Navigating the UMass Lowell Student Portal: A Comprehensive Guide

The UMass Lowell student portal serves as a centralized hub for accessing essential academic, administrative, and support resources. This article provides a detailed overview of the portal's key features and functionalities, designed to guide students at all levels-from incoming freshmen to graduate candidates-through their academic journey.

Learning Management Systems: Blackboard and Canvas

UMass Lowell utilizes learning management systems (LMS) to facilitate online learning and course management. Two primary platforms are used: Blackboard and Canvas. These systems provide a variety of tools and services for students, faculty, and administrators to manage and enhance the learning experience.

Blackboard: Blackboard is a learning management system.
Canvas: Canvas is a learning management system.

As UMass Lowell transitions from Blackboard to Canvas for its Learning Management System (LMS) services, the university is updating its transition page with the most up-to-date news, workshops, and answers to frequently asked questions. Students can find quick tips and resources on the Canvas platform.

Support Teams for Blackboard and Canvas:

Two teams specifically support Blackboard and Canvas:

Graduate, Online and Professional Studies (GPS): This team supports fully online courses, graduate courses, and hybrid courses.
Academic Technology: This team supports on-campus and hybrid fall and spring undergraduate courses.

Students can find login information and contact information for each LMS platform in the drop-downs. For password and MFA help, students should contact the IT Service Desk during normal business hours by calling 978-934-4357 and selecting the options for faculty/staff or students. It is important not to select the option for Blackboard, as the Blackboard/Canvas team cannot assist with login issues. Students should be prepared to show a government-issued or UML ID and attend a Zoom session for verification.

Read also: Applying to UMass Amherst

Admissions Portal: Your First Steps as a River Hawk

The admissions portal is designed for prospective and incoming students.

Welcome Day:

Welcome Day is an event designed to help students understand why they belong at UMass Lowell. It offers an inside look at life at UMass Lowell with current students, opportunities to chat with faculty, discover support offices, and tour residence halls.

Next Steps for First-Year Students:

Admitted first-year students can find their next steps in the admissions portal. They should follow the admitted student checklist to ensure they meet all university requirements.

Enrollment Deposit:

An enrollment deposit is required; however, the university does not charge credit card processing fees for the enrollment deposit. This deposit will be a credit on the student's tuition invoice. If a student has a financial hardship, they can reach out to the office to request a review for waiving the charge. The priority deadline for the fall semester is May 1, and deposits are accepted as space allows.

Campus Visits:

Prospective students and their families can explore the campus at Destination UML, a series of events for admitted students.

Read also: UMass Amherst Success Stories

Guest Access:

Students can grant designee(s) access to areas of their student record, including the eBill and online tuition payment system. Students may add or remove guest access at any time after attending New Student Orientation.

International Students:

International students should familiarize themselves with the visa process and deadlines for their visa application, as it can be a lengthy process. The International Students and Scholars Office is available to support students with documents or materials they may need.

Financial Aid:

Students must submit and complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to receive financial aid. The Solution Center provides more information. Students may be selected for Financial Aid Verification, which confirms the accuracy of the data reported on the FAFSA. Completing this process as soon as possible is important.

Dual Enrollment:

To support any college credit already earned, students should review their checklist and confirm they have submitted all transcripts for these courses before attending orientation.

Official Test Scores:

Students submitting test scores as part of their admission must provide official scores to the admissions office before attending orientation.

Final High School Transcript:

Students must comply with submitting their official final high school transcript (sent directly from their high school; copies are not accepted) to the admissions office by July 15 for the fall semester or January 1 for the spring semester. Failure to submit transcripts by these dates may result in being dropped from enrollment.

Application Changes:

These tasks can be done in the student admissions portal under the tab “Application Changes”. Students should follow the guidelines listed and review the terms carefully when making these changes. Available changes include:

Change of Major
Defer
Withdraw
Update your Information
Family/Parent/Guardian Updates

Changing Your Major:

UMass Lowell provides guidance for students who wish to pursue their first choice major. A webpage has been developed to help students and their families learn more about major changes.

Awards and Scholarships:

Any awards or invitations to programs sponsored by UMass Lowell will be presented in the student's portal. Students should follow the instructions in their admissions portal or reach out to the Information Technology office for guidance.

Student Information System (SiS)

SiS is the campus database used to manage student academic data for admissions, registration, enrollment, billing, and financial aid. Information available on the SiS database includes:

Student self-service for course registration, academic records, billing, bill payments, and financial aid awards.
Capability for students to give parents/guardians access to their self-service profile.
Faculty self-service for grading, course rosters, and academic advising.
Recruiting and admissions processing.
Academic record management, including class schedules, course catalog, student enrollment and records, and degree audit.
Student financial record management.

Essential Information and Resources

Billing:

Bills are generally available in late July for the fall semester and early January for the spring semester. All bills are posted online through the Student Information System (SIS). Payment plans are available with an enrollment fee.

Health Forms:

All required health forms and information about immunization requirements are available online through Health Services.

Health Insurance:

State law requires students to have health insurance. All enrolled students must complete the online student health insurance selection, which includes a waiver process for eligible students.

Housing and Food Plans:

UMass Lowell offers five affordable housing rates that include no-cost laundry, high-speed Wi-Fi, utilities, and 24-hour support from Residence Life staff. Housing is limited, and students should apply by the May 5 Housing Priority Deadline to select a room/roommate and apply for a living learning community. Food plans are required for all students living on campus.

Students with Disabilities:

Students eligible for services under the Americans with Disabilities Act should register with Disability Services before the start of classes (or before orientation if they need special accommodations during assessment testing).

Parking:

Any student may bring a car to campus by applying for a parking sticker and paying all relevant fees.

Academic Calendars:

The university operates on a semester system. The Academic Calendars consist of a fall and spring semester during the academic year. The fall and spring semesters shall be a minimum of 15 weeks of instruction each, inclusive of periods for examinations. The winter and summer sessions are of varying lengths.

Health Services Patient Portal

The UMass Lowell Health Services Patient Portal allows students to access health-related information and services.

New User Registration:

New users can register by clicking the REGISTER button. It is important to note that if you use the same username and password that you use for your other UML accounts (SIS), anyone who has access to those accounts will also have access to your medical information.

Data Security:

UMass Lowell is committed to protecting your personal information. Data that you provide cannot be viewed by anyone else on the Web and is securely maintained by industry standard SSL (secure socket layer) encryption and decryption technology when needed. The university does not share your information with anyone else.

Troubleshooting Tips:

Name needs to be as it appears in the SiS account.
Student needs to register for the portal first.

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