
First-Year Students
New Student Orientation Experience
Congratulations on being admitted to UW-Eau Claire! We are excited to officially welcome you to the Blugold family, and are here to help you navigate through the initial steps of becoming a Blugold successfully. If you have questions or concerns about the following items, don't hesitate to reach out to our Orientation Team at 715-836-5053 or orientation@uwec.edu.
NOTE: Components of New Student Orientation outlined below are required for all incoming first-year students. Information is applicable to incoming fall 2023 admits.
Orientation Checklist
1. Continue to work on your new student checklist as outlined by UWEC Admissions.
Have you activated your UW-Eau Claire account and paid your enrollment deposit? Applied for financial aid? Filled out required forms? View your progress and check out additional items here.
Note: some checklist items may overlap between the list from Admissions and our list for Orientation - just extra messaging to make sure we get things done together on time and completely!
2. Activate your UW-Eau Claire account.
If you have not activated your UW-Eau Claire account, or need to reset your password, visit myusername.uwec.edu. You will need your username and Campus ID, which can be found in your admit letter or application acknowledgment email.
3. Register for Level 1 [VIRTUAL] of New Student Orientation: Advising + Registration.
Level 1: Your Virtual Advising + Registration Meetings
On your selected date of orientation, you will access your virtual appointment with an Academic Advisor via Zoom. This is the first major academic step you'll take in college, and it's important to make sure you are on time and prepared for this meeting with your advisor. Prior to that meeting, you'll attend a required pre-advising meeting with our Orientation team. Our team will reach out to students via email approximately a week before their scheduled date to confirm times and share access details.
How to register for Level 1:
- Go to MyBlugoldCamps.
- Log in using your username and password created during the admission process when you activated your account.
- After logging in, select the “Admissions" tile.
- Choose “Advising + Registration” and check for your name at the top of the screen.
- Follow the steps to complete your registration.
Helpful tip: More information on your advising support and major options can be found on our website: https://www.uwec.edu/academics/academic-support/arcc/advising/. We recommend reviewing this information before your first appointment so you can be prepared with your questions to ask!
4. Complete your placement tests at least two weeks prior to your advising appointment.
Placement exam scores provide your academic advisor with the best well-rounded understanding of your academic preparedness in certain subject areas, and are thus extremely important to the success of your advising appointment. Without placement exams or your PAS (see next step) completed before your appointment, you may run the risk of not being able to sign up for certain classes and/or delay confirming your schedule until scores have been received.
All students are required to take placement tests, and we have online, unproctored options for testing this spring. We strongly recommend students register using their UWEC email account, and you can complete that registration here.
When registering for placement exams, make sure to select Test A for Math (this is the online version).
- You will need to log in with your campus credentials to complete the registration form before taking the exam. Within two business days of registering (but more likely within a few minutes), you will receive an email from Meazure Learning with a username and password for accessing the exams.
- All students are required to complete the Math and English tests. If you have had two or more years of French, German or Spanish, you should also take the placement exam for that language. Click here for more information regarding your placement test.
- Please note that it takes at least two weeks for tests to be scored and sent to UW-Eau Claire. We highly recommend that you take them as soon as you can, to ensure you're able to register for your classes on time.
If you have questions about testing, would like to know more, or need testing accommodations, please contact academictesting@uwec.edu.
5. Complete your Pre-Advising Survey (PAS) prior to your advising appointment.
This form is crucial to the success of your advising appointment, as it helps our advising staff assess your academic preparedness and provide potential class selections. This questionnaire must be completed before your advising appointment on your scheduled orientation date. Complete your PAS now.
6. Review helpful materials on how to use advising platforms and remove academic holds.
You'll want to make sure and login to CampS to familiarize yourself with the platform, and take care of any academic holds listed below before your orientation academic advising appointment (view instructions via links/videos provided below). CampS is the platform you will use to sign up for classes, update your contact information, view your grades, and much more! Feel free to jump back to these videos for future semesters; note - some videos do not have sound.
Class Search and Registration Tools:
- How to use CampS to Search and Register for Classes
- Using Schedule Builder to Select and Enroll in Classes
Removing Holds from your Account in order to Register for Classes:
- Pre-Registration Agreement Hold
- E-Communication Hold
- Updating your Contact Information Hold
- Payment Plan Agreement (PPA) Hold
Below are also some additional tips to using CampS:
- It is easier to view and navigate CampS using a laptop or computer than it is using a mobile device.
- Once you're in CampS, you'll find that there are many ways to complete tasks. We find it is usually easiest to complete all of your tasks by starting in the "Tasks" tile, which can be found under the 'Main Menu.'
Helpful tip: More information on your advising support and major options can be found on our website: https://www.uwec.edu/academics/academic-support/arcc/advising/. We recommend reviewing this information before your first appointment so you can be prepared with your questions to ask!
7. Register for Level 2 [IN-PERSON] of New Student Orientation: Blugold Experience Day.
Level 2 is our in-person, on campus orientation experience offered for both fall and spring admits. On these days, students and their families are able to tour our beautiful campus and residence halls, connect with staff, faculty, and other Blugolds, dine on campus, attend live sessions with campus partners, check out places in the surrounding community, and much more! Programming is subject to change, and registration is required. For frequently asked questions and more general details, go to the Blugold Experience Day webpage.
Summer 2023 Blugold Experience Day dates are: July 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, + August 2, 3, 4. If you cannot make one of these dates, please contact our orientation office at orientation@uwec.edu.
How to register for Level 2 (fall 2023 admits):
- Go to MyBlugoldCamps.
- Log in using your username and password created during the admission process when you activated your account.
- After logging in, select the “Admissions" tile.
- Choose “Blugold Experience Day” and check for your name at the top of the screen.
- Follow the steps to complete your registration.
Blugold Experience Days are also a great opportunity to pick up textbooks if you have your class schedule set:
Finding your Blugold ID Number: Once you've submitted your photo online (see next checklist item), you'll be able to download your mobile ID to your phone. At times you may need to know your ID Number, which we've provided instructions on how to find here.
Grabbing your textbooks: Main textbooks for each course are usually available for rental, but some courses have textbooks and other course materials that need to be purchased. If you are renting your textbooks, you may only check out one copy of each book and you may only check out books for courses you are currently enrolled in. Your Blugold ID will be required for all rental transactions.
8. Complete online photo submission for your Mobile Blugold ID.
Students are required to select and upload their own photo and copy of drivers license or government issued ID for their Blugold photo ID.
Simply upload your photo and a picture of your government-issued ID to move forward with this option. Once this has been complete, you can expect an email from Blugold Card Services with more information about how to download your mobile ID. If you have any questions or concerns about this process, reach out to 715-836-4070. More information can be found here: https://www.uwec.edu/blugold-card/.
9. Complete your online EDI trainings (there are 3).
To create a safe and inclusive campus experience, all new students must complete 3 trainings: Alcohol.edu, Sexual Assault & Sexual Harassment Prevention, and Diversity & Inclusion. You can expect an email from edi@uwec.edu ahead of your first semester, and can reach out to that same email with any questions.
Failing to complete these trainings may prohibit you from registering for your second semester, so be sure to get them done early on in your first semester.
10. Continue to check your UWEC email (and set it up on your phone for easy access!)
It's important to routinely check your UWEC email, as it is the main way faculty and staff will communicate with you. You can expect to receive information about move-in, upcoming campus events, ways to get prepared for the semester, and more.
It is highly recommended that all students set up email on their phones to ensure timely updates and information. Both processes (for iOS devices and Android devices) are linked below:
11. Learn more about meal plans, recommended technology, getting involved, and more.
When you're ready, check out some additional helpful resources below that provide support to commonly asked questions by first year students:
Recommendations on computer purchases: https://www.uwec.edu/kb/article/purchasing-personally-owned-technology/
Meal plan options (sign-up for meal plans opens June 5th!): https://publicwebuploads.uwec.edu/documents/2023.24-MP-Brochure-FINAL.pdf
Getting involved with student clubs on campus: https://www.uwec.edu/activities-involvement-leadership/student-clubs-organizations/ (don't forget to download the Blugold Connect+ app!)

I love being a Blugold because from the minute I started my freshman year, the Eau Claire campus felt like home! The professors here at UWEC want students to succeed, and I have felt supported and challenged to be the best student I can be. There are so many opportunities being a Blugold has to offer, and I have taken full advantage of them — studying abroad, becoming an RA, and volunteering as a campus ambassador.
Apps for Blugolds
UW-Eau Claire offers free apps to all Blugolds, each offering unique benefits and helpful ways for you to stay connected.
Navigate Student | Navigate includes important academic reminders, to-do's, schedules and upcoming deadlines specific to you. It is also the primary way to schedule appointments with faculty and staff.
Handshake | Used heavily by our Career Center and employer partners, Handshake allows you to explore work-study opportunities and part-time jobs, discover internships, apply for jobs, and read company reviews — all in one spot.
Blugold Connect+ | Blugold Connect+ was created to provide more of a “one-stop shop” for making connections on campus. The highly intuitive, multipurpose student experience app/platform will maximize ways for students to get connected prior to arriving on campus, throughout their college journey and beyond. Read more about this app's features here. This will be the primary way you hear about student organizations, and major events that happen on campus.
Each of these apps are free, and can be found in the Google Play Store or in the App Store.
Questions
Need help? We're here! Please email orientation@uwec.edu and someone will get back to you shortly.