Guide to SUNY Potsdam

Follow along and complete the New Student Checklist here to make sure that you are good to go! If you have any questions or need help, please feel free to reach out to the Office of Admissions.

Check out Residence Life’s suggested packing list here. 

Visit Get Involved, which is our one stop shop for all things student clubs/organizations and campus activities – you can explore all of our student clubs/organizations on this site.

Visit OneStop to get support with your enrollment and financial needs, including registration, billing, loans and more.

All SUNY Potsdam students with an active email account have access to Microsoft 365 Suite for free as part of your student perks! You can download and use Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, Teams, and more throughout your Potsdam career. Learn about how to get set up and about our other campus support here. 

We love a good Bear name, and we have some other campus resources with unique names so here’s an introductory Potsdam glossary:

1. BearPAWS: BearPAWS is your portal for accessing your student records including your schedule, your bill, your meal plan, and more.
2. BearDeN: BearDeN is your personalized degree plan. Tracks all your college, general education, major, and minor requirements. You can find BearDeN by signing into BearPAWS.
3. Bear Express/Bear: Bear Express is our campus cash that can be used in a variety of ways both on and off campus. 
4. Flex: Flex is another version of our campus cash that can only be used at on-campus dining locations to supplement the meal plans. 
5. Bear Cave: Bear Cave is our all you care to eat dining buffet option on-campus, located in Thatcher Hall.
6. Bear Shuttle: Bear Shuttle is a free shuttle for students operated by St. Lawrence County Public Transit that takes students to various places in downtown Potsdam!
7. Brightspace: Brightspace is a Learning Management System that allows for online learning, such as posting lectures, videos, assignments, discussion forums, quizzes, and questionnaires. Review your course syllabi to learn about how your professors might utilize this platform.
8. Starfish: Starfish is used this to make appointments with your advisor, campus service offices, or sign up for a tutor. Your faculty will use it to send you progress surveys in weeks 5 and 6 of every term.
9. MPR: Multipurpose Room! We have two large multi-use spaces on-campus, in the Barrington Student Union and in the Knowles Conference Center. 

SUNY Potsdam has a University Police (UP) Department that helps keep our campus safe! Anyone can reach UP through a campus phone by dialing x2222 or (315) 267-2222. Additionally, students should sign up for Rave Alerts and download the Rave Guardian App. 

1. Rave Alert/Rave: Rave or Rave Alert is SUNY Potsdam’s emergency alert system that delivers messages such as weather delays and campus alerts via email, text, and voice message to contacts you identify. 
2. Rave Guardian: Rave Guardian Safety App is a free mobile app that turns any smartphone into a personal safety device. It’s like having an emergency blue light system in your pocket. Download it before you get to campus!

Yes! The Prometheus Alumni Food Pantry is a non-judgmental resource for all members of our campus community and it’s located in the Barrington Student Union Lobby on the 1st Floor past the mailroom, Room 119.

We have a Bear Shuttle that stops on campus and brings students throughout downtown Potsdam, to the four local colleges, and in various places in Canton! You can check out the schedule and stops online and learn more about St. Lawrence County’s public transit system here.

Yes! There is wireless internet access in the residence halls, buildings on-campus, and we even have a drive-thru wifi hotspot with internet access for local students.