Preparing for Orientation

The New Student Orientation (NSO) experience will be completed virtually with an in-person Orientation program being offered prior to the beginning of the semester. Students will complete a series of five checkpoints as they make their way through the Orientation experience. Successful completion of NSO requires students to complete all five checkpoints, so be sure to view the first-year student NSO checklist to learn more about what is required throughout the NSO process.

All important information, next steps, and deadlines for NSO experiences will be shared through a series of bi-weekly e-newsletters, so be sure to check your email frequently. Orientation sets the foundation for student success, so all new students must participate in a NSO experience, unless you meet specific exemption criteria.

Note: If you do not complete NSO, MSU reserves the right to revoke your admission.

Pay your AED to register for Your New Student Orientation (NSO) Experience

Upon completing your AED payment, you will be sent a confirmation message to your preferred email account. You will also be able to see this message in your Admissions portal. Please read through that confirmation message for any next step information. We also have a list of frequently asked questions regarding the NSO experience.

Check Your Status

Checkpoint 1: Placement Tests

Complete your course assessments and surveys:

Completing your Placement Assessment(s) prior to starting your online NSO D2L course and meeting with your academic advisor will help you and your academic advisor/College determine the appropriate courses for you to enroll in. This is a great first step as you begin your journey through the NSO experience. You can complete your Placement Assessments at home and online.

How do I know what placement assessments to take?

Math Placement Assessment is required for all incoming new students. If a student does not do the placement, they cannot be enrolled in the appropriate math for their major and may need to take additional math courses for graduation. Without a math placement assessment score, students can only get into the lowest level of math as the placement score is a pre-requisite for higher ones.

NOTE: To determine if your major may waive the University math requirement by proctored math placement assessment, please click here. All other students can go directly to the math placement assessment using the link above and navigate to ‘Take the MPS Assessment”.

Writing directed self-placement is a self-guided placement designed for students who wish to determine their placement in one of two primary first-year writing pathways. We encourage all new students to take this assessment because (1) it will help you understand how your skills and experiences map onto MSU’s writing courses; and (2) it will give you a good idea of what to expect when you take a MSU writing courses.

Language placement assessments are also available if you are interested in placing out of your language requirement (if required by your major) or continuing a foreign language.

If you have questions about any of the placement assessments, please contact your advisor or the math, writing, or language departments directly.

Are there any other New Student Orientation – Checkpoint 1 items to complete?

To support your academic success and technological needs, we highly recommend that you complete the Access & Technology Survey. This survey will reopen later in November 2023 for Spring 2024 students. Questions about the survey? Please contact the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) office directly at 517-884-7273.

Math Placement Assessment Foreign Language Placement Test

Review Our Helpful Resources

With the help of our campus partners, we have compiled important resources that you can review to prepare for your New Student Orientation experience and your first semester. Not sure how to get started with Desire2Learn (D2L), the first part of your NSO experience? No problem! Check out our tutorials by clicking the link below. Want to make sure you are set up with your two-factor authentication and your Zoom and Microsoft Teams accounts? We can help with that too!

Review Our Helpful Resources 2023-24 New Student Orientation Resource Guide

Spartan ID Card

All Spartans use a student ID card known as their Spartan ID Card. Students can upload a Spartan ID Photo prior to the beginning of the semester and will have access to do so during the summer. You can pick-up your Spartan ID Card when you arrive on campus. Please bring with you a government issued ID (passport, license, etc.) in order to pick-up your card.

Incoming students will receive more information when photo submission is available. When it is available, the photo upload and submission deadlines can be found using the links below. The ID Office will update their website with important dates for photo uploading sometime before the semester begins.

Spartan ID FAQ Upload My Photo

NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION