April 2006

From the Desk of the Director, Office of First Year Experience

Joel Johnson, Director

MSU Parents and Advocates,

Congratulations!!
On behalf of the Office of First Year Experience, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the significant achievement your student has accomplished through the successful completion of their first year!

The first year transition truly is a significant life event for students. From the excitement of attending New Student Orientation, the monumental day of moving into the Residence Halls and saying goodbye to loved ones, the first day of classes, developing new friends and new peer support networks, the academic transitions to college level academics, and so many unique and personal life transitions, truly combine to make the first year college experience a roller coaster experience of incredible highs and challenging lows! Your role as an advocate in your student's daily success in meeting these challenges of the first year have been a critical factor in your student's success! Please take this opportunity to recognize and applaud your efforts!

As we conclude the year, I would like to let you know that while our Office's focus is the First Year Experience, our services to your student and to you as parents certainly do not conclude. We continue to offer advocacy for you and your student for student academic issues or personal concerns, we offer ongoing advising services for all Undeclared Major students, and we have a variety of academic and personal support resources available for students upon request. We sincerely hope our relationship with both you and your students continues beyond the first year!

I also want to recognize the additional challenges faced by many of our students entering their sophomore year. As you prepare to talk with your student about the second year of college, the following are some excellent discussion topics:

• Transition from Residence Hall living to Off Campus Housing
  • A number of our students make a choice to live off campus in non-designated University housing for their second year. The process of signing leases, dealing with landlords, cooking for oneself, and additional self management challenges all combine to make this a unique transition.
  • For a University resource to assist you go to the Housing website.
• Finalizing major selection and preparation for applying to Academic Departments for formal admission to major
  • The decision to finalize major choice and begin the formal process of applying to the appropriate academic department for acceptance to major can be an intimidating process. The importance of your student seeing their Academic Advisor regularly can not be over emphasized. Your student's Academic Advisor will review your student's academic progress and course completion, and serves as a valuable guide and advocate to acceptance to major and course planning to a timely graduation. Information on Academic Advising can be found at the Academic Advising page.
  • Resources for students continuing to decide on a major can be found at both:
    
    • Career Development Center website
    • Academic Advising Services page
• Finances
  • With costs of college attendance rising, combined with students first experiences learning to manage ones own money and spending habits, personal finance management is a critical discussion topic with students. You can find helpful information and services for your student on the Campus Hub website.
• Transition from lower division course work to upper-division classes in chosen major
  • Academic adjustment issues provide a variety of ongoing challenges for students. While your student has experienced the initial adjustment to the demands of academics, classes only increase in rigor as your student's education progresses. Resources for students to assist with academic concerns can be found at our Center Academic Success website.
• Development of student's Co-Curricular Transcript
  • As students move into their second year, many begin to look for opportunities for involvement in our campus and local community. These opportunities serve as a means to develop critical personal skills including leadership skills, ability to work with a team, service learning opportunities, and development of abilities to work with and appreciate individuals different from themselves. The following are important resources to consider:
    • Co-Curricular Transcripts Login page
    • Community Based Learning & Civic Engagement website

I hope our Parent/Advocate Newsletter has been helpful to you this past year! Please know feedback received from you has been incredibly helpful in designing articles of interest for your review. As we conclude the year, I would like to invite your continued feedback. Please feel free to me at joel.johnson-1@mnsu.edu or call at 507-389-5498.

As we look to next fall, the Office of First Year Experience plans to continue to send you a quarterly Family Newsletter. If you wish to not receive this service, you can unsubscribe.

Have a great summer and we look forward to serving you and your student this fall!

Depression (a follow-up to the March newsletter)

Depression has many signs, many of which are not recognized immediately, but felt by the person in varying ways. Depression, not sadness, continues for a minimum of two weeks. It is characterized by having a depressed mood for most of the day, pleasure and interest in activities is diminished. Other signs of depression include an increase or decrease in appetite and/or weight gain or loss. Sleep can also be affected either by sleeping a great deal or not sleeping as much as the person normally would. Concentration, thinking, or having trouble with decisions is also a sign of depression. Finally, depression can include suicidal thoughts. These can be fleeting thoughts of what life would be like if the depressed person were not alive, to thoughts of a specific plan to take their own life.

The signs of depression cover a wide range of symptoms at varying degrees. The important fact is: if a person thinks he or she may be depressed they should seek help through counseling or the medical profession to assess for depression. Through helping professionals, and personal work, depression symptoms can be lifted.

Counseling & Support

• MSU Counseling Center
  • Bereavement and Grief
• The State Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for MSU Faculty and Staff
• Resources on Bereavement and Grief Support
  • National Grief Support Services
  • Virtual Pamphlet Collection – Grief, Student Counseling and Resource Service at the University of Chicago
  • Bereavement, Counseling and Psychological Services Center at the University of Tulsa

Important Payment Policy Change, Effective Fall Semester 2006

Patricia McAuley, Student Financial Services

Students enrolled in courses must meet tuition & fee payment criteria by the published due dates, or they will be dropped from all registered courses.

• Payment due date is August 11, 2006 for students registering through August 7, 2006
• Payment due date is September 1, 2006 for students registering from August 8, 2006 through September 1, 2006

Minimum payment criteria that must be met by the due dates to avoid an administrative drop of all courses included one or more of the following:

• Full payment by cash, check, or credit card
• Down payment of 15% of tuition and fees charges, or $300, whichever is less, to indicate the student's enrollment in the University's installment payment plan
• Financial aid application in process with the University
• Payment in the form of scholarships, third party payments, or tuition waivers reflected on the student's account that meets the 15% or $300 minimum down payment amount

To assist with the policy change, it is recommended that students exercise the following options:

• File a 2006-2007 FAFSA online as soon as possible, and by June 30, 2006, at the latest, or
• Submit a $300 online pre-payment at the time of registration, or
• Submit a down payment of 15% or $300 before the published due date, and
• Monitor online student account/financial aid information by logging in with Student Tech ID and PIN to E-services. Once student tuition and fee bills are posted, there will be messages to indicate whether the payment criteria to avoid an administrative drop has been met or not. If any known payment or financial aid information is not appearing on the online screens, this should be reported for resolution as early as possible.

Students who register and later change their plans for attendance should not rely on the Registration Cancellation For Nonpayment process to complete administrative drops for them. Those who no longer wish to be enrolled must drop their courses via the online registration process and officially withdraw from Minnesota State Mankato for accurate determination of their financial obligation to the University, if any.

Residence Hall May Closing Tips

Mishelle Banas, McElroy Complex Director

Hard to believe that the school year is coming to a close! Seems like just yesterday that your son or daughter moved away to school, and now it is time to pack up and leave the residence halls. We wanted to provide you with some upcoming highlights for your information as we wrap up the school year:

• The last week in April, your student's Community Advisor will hold a floor meeting to discuss closing procedures. Encourage your student to attend to gain the most information on closing.
• Dumpsters will be provided outside of McElroy, Crawford and Gage for the end of the year. Your student can throw away larger belongings there, as well as their trash, to keep the hallways clear.
• During finals week, no loaner keys are checked out through the front desk. If your student gets locked out, they can see their Community Advisor.
• 24 hour Quiet Hours begin on the evening of Wednesday, May 3rd and continue through finals week. 24 hours of quiet are observed to assist with sleeping and studying.
• Residence halls close at 7:00 on Friday, May 12, 2006!!! Students should plan to vacate the halls 24 hours after their last final exam.

Here are some tips on helping your student have a successful end to their time in the residence halls:

• Students need to sign up for a check-out time with their Community Advisor (in advance) before they depart. Failure to check out will result in a $50.00 improper check out charge.
• Students who do not return their room key will be billed an additional $50.00 at the time of check out.
• When checking out, the room should be cleaned (cleaning supplies available at the desk), tape should be removed from walls/doors, and the furniture should be back to the original set up.
• Lofts should be taken down and removed (loft company will be on campus during finals week) and bed ends reattached to the bed so that it is properly set up (bed ends available during finals week).
• Damages to the room, not originally recorded on the Room Condition Report, will be charged at check out and billed to the student.

Students should watch for flyers, speak to their Community Advisor, attend their closing floor meeting, and ask questions for a successful end of the year check-out.

Finally, most floors will have closing activities to participate in and wrap up the time spent together as a floor. We encourage your student to take part and celebrate the friendships made throughout the year!

Summer Housing Options On-Campus

Rochelle Bollman, Residential Life

Housing is available for students enrolled in at least one summer course at Minnesota State Mankato. Eligible students can choose to live in the residence halls all summer long, or they can choose to stay for just a few weeks. This year, our summer students will live in Crawford D Hall.

Though most of our residents live in double rooms during the regular academic year, students are free to choose a single room during the summer. These are regular double rooms, however, only one student lives in the room. Some two-person suites with two rooms and a full bathroom are also available on a first-come, first-served basis.

During the summer session, our residents enjoy many of the same features we offer during the academic year—paid utilities, internet access, cable TV service, housekeeping service for public areas, room maintenance, and live-in staff members. Plus, laundry and parking are free, and the common area lounges are air-conditioned.

Students can stay for as little as $63 a week in a double room or $85 a week in a single room. (A minimum stay of two weeks is required.) The rate for staying during the interim session prior to the start of summer classes (May 13 – May 19) is $57 for a double room and $77 for a single room. For the period following the end of summer session classes (July 29 – August 22) the rate is $204 for a double room and $275 for a single room.

More information about our summer housing program and rates is available on the Department of Residential Life website. Rooms can be reserved by visiting the Office of Residential Life. You can also call 507-389-1011 or email us at reslife@mnsu.edu to request more information be sent to you.

End of the Semester Tips to Avoid Meltdown

Gael Mericle, Director, Center for Academic Success

The staff in the Center for Academic Success enjoys working with your sons/daughters as they strive to realize their academic potential. Students facing their first or second set of final exams can feel overwhelmed. Below are some "study/academic preparation" tips that you might consider sharing with them as they prepare for the end of the semester.

• Make your own study guide before exams.
• Leave enough time for the writing and revising of your end-of-the-term papers. Have someone critique/read the paper and then make final corrections and/or additions before turning in your work for grade.
• Trouble getting started on those papers? Come to the Center for Academic Success (CAS) in ML 116 for help taking those first steps. BUT come down early and leave yourself enough time to fully develop that paper.
• Study in small increments. Don't Cram!
• Find a good space to study and use it regularly.
• Devote time each day to studying and study in short time segments.
• Review class material every day, starting at the beginning.
• Find a study partner to work with on homework or test preparation.
• Make up a practice test and ask your study partner to make up one too and then take each other's test.
• Review tests from the semester as a study guide.
• Come to the CAS for test preparation/taking strategies in content areas.
• Get a good night's sleep before an exam.
• Relax at least one hour before the test–take a walk, visit a friend…
• Eat chocolate–studies show that stimulates short term memory.

Important Dates

April 10, 2006	First Day of Fall Term 2006 Registration
April 14, 2006	Deadline for Withdrawal of Individual Full Term Classes
April 28, 2006	Deadline for Official Withdrawal of All Full Term Classes
May 8 – 12, 2006	Final Examinations
May 13, 2006	Graduation
May 22, 2006	First Day of Summer Term 2006 Classes

Comments/Questions

Comments and questions about the Family Connection newsletter can be directed to the Office of First Year Experience via email at email.