Incoming students participate in the Gateway Orientation program, administered jointly through the Student Life Office and the LifeWorks Learning Partnership. A special orientation is done for International students through the Office of the Coordinator of International Education.

A college course, LAA 111-Challenges, is used to introduce first-year students to the educational program of the college and to related services and resources. Through LAA 111, each incoming freshman becomes part of a small group of other freshmen and an advising team composed of a faculty member and an upperclassman. The team works with the freshman group during orientation and throughout the semester. For several days during orientation before classes begin, the advising team holds a series of seminars to help establish a primary reference group for each incoming student, to allow time for explanation of the curriculum, and to orient freshmen to the college.

The Academic Placement Tests (APTs), a series of tests in mathematics, writing, reading, and modern foreign languages, will be used to assess the basic skills level of each incoming student. Using the results of the APT and other information obtained in the seminars, the advisor will meet with each freshman for a personal conference to plan the academic schedule for the coming semester. Students may be required to take one or more developmental courses (ED 101, ENG 100, ENG 101, MTH 101) if the APT scores are below the required standards.

Based on the results of the APTs and high school records, students will be enrolled in either English 101, English 110 or English 111. Successful completion of either English 110 or English 111 fulfills the expository writing requirement. (English 110 is designed to provide additional help with writing skills and will meet 5 hours/week.) Students for whom English is a second language will enroll in English 100.

In the advising process, each student is ultimately responsible for choosing a course of study and fulfilling its requirements as set forth by the college.