Across a number of coordinated offices throughout the university much of the past year has been dedicated to implementing LionPATH, the new student information system at Penn State. LionPATH will completely replace eLion. LionPATH offers a much more powerful student information system that will benefit students and faculty/staff alike. The first challenge is helping nearly 100,000 users transition to a new system. We all need to be patient because everyone is working with a new system, students, staff, faculty, system administrators, and tech support alike.
The best information for LDT online students is the Graduate Student Portal of LionPATH. From that portal you may then log into LionPATH’s Student Center.
Throughout the Fall 2016 term, eLion will continue to fade from use. As you’ve experienced already, all Fall 2016 course registration occurred in LionPATH. Course registration, including course adds, drops, and term withdrawals, will continue in perpetuity in LionPATH.
Academic advisement will soon reside within LionPATH with an added advisement tool known as Starfish. Starfish is still rolling-out. You can learn more about Starfish here.
Here are some timely notifications related to LionPATH that demand student notice: (check back for updates)
Fall 2016 Schedule Finalized by August 19
Due to a large and complex file synchronization process scheduled by the university for August 19 to August 27, all Fall 2016 student course registrations are to be finalized by August 19. By request of the university, no drops or adds should occur after August 19. Please complete your Fall 2016 registration as soon as possible.
Clear Holds Every Semester
From this point forward, students will automatically have holds placed on their LionPATH account every semester. Prior to registering for courses, students must complete the Preregistration Activity Guide in LionPATH, which includes acceptance of the Financial Responsibility Agreement. If you receive an error message stating that you have holds on your account, then you likely need to complete the Preregistration Activity Guide or the Financial Responsibility Agreement, or you have an outstanding balance due from a previous semester that must be paid prior to continuing. See the Registrar’s FAQ page for more information.
New Automated Processes
Students may now submit their requests to resume study or change their major online via LionPATH. No paper forms or signatures required. To complete the resume study or change of major request, note that “Students will apply to resume study, change degree, or change major just as though they are completing a new application.” Please see the Current Students page for additional information.
Dropping a Course
LionPATH has improved the procedure for a World Campus student to drop a course. Refer to the World Campus Dropping a Course resource page for details. Note that any courses that a student wishes to drop must be dropped by August 27, 2016 in order to avoid fees (see this post).