I haven't been a youngster in a while but PORTALS doesn't work on the bubble?

Not if you've run out (which really isn't hard for a true newbie, one who isn't likely to get into the quests Right Away). If they're still under level 10, though, easily.

Though I guess making PORTALS work from an aetherbubble for anyone who is still enrolled as a student, has not yet graduated from any guild (so still a freshman novice), whether or not they actually have any remaining would work pretty well. (And not consume one if they did)

Right, I should have said, make the whole there-and-back-again process work for them. TELEPORT MOON, and the dish, and the Glomdoring equivalents, is what I had in mind. For collegium students only, and without bringing following players in that case. PORTALS would work too (though I can imagine newbies who ran out of portals using that as a cheap way to get more, too).

Hm. Also a good point. Maybe have PORTALS (if they're using it from a bubble) just dump them at their Nexus instead of the Room of Portals and not consume (or require) a portal charge? Then it can't be used as infinite portal generation (which would be pretty unfair to the city novices).

Of course, at this point we're starting to get into a number of extra checks.
#if (@inCollegium AND @isFreshmanNovice) {allow TeleporttoBubble} {requireConstruct}
and
#if (@inCollegium AND @isFreshmanNovice AND @isOnBubble) {portals goes to nexus} {normal portal routine}

Well, for the zMud pseudocode, though it wouldn't work with Rapture of course. Anyways, I'd think it would still be easier than allowing the moon dish and shadow glass to somehow still work for novices (especially since the glass itself dumps people at the Altar), but... it's still getting a bit complicated. Hrm.

Here's a simple idea. Make Construct effect apply to newbies regardless of their status. Considering the kinds of trouble that they can get into, and their needs, making their lives easier and simpler just seems to be the right idea.

Sort of like a dross power type affect? They are disabled but still function at a low level of power such that those with weak shards (less than level 20?) are still able to gain some kind of benefit? I like it.

I think that's pretty much what Gwylifar was suggesting... the only problem is, it turns out to not really be all that simple in the end in this case. Unfortunately.