New Student Orientation

What is NSO?

Participation in orientation is mandatory for all students new to South Seattle College. New Student Orientation (NSO) is an online course designed to welcome, celebrate, and connect new students with the college community, services, and support. NSO is currently available only online in Canvas and hybrid programming is coming soon! All new students to South Seattle College are invited to participate in the New Student Orientation (NSO) which is completed online and available to students anytime. NSO is designed to provide timely information, share student success tips, and get connected to critical resources.

The Goals of NSO are to provide New Students guidance and connection to:

  • Campus Resources
  • Area of Study Resources
  • Educational Planning
  • Extracurricular Activities
  • Building Your South Network
  • Tips for Student Success

Who Does NSO?

All New Students to South seeking an associate’s degree or certificate must complete NSO, unless you meet one of the exemptions below.

The following program populations are exempt from New Student Orientation: High School 21+, Career Link, Continuing Education, International Students, Non-credit ABE, ESL, and GED, Running Start, Seattle Promise, Justice Involved Solutions, Apprenticeship, Bachelor of Applied Science, or you have already completed an associate or bachelor's degree. Please note, these programs may have a separate required orientation.

How do I access the online NSO course?

Approximately 4 weeks before the start of the quarter, students who are enrolled in classes and identified as first-time-in-college students for that quarter will automatically be added to the Online New Student Orientation course in Canvas. At that time, you will receive an invitation to the course, or you can log in to Canvas and look for it on your Dashboard.

To access the course, make sure to:

  • Activate your ctcLink account
  • Log in to Canvas, the platform we use for course instruction

Once you have access to Canvas, your Online NSO course will appear on your Dashboard when it becomes available.

Why is it mandatory?

This is an opportunity for new students to learn and expand their knowledge on South’s critical resources to support student success. Completion of the online NSO will positively impact your student records to allow registration for future quarters.

IMPORTANT: At the start of Winter 2025, a Hold will be placed on student accounts who have not completed the NSO. This will prevent the student from enrolling in future quarters.

Who do I contact for Questions?

Our New Student Orientation Team would be happy to help you. Just email us at SouthNSO@seattlecolleges.edu for any questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

It will take about 1-2 hours to complete this NSO (depending on how much time you will spend exploring the external links). We recommend that you split this up over a period of several days so that you can explore each module and topics of interest more thoroughly.  

No, the NSO is designed to be completed at your own time and you may come back to it at any time. The course will remember where you left off and you can continue with the modules when you return to it. 

Currently, no. Completion of the NSO in Canvas is required. However, there are resources on campus such as laptop loans, the library and computer labs where students can use computers to complete the NSO. Students can also download the Canvas app onto their mobile device and complete NSO that way (it is mobile friendly). In the future, we will offer a hybrid NSO program, but you will still need to complete the online NSO. If you have extenuating circumstances, please contact: southnso@seattlecolleges.edu. 

All your course modules and pages in the NSO Canvas course will have a green check mark on the Modules list, and a positive “hold” will be recorded on your student ctcLink account, “Required Orientation – COMPLETE". This will “hold” will not impact your enrollment status and simply used to indicate that you have completed the NSO.

Required Orientation – This Hold was placed onto your account because you have not completed the online NSO. This impacts your enrollment status, and you will not be able to register for future quarters until you complete the online NSO.

Holds impacting your enrollment status are removed 1-2 days after completing the NSO. If your Hold has not been removed within this timeframe and you have completed the NSO, please contact: southnso@seattlecolleges.edu (include your full name and ctcLinkID# with your concern).

Some students may be exempt from completing NSO. If you believe you qualify (for example, if you already hold an associate or bachelor’s degree, or completed orientation at North or Central), please submit the NSO Exemption Request Form. A staff member will review your request and follow up.