Student Communications

It’s June, the school year is coming to an end, and there are exciting things on the checklist for your student to complete to continue preparing for their arrival.

Housing Information

The housing contract went live on your housing self-service portal and will be open until June 7. If you filled it out and want to change your preferences, you can simply fill it out again. If you missed the Housing Contract webinar, you can watch the recording here or visit the Housing Services website for step by step information on what to do. 

• For more information about first-year housing, visit the Housing Services website. When you click on a specific location, you can see more information about the hall, what exactly the room includes, and take an interactive tour. 
• For disability related housing requests, please make sure you submit your request on time.
• For Housing and Meal Plan rates, please visit the website.
• Specific information about the beds and measurements can be found on the Housing website.

Roommate matching will open on June 11 and close on June 22. There will be an additional webinar to walk you through the process this week on June 5 at 7:00 PM EDT. They can sign up on the Summer Webinar webpage. The recording will be posted by the end of the week.

For students with medical conditions that impact your ability to dine well on campus, we strongly encourage a conversation with our Registered  Dietitian, Executive Chef, and/or General Manager.  In many instances, our dining team can easily assist with special needs. We may require additional medical documentation to enable us to develop a more specific meal plan accommodation. In this situation, please visit the Office of Disability Services for details and instructions on how to submit a meal plan accommodation request.

Summer Webinar Series

We have helpful webinars coming up in the month of June. Please sign up on our Summer Webinar Series webpage, or you can check out the recording a few days later if you are unable to attend.

• It’s Roommate Selection Time - RESCHEDULED TO SUNDAY, JUNE 9 at 7:00 PM EDT
• Academic Advising  & Support for Students - Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 7:00 PM EDT
• Tech Talk for First-Year Students & Families - Wednesday, June 26 at 7:00 PM EDT

Summer Checklist Reminders

Below are a few highlights but please be sure to return to the full list at go.lehigh.edu/lehighportal

• Orientation Registration Due June 30 - Orientation is mandatory for all students but this form helps us gather some additional information including any physical accommodations your family may need when visiting for move-in, your restaurant choice for Faux Friday, your dietary restrictions, etc.
• Student Health Forms Due July 15 -  forms must be signed by your doctor; vaccinations must be entered on the patient portal also

Don’t forget to continue to revisit the full Summer Checklist on the portal for May, June and July! 

Course registration is in about one month . This can be both exciting and overwhelming to decide your college courses for the first time. While you may not be here in Bethlehem, there are so many resources and people here to help! We hope this email streamlines all of the resources that you already have at your fingertips.

Advising

A Lehigh staff member in your advising unit will reach out to you via your Lehigh email address. They will remind you of resources available to you and offer to assist you as you explore and decide which courses you should register for.  There will be virtual advising sessions OR webinars available during June depending on your college. Don’t forget there is the Academic Advising & Support for Students webinar TONIGHT at 7:00 PM EDT. The recording will be available by early next week on the website.

Preparing for Registration

Registration will start between July 15-17 and will close on July 26. You will receive an email in early July with your exact day and time. To prepare for the process, check out the following resources:

• First-Year Student Enrollment Website - for general registration information, how-to videos, and sample schedules. We highly recommend looking at their How to Register page!

• Check your Portal for the link to your course packet and helpful information from your college

• Attend a session with your academic unit or program, or reach out to them if you have questions!

What To Do When...

Deciding which courses to take in fall? Review your course packet, check the portal and your email for additional information, see the first-year enrollment website for sample schedules, and contact your academic unit.

Have questions about utilizing the registration system? Review the First-Year Enrollment website for videos on how to utilize the registration system and contact Registration & Academic Services.

Having trouble during the registration period? Use the Live Chat on the Registration & Academic Services webpage to talk with someone in the moment.

Schedule Changes

Still feeling nervous even after you’ve registered? Don’t worry! You will have the opportunity to meet with a college representative on Friday, August 23 during Orientation for any last-minute questions and course changes. Students can continue making schedule changes through the first week of the semester, so there’s plenty of time to ensure that you have an appropriate course schedule.

Disability Support Services Documentation

Students with disabilities who would like to apply for reasonable accommodations and services should begin the interactive process today to ensure that all reasonable accommodations are in place by the start of the fall semester. Students who wait to apply for accommodations until just prior to the start of the fall semester may experience delays, so it is recommended that students begin the process and submit documentation as soon as possible. 

To get started, students should register with Disability Support Services by completing the Disability Support Services Registration form. This form allows students to upload documentation with initial registration if they would like, but documentation can also be submitted afterwards. Next, students should submit a copy of their current disability documentation from their physician, clinician, or diagnostician.More information about documentation guidelines can be found on the Disability Support Services website. DSS engages in an interactive process and reviews requests for reasonable accommodations on a case-by-case and class-by-class basis, so after the initial documentation evaluation is complete, DSS will reach out during the summer to schedule an appointment to discuss next steps. 

If you have questions about how Disability Support Services assists students or about the interactive process, please call them at 610-758-4152 for more information.

The Health & Wellness Center’s mission is to provide high quality, compassionate medical care, respect individual differences in a confidential environment, and give students the knowledge and ability to treat themselves for minor illnesses and injuries. Our dedicated, professional staff provides acute and ongoing care to approximately 6,000 undergraduate students and more than 2,000 graduate students. 

We offer a host of services, including acute care, routine examinations, lab services and reproductive and sexual health services. To learn more , please visit our Services.

Lehigh University requires that  undergraduate and graduate students be covered by adequate medical insurance or enroll in the university-sponsored plan. The Health & Wellness Center does not directly bill, nor receive payment from any insurance company. Most Health & Wellness Center services including office visits are provided at no charge. For services that do have an associated charge, students may pay cash or bill their bursar account. It is the student's responsibility to submit a claim to their health insurance company for reimbursement if applicable. Supporting documentation that may be required by insurance including receipts and encounter summaries are available on the Student Health Portal. 

Students can make appointments by calling the Health & Wellness Center, or through our online chat forum. For more information, please visit Making an Appointment.

Step by step instructions for incoming student paperwork are provided on our website. Healthcare providers must fill out and sign the paperwork sent home in the Welcome Kits. Students must complete all electronic forms in their student health portal. Students will enroll in or waive the Student Health Insurance plan. Finally, students should provide pictures of their insurance card in their student health portal.

Have additional questions? Check out the Health & Wellness Center incoming student FAQs.

Until now, your journey may have been outlined for you. You may have taken a predetermined path to arrive here at Lehigh. But this journey is different. This journey is directed by you. The path is yours to create, a blank page full of countless possibilities. You decide who you want to be, what kind of relationships you’ll build, and how you will make an impact in the community. And we hope bLUeprint will be a tool for you in that journey.

bLUeprint is all about making the most of your experiences. Just like your faculty have syllabi and goals for your classes, bLUeprint is like that for your learning outside of the classroom. We know that so much of our learning comes from those everyday moments and experiences in college – the conversations over dinner; interacting with your hallmates; your involvement in students clubs, research, internships; and everything in between. It is so easy to run from one thing to the next - to go four years without articulating exactly how you’ve grown and in what specific ways those moments have impacted you, your identity, and your trajectory. bLUeprint is meant to encourage those moments of pause and reflection. It is meant to encourage and challenge you to think deeply about where you come from, who you are and who you want to be. This is your opportunity to create your experience. 

The Five Foundations are the goals we want you to explore and question. 

• Creative Curiosity encourages the exploration of new ideas and concepts. We want you to develop the skills necessary to be lifelong learners and innovative problem solvers. 
• Self Concept encourages you to strengthen your self-worth by understanding your identities and values and expressing yourself authentically. 
• Healthy Connections begin with taking care of yourself. It pushes you to reflect on your healthy and unhealthy connections, identify your personal needs and boundaries, and navigate relationships with empathy for yourself and others.
• Critical Consciousness is the ability to understand and analyze societal structures and systems of oppression, and to take action towards social change. We challenge you to see the ways in which systems can perpetuate inequality, injustice and oppression. 
• Strategic Adaptability recognizes that we are all navigating in constantly changing environments. We want you to build skills in problem-solving, flexibility, and decision-making by learning from failures and taking risks.

We want you to DISCOVER the Five Foundations and EXPLORE what they mean to you. We want you to CONNECT your ideas and experiences, and APPLY what you learn to real world issues and situations, but you won’t have to do that alone. There are people here to help you design the best possible college and post-college experience. They are all around you - at your orientation, in the residence halls, in offices and student organizations across campus. 

We’re excited to be a part of this journey with you!