Newly Admitted Students

Welcome to
OU Online!

Our students make up a diverse community,
but we are all part of one university.

Getting Started: Degree-seeking Undergraduate Students

Welcome!

This is a step-by-step guide for newly admitted OU Online degree-seeking undergraduate students. If you're not admitted yet or if you are interested in applying, visit our Admissions information page for application procedures and requirements.

Jessica Armitage

“It has meant a lot to me to be able to earn my degree without sacrificing my income and time with my kids.”

— Jessica Armitage, B.S. Criminal Justice, 2024

Tech Set Up

STEP 1: Activate Your Account

Go to one.ou.edu, and click “New to OU? Set up your OU account.” Click “What’s this?” to find your OU Net ID using your SSN and date of birth. Enter your OU Net ID and date of birth to identify your account. 

Within the one.ou.edu student services portal, you can access: 

  • Browse class schedule
  • Enroll in classes
  • Check your schedule
  • View grades
  • Print an unofficial transcript
  • Pay tuition and other bursar charges

STEP 2: Set Up Your Email

From this point forward, your OU email account should be your primary one, as that’s where the university sends all important information (i.e., enrollment dates, 100% refund dates for dropped courses, new course offerings, graduation checklist, convocation information, etc.). If you forward your OU email address to another email address, there is a chance the firewall will block emails with attachments. For this reason, you need to use your OU email address as your primary email account while you pursue your degree.

STEP 3: Secure Access

After setting up your OU account and email, you must enroll in PingID, a mandatory two-step authentication system.

Academic Prep

STEP 4: Complete the OU Online Orientation via Canvas

Canvas is an online learning management system used by OU to manage and deliver your classes. There you will find your assignments, quizzes, and course materials. It allows you to access your courses, communicate with instructors, and track your progress all in one place. Log into your Canvas (you have one-click access from your ONE account) and complete your orientation course. It is located on your Dashboard.

STEP 5: Make a New Student Advising Appointment

After you complete the OU Online Orientation, you will want to connect with your academic advisor. You should have received an email from your advisor with their contact information. You should contact them directly to schedule an initial advising appointment.

If you’re an undergraduate student and need help contacting your academic advisor, please email pacsadvising@ou.edu.

STEP 6: Go Over Your Personalized Degree Plan

Your personalized graduation plan is the degree audit tool you use to chart your progress toward degree completion. We do not use the degree navigator in the one.ou.edu system to track our degrees. From now on, mark the classes you have taken, thus revealing your remaining requirements after completing each semester’s enrollment. Your advisor will send you updated grad plans along the way but understand that you are responsible for knowing your degree requirements.   

STEP 7: Register for Classes

You register for classes by logging in to the university’s web-based record systemDownload the detailed instructions for enrolling.

Before your first enrollment, you will need to complete the online Sexual Assault Prevention training to satisfy the Title IX registration hold that is placed on all accounts for new students. Once this tutorial is completed, the hold will lift automatically, and you may proceed with registration. You will find the tutorial here. This hold sometimes takes a few hours to lift once training is done. For more information on the training, visit the FAQ page.

To help you identify when each course is offered within each semester, we offer a numbering system for our courses. The numbering system is shown below.   

STEP 8: Order Textbooks

Selecting and ordering course materials is now done completely online through the OU Bookstore. 

Class Registration Guidelines

To help you identify when each course is offered within each semester, we offer a numbering system for our courses.

Fall 1

August – October

100s

Fall 2

October – December

200s

Spring 1

January – March

300s

Spring 2

March – May

400s

Summer

June – July

500s

Apply for Financial Aid

Information regarding financial aid is located here, or you may contact them via email at onlineaid@ou.edu or phone (405) 325-2929. 

Evans Hall
Military student at her home desk with laptop and her young son is standing next to her

Set up Military Tuition Assistance

If you plan on using Military Tuition Assistance (TA), and do not have a form to submit, request electronically here: TA Request. If you have a TA authorization/voucher to submit, please send your form to va-militarybilling@ou.edu. Please understand that TA will not be processed or applied to your account until AFTER the add/drop date for any given term. For third-party billing, please get in touch with the Student Financial Center at SFC@OU.edu or (405) 325-9000.
student with backpack walking to the doors of a campus building

Set Up GI Bill®/Vocational Rehab Assistance

If you plan on using your GI Bill®, please get in touch with our dedicated VA certifying officials with any questions regarding Veterans Affairs, VA benefits, VA Certification, or the GI Bill (veterans@OU.edu). Submit your new enrollments every semester on their request form.
Carole Dobrowilski

“OU Online is both challenging and rewarding.”

—Carole Dobrowilski, Master of Accountacy, 2024

Student Services

Check Out Our Student Services

We are here to support you during your time at OU. We have an abundance of academic and student support resources available to help you thrive in your academic program, and we encourage you to take advantage of all of them!

We also have several ways to connect with other online students through our Online Student Association or our student groups. We hope you will find community with other online students and build a supportive network during your time at OU.

group of 3 students descending a flight of stairs