Navigating the William & Mary Student Portal: A Comprehensive Guide

As a student at William & Mary, accessing and effectively utilizing the university's online resources is crucial for academic success and overall well-being. myW&M, the university’s campus web portal, serves as a personalized entry point for many essential online student services. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the William & Mary student portal, its functionalities, and important information for both new and current students.

Accessing the Student Portal

Initial Login for All Students

To begin, all students must click on the green "WM - Student SSO LOGIN" button. This button is typically located at the top of the portal page. After clicking the button, use your W&M username credentials to log in.

Accessing Banner Self Service

To access Banner Self Service, you must first acquire your logon credentials - your W&M Username and password. In order to gain access, you will need to visit the credentials form. The form will then provide you with your username and instructions for creating your password for the student portal.

Specific Instructions for New Students

New incoming students should be aware that they will not be able to access the Housing Portal until they receive their Tribe Guide or have paid the admissions deposit if paid after the Tribe Guide opens. It's important to note that it can take several business days after payment for the system to update. If you're a new student, please allow a few days for your payment to process before attempting to log in.

Access for Current and Re-enrolling Students

Current students can log in normally using their W&M username credentials. If you are re-enrolling at W&M, please note that you will not have access to the Housing Portal until you are officially an active W&M student again.

Read also: William and Mary Law

Key Features and Functionalities of myW&M

myW&M provides a centralized hub for various online student services, including:

Course Registration: Registering for classes is a primary function of the portal.
Financial Aid: Accessing and accepting financial aid packages.
Billing Information: Viewing your student bill and making payments.
Meal Plans: Selecting and managing your meal plan.
Blackboard: Accessing Blackboard, the university's learning management system.

Important Steps for New Students

Tribe Guide and myTribeGuide

The Tribe Guide is your one-stop online source for information about what needs to be done before and during your time in Williamsburg. In additional to information around advising and registration to housing and meal plans, this site also provides you access to your dynamic myTribeGuide - a tailored and comprehensive to-do list that will help you navigate your first four months.

Enrollment Requirements

The university has the expectation that each new student will adhere to the requirements for enrollment.

Personalized To-Do List

Students should log into myTribeGuide to view your personalized to-do list that supports your smooth transition into and through W&M.

Navigating the Transition

First-Time-in-College Students: As a first-time-in-college new student, you will have a unique set of challenges and opportunities.
Transfer Students: As a transfer student you will navigate a unique set of challenges and opportunities with the support of STEP and our campus partners.
WaMStA Students: The list of items below is designed especially for our William & Mary HOST students (or those students who spent their first year of the joint degree programme at St Andrews).

Financial Responsibility Agreement (FRA)

You must complete the Financial Responsibility Agreement. Click on “FRA - Financial Responsibility Agreement” at the bottom of the page linked above to submit the Docu-sign form to the Bursar’s Office.

Read also: Funding Your Education at WPU

Official Transcripts

If you provided unofficial transcripts, or transcripts that included in progress coursework for a degree program, please be sure to request your final, official transcript once your degree has been posted. We must have an official transcript on file that indicates your degree was conferred.

Registration Access

Registration opens Monday April 7th, is Internet based, and can be done from anywhere in the world. You will access registration by visiting registration.wm.edu. You can find a quick reference guide on our registration page. Additional instructions for the actual registration process are listed on the University Registrar’s web site. Once your complete your registration, you can view it in Banner Self-Service (the student information system). An important link for you to use is the Academic Calendar. This calendar details registration dates, term dates, deadlines, etc.

Health Requirements

Go to Student Health Services to access the online health portal to complete the required information online and upload any required documents. A physician must verify the health information requested on the form. Failure to complete this requirement will result in a late fee of $100 and a hold placed on your account. If you do not submit this waiver request, you will be enrolled in the college-endorsed health insurance plan, and billed for the annual fee.

Campus Visits and Information Sessions

On-Campus Tours

The Undergraduate Admission Office welcomes student groups and organizations to join us on William & Mary's campus! We offer both self-guided and student-led Group Tours. Tours will begin at the Office of Undergraduate Admission and last about 1.5 hours. Student-led Group Tour availability is limited. These tours are available once per day on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at either 10:30 AM or 3:00 PM. To request a guided Group Tour, please select the date that your group wishes to tour William & Mary, then indicate which time you prefer in the registration form. Another great option is to download our self-guided campus tour or pick up a printed copy at the Admission Office front vestibule.

Informational Sessions

Learn more about our campus, our community, and the admission process at W&M! Join us for an informational session and tour! We'll discuss the application process, our academics resources, wellness services, on-campus housing, dining options, extracurricular opportunities, and various community traditions. Take the first step of getting to know William & Mary. We look forward to sharing why those who come here, belong here. Be our guest! We've welcomed many noteworthy visitors in our 330-year history and we can't wait to welcome you as well. If you are planning a visit to campus and interested in business, we'd also encourage you to consider visiting the Raymond A. Mason School of Business for a complimentary tour offered on Mondays and Fridays at 1:00 pm. Virtual Information Sessions are offered select Wednesdays at 6:00 pm EST. Please note all times are listed as eastern standard time and all events are virtual.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Student Handbook

All students at William & Mary are bound by the regulations noted within the Student Handbook. The university reserves the right to make changes in the procedures and regulations contained within the Handbook at any time. The Handbook contains important information about the university's expectations regarding student conduct, student rights and responsibilities, and relevant processes and procedures to address alleged misconduct. The Honor Code and its procedures are also included in the Handbook.

Fundamental Rights

Students, faculty, and administrators (hereafter referred to as the “members of the university community”) shall enjoy all rights, privileges, and immunities guaranteed to every citizen of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia. In addition, the members of the university community shall enjoy all the fundamental rights recognized as essential to fulfillment of the special mission of an institution of higher education. The full enjoyment of these rights, however, cannot be achieved unless certain concurrent responsibilities are accepted.

Rights to Organize

Each member of the university community has the right to organize their own personal life and behavior insofar as it does not violate local, State, or Federal law, university regulations, or agreements voluntarily entered into, and does not interfere with the rights of others.

Affiliation with Extramural Organizations

Affiliation with an extramural organization shall not disqualify an organization from institutional recognition. An organization shall be officially recognized after its constitution and bylaws have been approved by the appropriate body as designated by the President, or the President’s delegated representative, and when consistent with the Bylaws of the Board of Visitors.

Right to Hold Public Meetings

The right to hold public meetings, to invite speakers of their own choosing to campus, to post notices, to engage in peaceful, orderly demonstrations within reasonably and impartially applied rules designed by the President or the President’s delegated representative, to reflect the educational purposes of the university, and to protect the safety of members of the university and community and others. The university may establish rules, therefore, regulating time, place, and manner of such activities and allocating the use of facilities, but these regulations shall not be used as a means of censorship.

Legal Violations

The right, when charged or convicted of violation of general law, to be free of university discipline for the same conduct, unless such discipline by the university community is determined to be for the protection of other members of the university community or the safeguarding of the educational process.

Right to Due Process

The right, in the case of charges of infractions of regulations which may lead to serious penalties, to formal procedures with fundamental aspects of due process, including the right to be informed in writing of the charges and given a reasonable time to prepare a defense, to have written findings, and to appeal to higher authority. Minor infractions may be handled more informally by the appropriate individual or committee with the consent of the individual charged.

Right to be Present

Right to be present on campus, participate in classes, and generally exercise all those rights and privileges associated with membership in the university community until found guilty of the charges, except in those instances when continued presence on the campus would constitute a threat to health or safety of the individual, other members of the community, or to the educational process.

Search and Seizure

The right to be free of searches and seizures except in accordance with law.

Release of Information

Except as provided below, the institution may not release information about any aspect of an individual’s association with the institution without the prior written consent of the individual concerned or under the compulsion of law. Within the institution, access to such records shall be restricted to authorized personnel for authorized reasons, as determined by the President or the President’s delegated representative, and such others as are agreed to in writing by the individual concerned. To the extent permitted by law, the institution may disclose, to an alleged victim of any crime of violence (as that term is defined in section 16 of title 18, United States Code), the results of any disciplinary proceeding conducted by the university against the alleged perpetrator of such crime with respect to such crime.

Inspection of Records

Each member of the university community shall have the right to inspect the contents of their own records kept by the institution, other than information or records to which the member has specifically waived the right of access and letters of recommendation written by other members of the university community for the purpose of internal evaluation of a member for the award of a university honor, provided that such letters are not kept permanently by the institution and do not become a part of the official record, and may challenge any information included in the record which is believed to be inaccurate, inappropriate, or misleading. If an individual challenges any information contained in their records, the institution shall undertake to verify such information to the satisfaction of the individual concerned. Such decisions shall be made by the President or a designated representative. If the institution’s decision is not satisfactory to the individual, the member has the right to place in their record a statement challenging the information.

Separation of Academic Records

To minimize the risk of improper disclosure from records, the academic record shall be maintained separately from other necessary student records. Each member of the university community enjoys all rights of citizenship and has a responsibility to fulfill the obligations incumbent on all citizens.

Instructor and Student Rights

The right of the instructor to determine the specific content of their course within established course definitions. The right of the student to be evaluated entirely on the basis of academic performance and to discuss freely, inquire, and express opinions inside the classroom.

Editorial Freedom

The right to be protected from arbitrary punishment or suspension, or removal from an editorial or managerial position because of student, faculty, administrative, or public disapproval of editorial policy or content.

University Rights and Responsibilities

Academic Performance and Personal Conduct

The university has the right and responsibility to set and enforce reasonable standards of academic performance and personal conduct, in order to facilitate and safeguard the educational process, and to provide for the safety of the person and property of members of the university community, the university’s physical property, and the person and property of others, to the extent that they are affected by university-sponsored activities or are engaged in legitimate activities on university property.

Validity of Charges

The University has the right and responsibility to provide procedures for determining the validity of charges that a member of the university community is negligent or irresponsible in the performance of their duties.

Opportunity to be Heard

The University has the responsibility to ensure that the members of the university community have an opportunity to be heard at appropriate levels of the decision-making process about basic policy matters of direct concern. Clearly defined means should be available to ensure this opportunity.

Non-Discrimination Policy

The Statement of Rights and Responsibilities guarantees to members of the university community the “right in his or her dealing with the institution and with members of the College community in the performance of their official duties to nondiscriminatory treatment.” It further states that “each member of the College community has the right to organize his or her own personal life and behavior insofar as it does not violate local, state, or federal law, College regulations or agreement voluntarily entered into and does not interfere with the rights of others.” It is my determination that these words express a right to privacy, which extends not only to nondiscriminatory treatment in areas specified by federal law but to nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation as well. The student code of conduct already ensures nondiscriminatory treatment without regard to sexual orientation. In accordance with the resolution of the Faculty Assembly, I am directing that official publications of the university include specific reference to this topic in any enumeration of William and Mary’s nondiscrimination policies. It is also my interpretation that faculty, staff and administration should be extended the same assurances against discrimination based upon sexual orientation as the student body itself.

Each member of the university community has the right to be free from all forms of discriminatory treatment as guaranteed by law. Accordingly, the enumeration of specifically protected treatment should be understood to include disability, Vietnam veteran status, and all other categories ensured by the Commonwealth and by federal law. For faculty, failure to comply with federal and state non-discrimination laws and policies shall be handled in accordance with provisions in the Faculty Handbook, including the procedural guarantees therein outlined.

Inspections

The university may conduct routine inspections, including a student’s assigned university housing room, for the purpose of assuring fire protection, sanitation, safety, or proper maintenance of the university's buildings and other facilities. With the exceptions noted above, university administrators will not inspect a student’s room, office, lockers, or private possessions on campus unless there is reasonable cause to believe that a student is violating policy or using the facilities in violation of university regulations. In such case, the administrator must request via certificate the authorization of a search from the Vice President for Student Affairs (or designee).

Missing Student Policy

The university has established a procedure to investigate when a student is reported missing. Each student has the option to designate a confidential contact at personalinfo.wm.edu. The university will contact the designated person within 24 hours of the time that it considers a student missing.

Arrest Reporting

School campuses are not immune from the dangers faced elsewhere in society. It has become increasingly important that schools take reasonable steps to help protect the safety of the members of their communities. One such step now being taken by many colleges and universities is a requirement that their students promptly report any arrests involving them. At William & Mary students must report within three calendar days any criminal process that has begun for them (whether by means of detention, court summons, citation, or other similar process) no matter where the incident occurs. If unsure whether a particular arrest is covered under this policy, disclose.

Reporting Misconduct

Reporting misconduct obligates the university to take prompt action to protect and support individuals in their educational or work environments. However, this does not mean that a formal complaint or investigation will immediately be enacted. Reporting does not equal an investigation; instead, “report equals support,” and impacted parties may request supportive measures with or without the initiation of a formal complaint resolution procedure. Students who report to any faculty, staff, or designated student employee (e.g., resident assistants, graduate assistants, Recreation Center student workers) need to know that university employees are mandatory reporters of misconduct involving students. Employees must report any disclosure or observation that falls under the above policies to the Director of Title IX and Civil Rights Compliance/Title IX Coordinator. They cannot keep any information shared with them confidential, including incident details names, dates, locations, even if a student asks them to do so.

Confidential Resources

Employees designated as Confidential Employees are not mandatory reporters and thus, they are not obligated to share any disclosure or observation without a student’s permission.

Title IX Policy

In accordance with state and federal law, William & Mary does not discriminate in its programs, activities, or employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, disability, citizenship status, or predisposing genetic characteristics. These categories of classification are deemed protected. In accordance with federal regulations and state law, the Title IX Policy prohibits the following types of sexual misconduct sexual harassment (hostile environment and quid pro quo), sexual assault (rape, fondling, incest, statutory rape), domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and gender-based harassment. The Title IX Policy applies to all members of the university community and supports students who experience Title IX sexual harassment and gender-based harassment by prohibiting other students, employees, and third-parties from sexually harassing others in the community.

tags: #William #and #Mary #student #portal #guide