Orientation and Welcome

To get started with your new student onboarding experience, please make sure that you have signed the Technology Ethics Agreement in your BentleyConnect portal and have received your Bentley email address. Next, please read through this guide. There is important information regarding mandatory tasks and deadlines, which you must complete prior to the start of the semester.

To complete these tasks, log into your BentleyConnect portal. Make sure to check the portal regularly, to ensure you have completed your tasks.

Your New Student Checklist will:

n Outline all of the tasks discussed in this guide n Give you direct access to complete the tasks with helpful instructions

It is important for you to check your Bentley email throughout the summer. We often send important announcements and updates as we prepare for the start of the semester.

To ensure a smooth transition to Bentley, we utilize a tiered approach to Orientation for all new Falcons. Bentley Beginnings is the start of your journey, followed by course registration, self-guided learning courses, and lastly, the on-campus Orientation program, which begins on September 1st. In addition, we provide some other experiences for our new Falcons to engage in before arriving to campus: n Pre-orientation group meeting n Monthly newsletter n Virtual social events n Social media: @welcomefalcons

Bentley Beginnings is an interactive online program that provides an opportunity for you to learn about the abundant resources and opportunities available to you at Bentley. Log into BentleyConnect and go to your checklist to access your Bentley Beginnings program. Please note that the online program must be completed prior to June 29, 2022. Once you’ve finished each of the sections, you will receive more information about creating your fall schedule.

First-Year Student Registration Webinar:

First-Year Student Registration: July 20, 2022 During Bentley Beginnings, you will have the opportunity to learn about our many academic options and your requirements for the first year of classes. All incoming first-year students will register for five courses for the fall semester, including the three-credit Falcon Discovery Seminar. In addition to the Falcon Discovery Seminar, you will have the opportunity to take a variety of courses in the Bentley core curriculum. Specifically, you will take courses from the “Foundations,” “Business Dynamics,” and “Context and Perspectives” sections of the core in addition to electives courses. Please review your schedule and be sure you are not registered for courses in which you may receive advanced standing credit. It is critical that Bentley receives your Advanced Standing grades, scores or transcripts as soon as they become available (see page 15 for details). All new students must complete their online orientation, the math selection process, and the Critical Reading and Writing placement essay (see page 14 for details) in order to register for classes.

Transfer Student Registration Webinar: July 27, 2022 Transfer Student Registration: August 3, 2022 During this webinar, academic services staff will review everything a transfer student needs to know about registration. It is imperative for students to attend this webinar in order to be prepared for registration on August 3. You will have the opportunity to sign up for the webinar through BentleyConnect. A few days prior to registration, each student will receive a personalized pre-registration email with important information that needs to be reviewed before August 3.

Your Falcon Card is the key to accessing most services on campus. It is important that you carry it with you at all times. To create your Falcon Card, upload a photo by July 1, 2022. Please go to myphoto.bentley.edu and login using your Bentley email and network password. Read all directions carefully and please review the Terms of Use. Quick Selfie Tips: n The image must be in color and feature a clear, full-face view of only you. n You must be wearing normal street attire. n You may not wear a hat or dark glasses. n The background must be plain white or off-white. n The photo must be of a good likeness and it should have been taken within the last six months. n The most common reason for a photo’s rejection is that the background is not white or off-white. Lines in doors, blinds, and siding can be distracting and may prevent the photograph from being approved. n Feel free to smile in your photo, you’re a Falcon now! Once your image is approved, your ID will be printed and waiting for you at Orientation.

All new Falcons will begin the Orientation Program on September 1, 2022. If you are living on campus, you will move into your residence hall at a designated time prior to the start of the program. While there will be optional activities happening through the early afternoon, we want you to use that time to get settled. Later that day, the community will come together for Convocation, which is the official start to your Bentley career. After Convocation, students will participate in the Orientation program. During Orientation you will: n Meet other new students and connect with faculty and staff n Learn about our Core Values and your rights and responsibilities n Participate in sessions and workshops to set a foundation for your academic career n Engage in social and educational programming n Develop a plan to successfully navigate your first semester The program will conclude on Monday, September 5, with the official start of classes beginning on Tuesday, September 6. Please note that you will be assigned self-guided learning courses prior to Orientation that you must complete. You can find more information on page 11 of this guide.

BentleyPlus is a program that helps you get the most out of your Bentley experience. While you will learn a lot inside the classroom, there are many opportunities to learn and grow outside of the classroom as well. Through BentleyPlus, you will meet with a staff adviser and identify some skill set areas (or as we like to call them, competencies) that you would like to further develop. Then we’ll connect you with different involvement opportunities that you can take advantage of to grow in the areas that you find most interesting and/or important. We’ll also work with you to use the skills that you are developing through your experiences outside of the classroom to best market yourself for future job or internship opportunities. Learn more and sign up to earn your BentleyPlus certificate for the 2022-2023 academic here at bentley.edu/bentleyplus!

One of the Multicultural Center’s biggest programs for new students is the MOSAIC Experience. The MOSAIC Experience is a three-day pre-orientation program for incoming students of color seeking to establish themselves at Bentley University. Through sessions and workshops, students will participate in learning focused on multiple aspects of identity and how those identities connect and intersect with each other. The MOSAIC Experience allows students the opportunity to explore who they are and the impact they have at a predominately white institution. These sessions are facilitated by various faculty, staff and guest presenters from the Bentley community and beyond. Additionally, sessions will allow students to engage in dialogue about their stories in an effort to build meaningful connections. The MOSAIC Experience allows students to come fully as they are and build a community among fellow participants, MOSAIC Ambassadors, faculty and staff before the academic year begins. The 2022 MOSAIC Experience will take place Monday, August 29-31, 2022, leading right up to Orientation.

Registration will be available at the end of May 2022. Students will receive more information about the program via email and mail. Visit the Multicultural Center online for more information: bentley.edu/university-life/diversityequity-inclusion/multicultural-community.

The Bentley University Honors Program offers a distinctive learning experience to a diverse community of our highest academically achieving students who are passionate about exploring the world, are invigorated by inquiry, and driven to expand their horizons while giving back to their community both within and beyond Bentley. The Honors Program offers you access to: n Small and highly interactive honors courses n Dedicated faculty advisers supporting the honors capstone project n Co-curricular activities including field trips, seminars, and more n Access to the Honors Defined Community and honors study space n Early course registration after your first semester n Opportunity to enroll in the Advanced Standing in Finance (four-year program) and Advanced

Standing in Business (five-year program) Not only will you develop close relationships with your honors classmates, you’ll work with Bentley’s most respected scholars and dynamic teachers and gain real-world skills. For more information please visit bentley.edu/honorsprogram.

The Center for International Students and Scholars (CISS) welcomes students from more than 90 countries each year. We provide guidance on immigration-related matters as well as assistance with cultural adjustment. Our goal is to ensure that all students feel comfortable in the Bentley community — you are important to us.

By July, all new undergraduate students living outside of the United States should have received their I-20 and arranged to obtain an F1 visa. If you have not yet received your I-20 or experience difficulty in obtaining your F1 visa, please make sure to email GA_CISS@ bentley.edu. For all incoming international Bentley students who are in the United States attending another university or secondary school, be sure you have spoken to your previous school to complete our Transfer-In Form. Once your previous school arranges the transfer and the release date has passed, your F1 record will be transferred to Bentley for us to create your new I-20.

First-year and transfer student orientation begins on Thursday, September 1, 2022. Please make plans to arrive in the U.S. before this date. If you are traveling without your family, consider our Faraway Falcon program. This program provides early move-in to your residence hall for students coming to Boston on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.

Upon arrival, you will need to attend an F-1 orientation session as a part of your orientation schedule, as well as complete a mandatory (virtual) check-in process with CISS so that we can register your new immigration record in the government database (SEVIS). Please make sure to check your Bentley email for instructions.

For more information about your immigration record, please contact CISS or visit our website at bentley. edu/ciss.

The WorldView program recognizes and values varying perspectives, encourages cross-cultural dialogue and promotes global citizenship. Acting as cultural agents, WorldView Ambassadors share their first-hand experiences with others to enrich classroom lessons and build a global community. International students apply for the program, complete training with members of CISS staff, and meet with them to prepare before each presentation. They then have the option to choose which presentations they want to participate in and have opportunities to present in classrooms and staff meetings all across campus to share their perspectives as international students. For example, WorldView Ambassadors from three different countries presented to a Sports Marketing class about marketing strategies for popular sports in their countries of origin. Discussion panels of WorldView Ambassadors have also answered questions on topics ranging from navigating diverse workplaces, to nonverbal communication styles, to explaining the factors that influence health and disease in their home countries.

To learn more about Bentley’s WorldView Program please visit bentley.edu/university-life/diversity-equityinclusion/worldview.

Parents and family members are an important part of our community and we welcome you to Bentley. As you begin this journey with your student, you may have many questions. To help you navigate, we invite to you take advantage of the opportunities and resources below:

To introduce you to Bentley, we invite you to view a series of videos that introduce you to the support and services available to you and your student. To access the videos, visit the Parents and Family tab at bentley.edu/orientation. One of the first tasks your student will be asked to complete will be our online orientation, Bentley Beginnings. We invite you to also take advantage of this great learning tool by creating a family/guest account. You can access all of the information contained in the Bentley Beginnings experience. You may access it at orientation.bentley.edu.

Throughout the summer we want to ensure you are able to connect with different staff members around campus. We offer Falcon Live Chats, our Zoom webinar series, to give you that chance. Falcon Live Chats provide an opportunity for you to participate in a live presentation and submit questions that are answered by staff members. Additionally, we encourage you to look out for our monthly family newsletter that highlights the New Student Checklist, as well as different student programs and campus resources. We hope these connections provide you with the chance to have your questions answered and to feel prepared for the beginning of the semester. For more information about the live chats or newsletters please visit bentley.edu/orientation.

You will get more detailed information about move-in when your student receives their housing assignment from the Residential Center in late July. Following move-in, students will say farewell to family and friends and join their Orientation groups to officially kick off New Student Orientation.

One of the most significant changes a family experiences when sending a student to school relates to privacy standards for educational records at colleges and universities. Bentley University believes that managing privacy is an important development task for its students. Guidelines regarding privacy of students’ educational records are governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law established in 1974. For additional information regarding FERPA please visit bentley.edu/offices/student-affairs/ferpa.

Our Office of Alumni and Family Engagement has various programs and opportunities for all community members. One of our signature events is Falcon Weekend, held in the fall. Please consider joining us for this Bentley tradition. More information about future events and resources can be found at bentley.edu/role/parents.