Every newcomer needs the same handful of facts in the first month. This guide collects them in sixteen short chapters across five parts, one topic per page.

• Flip through with the buttons or your keyboard arrows. Every chapter fits one page.
• Download the whole guide as a PDF for offline reading.
• Details reflect student experience on the Beirut campus. Offices and policies change, so confirm critical dates on the official LAU academic calendar.

Five accounts and cards unlock everything at LAU. Set them up in your first week.

1. LAU Portal. The activation email arrives 3 to 10 working days after applying, with your username and a temporary password. The Portal handles registration, tuition, records, and services.
2. University email. Sign in to Outlook with your LAU credentials. Announcements, professors, exam schedules, and opportunities arrive here first. Check it daily.
3. Blackboard. At elearn.lau.edu.lb with the same credentials. Professors post slides, assignments, and grades here.
4. Student ID. Issued at Nicol Hall 102 about two weeks into the semester. Announcements come by email and at the gates. Portal access gets you through the gates until then.
5. WiFi. Network LAU_Students, using your Portal username and password.

Directions on campus are given by its three gates: the Upper Gate, the Middle Gate, and the Lower Gate. The buildings between them:

• Nicol Hall. Classrooms, plus the ID card office in room 102.
• Irwin Hall. The Registrar and the Business Office, ground floor.
• Shannon Hall. The Financial Aid Office, second floor.
• Wadad Sabbagh Khoury Student Center (WKSC). Gym, Health Clinic, cafeteria, and the Dean of Students.
• Riyad Nassar Library. Study floors, printing, and the Writing Center.
• Sage Hall, Safadi Fine Arts, and AKSOB. Classrooms and lecture halls.
• Gezairi Building. Just outside the Lower Gate. Some classes meet here.

The campus is small. By the second week it feels familiar.

Registration follows your study plan. Courses chain through prerequisites, so delaying one course can delay graduation.

• Advisor. Portal → My School lists your academic advisor. Consult them before every registration period.
• Advising form. Required before registration for first semester students, anyone under 24 completed credits, and several majors including engineering and pharmacy. Without advisor approval, registration stays locked.
• Course load. Keep the first semester light while you adjust. Summer terms can spread the load across the year.
• Professors and workload. Students who already took a course are the best source on both.
• Weekly schedule. After registering, build your timetable by searching your course codes on Resis.org.

An override is a formal request to register when the system refuses: a full section, a missing prerequisite, or a restriction.

• Request path. Portal → My Courses → Registrar’s Office Forms → Override Permission Request. The department chair decides and the answer arrives by email.
• If approved. Register yourself in Banner using the course CRN.
• Capacity overrides. Usually open only during the last days of the Drop/Add period.
• If rejected. Visiting the department in person to explain your study plan often changes the outcome.

Leaving a course has three exits, in order of deadline:

1. Drop/Add week. The course is removed with no grade recorded, and fees are generally adjusted.
2. WI. Withdrawal without academic penalty. The course is excluded from your GPA.
3. WP / WF. Late withdrawal, recorded as passing or failing based on your standing at that point.

Exact deadlines are published in the Academic Calendar every semester.

The syllabus handed out in week one defines each course: schedule, deadlines, grade weights, and policies.

• Attendance limits. 4 absences for Tuesday and Thursday courses, 6 for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Enforcement varies by professor.
• Grading. GPA runs on a 4.0 scale: A is 4.0, B is 3.0, C is 2.0, D is 1.0, F is 0, with plus and minus steps between.
• Office hours. Weekly and listed in the syllabus. Professors expect students to use them.
• Tutoring. Free sessions exist for demanding courses, led by students who completed them.
• Integrity. Cheating and plagiarism cases carry penalties that outlast any single grade.

The Riyad Nassar Library covers study space, printing, borrowing, and free academic support.

• Silent floors. Levels 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13. Level 9 is quiet but looser.
• Group floors. Levels 4 to 6 allow discussion. Rooms 805 and 806 are booked via Portal → Services.
• Printing. Free credits each semester: 300 in Fall, 300 in Spring, 150 in Summer. Open a library computer, scan the printer QR code, and print.
• Borrowing. Books and calculators, at the circulation desk.
• Lockers. $10 to $15 per semester at the Circulation Desk, first come first served.

Sports facilities are free with a student ID.

• Gym. First floor of the Student Center. Mixed, open Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
• Gymnasium. Swimming pool plus basketball, tennis, and badminton courts.
• Schedules. Activity schedules arrive by university email.
• Teams and tryouts. The Athletics Office at the Gymnasium main entrance, athletics@lau.edu.lb.

The offices every student eventually needs, and what each one handles.

Parking, shuttles, and the main commuter routes into Hamra.

• Parking. Student lots at the Middle Gate and the Lower Gate.
• University shuttle. LAU shuttles, including the Beirut to Byblos run, load facing the Lower Gate.
• Taxis. Easier to find near the Lower Gate, around Ras Beirut Pharmacy.
• From Saida. The Al Sawi bus leaves Sahet Al Nijme roughly every 30 minutes between 6:00 AM and 7:00 PM, reaching Kola and the Kuwaiti Embassy. A short service taxi completes the trip.
• From Baalbek. Vans leave from the Palmyra Hotel and Jbeili Station. Get off at Mar Mikhael church and take Van No. 4 to Hamra.

Tuition appears on the Portal three to four weeks into the semester, under My Services → Print Statement of Fees.

1. Pay or defer. Pay in full, or split into installments via My Finances → Defer My Payments. The standard first installment is 50%. Requests near 35 to 40% are sometimes approved.
2. Where to pay. OMT, or the partner banks: Bank of Beirut, BLOM, Byblos Bank, Credit Libanais, and Audi.
3. Final deadline. Around the last week of classes.

• Late payment. Adds a 0.75% monthly fee and blocks Early Registration for the next semester. An unpaid first installment can suspend Blackboard access.
• Financial aid. Renew the application every year and keep a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above. If your GPA slips, the Financial Aid Office can discuss options.

Every registered student is automatically covered by the university health insurance.

• Coverage. Hospitalization at LAU Medical Center Rizk (Achrafieh) and Saint John’s (Jounieh), plus emergency accident coverage in the Best Assistance network. Contact: StudentsInsuranceBeirut@lau.edu.lb
• Campus security. Around the clock. From any campus phone, dial extension 1500 in Beirut or 2500 in Byblos.
• Health Clinic. Student Center near the Upper Gate, extension 3007. First aid, medical assistance, and consultations.
• Counseling. Available through the Dean of Students office for stress, homesickness, or a heavy semester.

Small facts that make campus life smoother.

• Weekends. Campus stays open while offices close. Empty classrooms, projectors, and whiteboards are free for study sessions.
• Cafeteria facilities. A fridge, a microwave, and cutlery are free to use. Label your food. Items older than a week are cleared.
• Lost and found. Ask the security guards or visit the office in Safadi 2.
• Bathrooms with bidet sprayers. Sage Hall level 1, Nicol Hall near the back stairs, AKSOB level 1, and Safadi Hall below the main gate level.
• Campus cats. Friendly, plentiful, and mostly in the gardens. One occasionally attends a lecture in Nicol Hall.

Welcome to LAU.