New Student Information

Introduction

The information below is especially pertinent to new students as they move to Morgantown and begin their graduate studies.

Orientation programs

Most programs provide orientation sessions for new graduate students either before classes start or during the early part of the fall semester. Information is available from advisors and program directors.

The Office of Graduate Education and Life (OGEL) has tentatively scheduled a new student orientation session to be held on Monday, August 17, for newly-admitted graduate and professional students, pending further state and university guidelines on social distancing due to COVID-19. If your program is not offering an orientation session, we encourage you to attend. The OGEL orientation is not required; nonetheless, we strongly encourage newly admitted graduate students to attend because it covers a wide range of topics that may be helpful to your academic and personal success at WVU. This year, our orientation session will also include Title IX training. It is important to note that some academic programs offer new student orientation programs during the fall term and we recommend that students attend their academic program’s orientation if it conflicts with the OGEL new student orientation schedule.

The Office of Graduate Education and Life (OGEL) will host a New Graduate Student Orientation (NGSO) ahead of the fall semester this August entirely online. Orientation will be offered in the form of two modules. The first will be a PowerPoint presentation introducing students to campus and sharing information about WVU resources that will be a powerful aid in finding success in academic and professional pursuits. The second module will be a live Zoom session on August 17 where students will meet the Provost, learn about library resources from a WVU librarian, and receive training on Title IX. Then, students will be introduced to the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) President and learn more about the critical work this student body is engaged in. Lastly, the module will conclude with a Q&A period to address any other topics of interest. Please register for the live Zoom session if your program does not have their own orientation or if you would like to meet the broader graduate and professional student community. Both modules will be available on our website, including the live session after its conclusion, and the first module in early August. 

Getting your Mountaineer Card: The official photo identification card of the University is known as the Mountaineer Card. Issued to students, faculty, staff and others, it provides access to WVU services, buildings and events. You can learn more about the Mountaineer Card from WVU Information Technology Services.

Required and Optional Training for New Graduate Students

Students should consult with their program directors to determine which of the following online or face-to-face training programs are required or recommended for them.

• Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Orientation Modules, which include:
  
• FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act)
• Academic Integrity and Dishonesty
• Diversity and Accessibility
• Integrating School and Life
• Pivot – system to identify research funding opportunities
  
• Human Subject Research Training through the CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) program
  
• Animal Welfare Regulatory Training
  
• Responsible Conduct of Research Education and Training
  
• Conflict of Interest in Research Training through the CITI program
  
• Title IX (general information). See also Prevention Section information about training for Title IX, Sexual Harassment, Harassment and Hostile Work Environment Prevention, SAFE Zone)
• Crime Prevention Center (information) and Training (videos plus Q&A) from the University Police