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 get started?

  1. Make sure to Activate Your ctcLink Account because this will provide you access to Canvas.
  2. Login to the Canvas (the platform we use for course instruction) and explore this learning tool.
  3. Two weeks before the quarter begins, you will receive an invitation to our Online NSO or simply log-in to your Canvas account around that time and you should see the course there.

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. 

Completion of NSO is recorded on the last page titled “How do I finish NSO”, your submission results will be available here. 

Holds are removed 1-2 days after completing the NSO. If you believe that your Hold should be removed, please contact: southnso@seattlecolleges.edu.