New Student Orientation

It all begins Saturday, January 9 with New Student Orientation (NSO) Check-In and Move-In! You will be able to check in to your residence hall between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and move into your dorm room. After moving in, you’ll meet the orientation staff at the Dixon Center to check in and receive key information detailing the rest of the weekend’s activities, a free shirt, and instructions to complete any final steps in the registration process. If you are living on campus, watch for emails from the Residential Life & Housing staff with information about your move-in day and time.

Please note that due to COVID-19, we are limiting every student to bring only two guests to help move into the residence halls. If you and your family want to further explore Cleveland, we can help connect you with several family activities in the Cleveland community including hiking on trails or walking on the Greenway, dining at some of our local restaurants, and more. We encourage you to check out our parent resource guide, The Nest, for more information. After family farewells are made, students can connect with each other with activities in the residence halls.

After checking in with the First-Year Programs staff, you and your family will attend a New Student Opening Session starting at 1:00pm in the Dixon Center. There, you’ll hear from the Director of First-Year Programs, as well as other key faculty and staff, who each want to welcome you to the Lee family. Promptly after the session ends, all freshman and transfer students will then spend the afternoon getting to know their Gateway and transfer groups. Freshman students will connect with their Gateway groups and meet their LEEU-101 Instructors for the first time. Transfer students will meet again with their Transfer Leaders and participate in a session about their transition to Lee. Simultaneously, parents will have a brief Parent Orientation as well.

On Saturday evening, everyone is invited to join us for a free dinner at 5:30pm in the Science & Math Complex Great Room, which houses plenty of space for social distancing. Immediately following the dinner, you are invited to attend the Service of Dedication. The Service of Dedication is a tradition in which Lee’s faculty and administrators come together to welcome new students and their families to Lee. Students and their guests can attend the Service of Dedication in the beautiful Lee University Chapel. The service will also be livestreamed.

"Deke" is short for diakoneo, a Greek word which means, “to serve.” You will soon see that service is a core value of Lee University. Appropriately, all new students begin their time as a student by participating in "Deke Day: A Day of Service."

The event begins on Sunday at 2:00pm with a rally with your Gateway and transfer groups in the Dixon Center. There, you will learn about Deke Day and Lee's commitment to redemptive service throughout our community. You will learn about a local assisted-living facility that is specially assigned to your class and then write hundreds of letters to the residents of that facility with your group, LEEU-101 Instructor, Peer Leader, and/or Transfer Leader. Our goal is for you to begin gaining a deeper understanding of the community’s needs, the meaning of service, and the impact that you can have as a student. Not only will this be a highlight of your first semester, but you will receive your first service-learning credits toward your graduation requirement.

There will be many opportunities for you to meet fellow students and get plugged in here at Lee. During your first week at Lee, you can meet virtually with dozens of Lee’s different clubs and organizations at the virtual Club Lee. For more information about how to get involved, connect with your Peer or Transfer Leader.

We hope that you are as excited about your #LeeUArrival as we are! This transition can be a nerve-wracking process, but we are always here to help. Feel free to email firstyear@leeuniversity.edu if you have any additional questions about beginning your Lee journey.

We are so excited that your student has chosen to attend Lee University! We know that this is a time of transition for you as well, so we hope that you will be able to join us for New Student Orientation. When you move your student in, we encourage you to take in all that our campus has to offer.

We encourage you to check out our Parent Page for additional information.

The Office of First-Year Programs is here to help answer any questions you may have about New Student Orientation, so feel free to contact us at firstyear@leeuniversity.edu or at (423) 614-8623.