Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) has allowed education institutions to fully reopen in October with standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to mitigate the spread of the virus. With this, UTAR has decided to go forward with a hybrid learning mode in the upcoming October trimester. Students can opt for face-to-face classes or online classes. The semester will begin on 28 September 2020 for foundation students and 26 October 2020 for degree students.

The orientation programme for the October intake will also take place in a hybrid mode. Freshmen can choose to either attend orientation physically or watch a live stream of the orientation in the comfort of their own home and obtain information from the e-Orientation website.

Physical orientation for foundation students will begin on 27 September 2020 while orientation for degree students will begin on 18 October 2020. Meanwhile, students who opt to take the e-Orientation can browse through the e-Orientation Portal starting from 8:30am on 21 September 2020 until 11:59pm on 2 November 2020. The orientation programme is jointly organised by the Department of Student Affairs (DSA), Student Representatives Council (SRC) and Registration, Campus Tour and Mass Call (RCM) Committee.

This time around the orientation has been carefully planned and designed with the aim of facilitating newly registered students to undergo a smooth transition into university life while adhering to the COVID-19 SOPs in place. Activities have been organised to help new students meet UTAR President, their seniors, faculty members, senior university officials, their classmates and other new students.

Among the activities organised for the freshmen are mass call, meet up with SRC, peer mentoring programme, briefings and talks. Students will also be briefed on university policies, rules, procedures, personal safety, financial assistance as well as the university’s facilities, curricula, clubs and societies, and events. On top of that, the orientation committee will also be conducting seven slots of mock sessions on Microsoft Teams for freshmen to familiarise themselves with the hybrid learning environment.

For more information, freshmen can visit https://e-orientation.utar.edu.my/.