Dean of Students

News from the Dean

Kellie Raffaelli, Dean of Students
Dr. Kellie Raffaelli, Dean of Students

Hey Huskies!!

I am thrilled to start a new academic year with all of you! Your dedication and resilience continue to inspire me, and I look forward to all the exciting things to come this year.  As the Dean of Students, I am here to support you throughout your academic and personal successes and challenges. From the feedback I received from students last semester, I’ve created this website to help keep you informed on what is happening around campus.

If you ever need anything or want to invite me to your event, please feel free to email me at deanofstudents@mtu.edu. You can also come chat with me at my weekly open office hours.

Get to know the Administration:

The President reports to the Board of Trustees (appointed by the Governor of MI)
The Provost (VP of Academics (all the academic colleges), and all other Vice Presidents report to the President. Each Vice President has their functional areas that report up a chain of leadership. You can find the University Governance and Organizational Structure here. 

Campus Shuttle changes

As many of you know, Michigan Tech contracts our shuttle services with two organizations: the City of Houghton for Houghton commuters and Lamers Bus Lines for the Campus Husky Shuttle and Hancock Commuter. Recently, Lamers informed us that they would no longer use school buses for university shuttles and would transition to transit-style buses. These new buses are smaller, creating challenges we’ve worked to address with your input.

  1. Hancock Shuttle Adjustments

    • To accommodate demand, the Hancock shuttle now stops at Daniel Heights when returning to Houghton, helping with overflow from the Campus Husky Shuttle.
    • The route now includes stops at Pat’s Foods and near the new Keweenaw Co-op for better accessibility.
    • The route avoids steep hills in winter by taking Lincoln Drive, improving safety and reliability.

  2. Campus Husky Shuttle Updates

    • New stops have been added at:
      • Cliff Drive (M&M Building, ATDC, and Mineral Museum)
      • End of Daniel Heights near Mill Road
      • Sharon Avenue at Diamond and Champion Streets
    • Adjusted stop times at the MUB:
      • Arrive: 10 minutes before the hour
      • Depart: No sooner than 5 minutes before the hour

  3. Discontinued Stops

    • The hospital stop has been discontinued due to very low ridership (1 passenger per week on average).
How You Can Stay Updated

We encourage all shuttle riders to download the Tripshot app, where we provide real-time updates on stop times, delays, cancellations, and other changes. We also update our website and digital boards promptly.

Feedback and Questions

We understand these adjustments may be challenging, and we appreciate your patience as we work through this transition. If you have any concerns or suggestions, please contact Transportation Services at:

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Changes to New Student Orientation coming Summer 2025

Starting in Summer of 2025 Michigan Tech will adding to Orientation Programing by launching Summer Orientation Sessions. The purpose of hosting summer orientation is to create an opportunity for students to come to Houghton, connect with each other, our amazing campus, and their academic departments early in the summer. Summer orientation sessions will also give students the opportunity to ensure they have all the necessary placement exams, test scores, and other paperwork needed to be well-prepared for Fall 2025. We plan to hire 15-25 Summer Orientation Ambassadors in addition to the 75-80 OTL’s that are hired for O-Week. 

New students will be invited to register for one of four summer sessions beginning in February. We will start communicating this once the students receive their financial aid packets.

Orientation sessions will be held: 

  • Orientation session 1: Sunday, June 22-Monday, June 23 
  • Orientation session 2: Thursday, June 26 - Friday, June 27
  • Orientation session 3: Sunday, July 13-Monday, July 14 
  • Orientation session 4: Thursday, July 17-Friday July 18

For students who are unable to attend, we will work with their advisors and other staff to set up virtual appointments and have a day scheduled during O-Week for them to complete any tasks needed before the semester begins. We understand that not everyone will be able to travel to campus during the summer, including international students and students from states far away. We will do our best to accommodate students who are unable to attend.

Michigan Tech is not cancelling or fazing out Fall Orientation. Fall Orientation will take place August 17-22, 2025. New students will be given the options to move into the residence halls between Sunday and Tuesday, with O-Week activities beginning Tuesday night with the University Welcome. OTL’s will still be part of welcoming our new students and we will still offer all the wonderful activities and events to connect new students to campus and the community including A Taste of Tech Traditions on Friday afternoon. Registered Student Organizations will have ample opportunity to showcase their organizations throughout the week beginning on Sunday. 

A cross campus committee is working on the details now and we are hiring Orientation Executive Staff (OES) as we speak. Stay tuned for more information as it comes out!

Use your voice?
 

Interested in protesting or holding a demonstration? Check out the Free Speech Education Team, they provide information and consultation to individuals or groups looking to exercise their First Amendment rights for demonstrations, protests, or similar activity within Michigan Tech Campus. 
Undergraduate students can attend USG meetings and share concerns. They meet every Wednesday 7:00-9:00 in the Alumni Lounge.
Graduate students can attend GSG meetings and share concerns.
Student Commission is a group of folks from across campus that tackle problems that impact the entire campus.
Meet with the Dean; email deanofstudents@mtu.edu to make an appointment or stop by Kellie’s office hours
Report a Concern Students with concerns or complaints can use one of the reporting options listed on this webpage to report the concern. 

Campus Updates
  • Need Winter Clothing, Jackets, or boots? Check out the Clothing Closet located in G04W Wadsworth Hall. They are also collecting donations as well. 
  • Thank you to everyone that completed the Healthy Minds Survey. The Healthy Minds Survey is a questionnaire that was launched in 2007 in order to examine mental health, service utilization, and related issues among undergraduate and graduate students— it now is used by over 400 colleges and universities in what is known as the Healthy Minds Network for Research on Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health. 
  • Student Satisfaction Survey 2024 Undergraduate results and summary.
    • thanks to all who participated in the survey and the focus groups.
  • The Career Closet will take place September 20 and 21, 2024 with the goal of providing students with professional clothing that they can wear to Career Fair, interviews, and conferences. If you are in need of some clothing, check out the Husky Clothing Collective.
  • Construction projects continue on campus
    • Active Campus Construction Projects including East Hall and upgrades in Rekhi and EERC.
    • New commuter parking lot is located on the corner of 7th and Garnet St, the University shuttle will have daily stops there.
      • Download the TripShot app to stay up-to-date with the shuttle schedule. 
  • Tech Today: students are welcome to subscribe to this daily newsletter. Tech Today is Michigan Tech’s daily internal newsletter produced by University Marketing and Communications.
  • Student Scoop: Subscribe to receive the weekly newsletter from Student Leadership and Involvement featuring upcoming campus events and activities.