Check out the Welcome Week Schedule of Events.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania welcomes students for the 2026–27 academic year with a number of Welcome Week events starting August 15.
The first day of classes for the fall 2026 semester is August 24.
A number of students are already on campus for special programs and camps, including student athletes from the football team, residence life student staff members, students in the Crimson Scholars Circle enrolled in the Early Immersion Experience, and members of the IUP Marching Band.
Approximately 900 new students are expected to move into housing on the Indiana campus on August 15, and 800 more new students are expected on August 16. More than 3,100 new and continuing students will be living in residence halls on the Indiana campus, with an additional 129 students living in the Punxsutawney campus’s Living-Learning Center.
Continuing students are scheduled to move into IUP residence halls on August 22 and 23.
For the fifth year, move-in for new students includes a one-stop check-in process. This program invites all new students—those who will be in campus housing and those who are commuter students—to start the move-in process at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex at individually scheduled times between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on August 15 and between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on August 16.
This check-in event provides in-person resources for students and families in one location, making it easier for students to complete any administrative needs before physically moving into their rooms. Navigators—staff members who provide individual support to students through IUP’s Student Success Infrastructure—also will be part of the check-in event to greet and help students and families, as will many employees and continuing students.
“We continue to have an outstanding response from families and students to our one-stop check-in, as well as enthusiastic support from the IUP community who are part of the event,” Associate Vice President for Student Life Valerie Baroni said. “Students and families told us that they really appreciated the opportunity to be in contact with the offices they needed to help them right from the start.
“Having the Navigators—who have already been in contact with students during the summer months—on site and serving as part of the cadre of volunteers for the event has been a great way to help families feel more at ease during the process.”
The one-stop check-in provides students with an individualized itinerary at the welcome table, listing any offices the student needs to stop at before checking in to housing. Staff members from all of those offices will be present at the event. If students have completed all of the new-student steps before move-in, they can check in to their housing or stop by tables for additional information.
“In addition to streamlining the process by having offices in person to help new students, it provides an opportunity for students and families to ask questions and meet members of campus offices,” Baroni said.
Members of IUP’s ROTC group and other members of the university community are the initial greeters for the check-in.
Additional offices represented at the KCAC include Orientation, IUP Housing, Student Inclusion, Post Office, Welcome Week information, University College, IUP Dining, Disability Access and Advising, Student Leadership and Community Service Learning, Health Service, Student Billing, Financial Aid, Military and Veteran’s Resource Center; the IUP Information Technology Helpdesk; Parking Services; Payroll, Environmental Health and Safety; STATIC, the student activity and programming group; the Center for Civil Discourse and Civic Life; and the I-Card Office amongst others.
Students are welcome to stop back at the Kovalchick Complex throughout the weekend during check-in hours for any assistance they may need from the offices represented there.
New student Welcome Week, August 15 to 23, offers events that are a mixture of academic meetings, informational programming, and opportunities for students to become acquainted with one another and with the campus and community.
IUP’s traditional Opening of the Academic Year program is August 21 at 9:00 a.m. in the IUP Performing Arts Center’s Fisher Auditorium. It will feature remarks by IUP President Michael Driscoll; IUP Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Lara Luetkehans; Kenneth Sherwood, president, IUP Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) and professor in the Department of Language, Literature, and Writing; IUP Council of Trustees student member Jackson White; and Bryan Seal, University Senate chair and associate professor in the Department of Safety Sciences and Environmental Engineering.
The program will be livestreamed on the IUP YouTube channel.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive campaign is designed to honor a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, public service, and leadership in healthcare education, including the first college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in the commonwealth.