With the start of the fall semester not far off, some students are already arriving on the SUNYIT campus, and orientation programs for new students are scheduled this week and next.

"Student athletes, international students and students in our Educational Opportunity Program are among those arriving earliest," said Marybeth Lyons, associate provost for student affairs. "Orientation for various groups of students has begun and will continue over the next several days."

For new transfer and graduate students, orientation sessions are held over the summer, and the last such program is Friday, August 16, starting at 8:30 am. For freshmen—and their parents—orientation begins Thursday, August 22. Parents take part in a one-day program designed to introduce them to SUNYIT, and freshmen continue their introduction to the campus through Sunday, August 25. Orientation's programs, events and activities include academic advisement, workshops, and time on the campus ropes course (left). Classes start Monday, August 26.

SUNYIT, the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, is New York’s public polytechnic, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in technology and professional studies. Its academic offerings in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies, and its programs in professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing, are complemented by athletics, recreational, cultural and campus life programs, events and activities. Founded in 1966, SUNYIT is a unique high-tech learning environment on hundreds of acres, offering degree programs online as well as on campus. The SUNYIT family of alumni now numbers 25,000.