First Steps After Admission

You have just been admitted to the School of Education at Seattle Pacific University! Congratulations!

Wondering what to do now? Please follow the steps below to get started!

Review your admission letter in your student portal for pertinent information regarding next steps.
1. If directed in your admission letter, contact your faculty advisor for program advising. Contact information is included in your admission letter. Some programs (AMAT, AMTMS, ARC, MAT) will hold an orientation.
2. If you are admitted on probational status, this means we are still waiting for some admission requirements to be met. This may be test scores or recommendation letters. Check your student portal to see what is missing, and submit the needed items as soon as possible in order to qualify for full admission.
3. If you are admitted on provisional status, this means we are waiting for your official baccalaureate (or masters) degree transcript to be received. If you earn your degree after you apply to the program, once your degree has been posted (please confirm this first with your institution prior to ordering a transcript), have an official degree transcript sent to Graduate Admissions and email the Associate Director (soe-grad@spu.edu) for timely processing. Once your degree transcript is received, we should be able to update your admission status to probational or full admission depending on your specific situation.
Set up your student account and log into your SPU email. This is the main way by which we communicate with students for confidentiality reasons. The user name and password you set up will be your login credentials for your SPU email, canvas, and other SPU resources.
Download and save your program checksheet
1. Students in non-teacher education programs: you will receive a welcome email (typically within 2 weeks of admission) with additional information and a personalized program checksheet.
  1. This is the list of all classes you will take in your program, and in some cases, it includes the exact order in which you will take your courses. Follow your checksheet carefully to ensure on-time program completion.
  2. Be sure to bring this checksheet with you to your faculty advising appointment, if applicable.
  3. Please note that you may have additional requirements (for example comprehensive exams) also listed on your checksheet that are not a specific course.
2. Students in teacher education programs: you will receive a welcome email about a month post-admission with a personalized program checksheet and other relevant program materials.
  1. You are required to take all courses listed on this checksheet, in the order listed. Most certification courses are only offered once per year so deviating from the checksheet could significantly delay your program.
  2. You may only substitute courses with prior approval from the Director of Graduate Teacher Education.
  3. AMAT/AMTMS/MAT/Online: If you already hold a master's degree from a regionally accredited college/university or it's equivalent, you should received a consent to transfer coursework with your welcome letter. If you do not, please reach out to soe-grad@spu.edu.
Carefully read all Student Resources wiki pages, especially Quick Start Guide to SPU.
For those seeking financial aid, complete the online FAFSA. Further information on financial aid is found on the wiki page Financial Aid Orientation.
Register for courses through Banner after receiving advising, or completing orientation (teacher preparation programs). Remember that you are admitted for a particular quarter, and you are expected to register for that quarter. If you are unable to register, please reach out to your program chair/director. Use the wiki pages on Time Schedule, Banner Guides, and Registration to assist you in the registration process. If you are new to SPU, do give yourself grace in this process. Becoming familiar with various registration systems takes a little time.
Bookmark the academic calendar, as this contains important university dates and deadlines. You will find information on when registration opens and closes each quarter, along with refund schedules, university holidays, and important events. We recommend marking the first day of instruction, last day of instruction, when registration opens for the next quarter, and the date grades are due in your calendar.
Upload a photo for your Falcon card and for identification in SPU systems. Find more information on the Falcon Card Services website.
Complete any Health Requirements for Registration, including documentation for COVID-19. Find more information on the Health Requirements for Registration page.

Any questions or concerns may be addressed to the Associate Director of Graduate Programs, Sarah Kirschner.

Additional Steps for Teacher Education students

AMAT, AMTMS, ARC only: complete Fingerprint Process for Certification Students as soon as possible. Generally, completing the pre-residency and fingerprint process can take anywhere from 48 hours to 4 weeks, but this can take significantly longer depending on how clearly your fingerprints come through. All students must have current fingerprints and pre-residency clearance or a valid WA certificate in order to be allowed to register for their internship.
ARC only: You will be enrolling in both 5000-level Center for Professional Education (CPE) courses and 6000-level courses. The 5000-level courses are treated as professional development credits and thus fall under different systems within the university. These different systems have an impact on the registration of courses, tuition costs, and financial aid. In the 5000-level CPE system, distance learning courses are typically on a yearlong term and thus reported as such, but for ARC purposes, many courses on your program checksheet will mirror the 6000-level academic quarter calendar. Please watch this 7-minute video that explains how the ARC program uses two systems at SPU.