their Launch session. Starting sooner means less stress and more options.
- Reach Out for Help
If your student has questions about onboarding tasks, they can contact our office for support. We’re unable to release student status information to parents and family members due to FERPA regulations. You can support your student by encouraging them to call, live chat or email our office, and by brainstorming with them about what questions they may need to ask.
- Stay Involved and Engaged
There are many ways to learn more about supporting your student—whether during our Launch programs or through our Oregon State University Family, Parent and Supporter Portal. We also encourage you to consider attending a Family & Supporter Launch Session to gain insight into the OSU student experience and how to help your student through the transition.
- See our New Student Onboarding FAQ page
Have questions about the onboarding process? Our FAQ page is a great place to start.
FAQs
The Sequence Overview can give you a broad overview of what needs to be done at each stage.
Your student can find personalized information and to-dos in several places:
- In their OSU email account
- In Beaver Basecamp checklist items from the Office of Admissions
- Once they begin Activate: Advising & Registration, they’ll transition to using Beaver Hub, OSU’s dashboard for enrolled students, and can check there for tasks and reminders.
If your student has questions about onboarding tasks, they can contact our office for support. We’re unable to release student status information to parents and family members due to FERPA regulations. You can support your student by encouraging them to call, live chat or email our office, and by brainstorming with them about what questions they may need to ask.
A lot of the information students need will come to them through their OSU email and it’s good to build a habit of checking that regularly. In addition, the Transfer & New Student Navigator website provides students with guidance on some key tasks that they’re working on during their transition to OSU.
We monitor student progress through the sequence and will actively send reminders to students if we see that they’re not completing their onboarding phases. As with many university processes however, there are places where it’s ultimately up to the student to complete specific tasks. If students wait to complete their online modules, there may be fewer time slots for advising appointments available. If a student doesn’t turn in their immunization records, they won’t be able to register for their next term of classes until they do so. While we provide reminders (via email most often), we also encourage students to use an organizational system that works for them to help them track and complete tasks in a timely fashion.