Blugold Nuggets - March 2007

This March edition of Blugold Nuggets includes timely reminders for the month and some topics for discussion with your student. We hope the information shared in this newsletter is helpful!

Registration for Fall Semester

Registration for fall semester will take place from April 9 through May 4 with most appointment times based on the number of credits a student has. It is, however, important to start thinking about registration much sooner than that. Here is some information you can share with your students.

During the week of March 12 students will be e-mailed their registration materials, including their exact registration time as well as a degree audit that lists all the requirements for their degree.
All students must pay a $100 deposit prior to registering. This goes toward the fall semester tuition.
All students with fewer than 60 earned credits and all students in academic difficulty must see an adviser and receive their PAC (personal advising code) prior to registering. In reality, all students should see an adviser before registering. Please encourage your students to make these appointments early.

Registration time often focuses students’ attention on their major. It is a good time to talk with your students –particularly freshmen and sophomores--about whether they are still happy with the major they have chosen. If they are undeclared, they should be encouraged to talk with their adviser early, so they can do some major/career exploration before registering.

Students who want to change their major should do it before they register so they can talk with their new adviser. Information on how to do that can be found on the Registration Web site.
Students who are considering changing a major can get a “What-if degree audit” for the major they are considering.
Students who are uncertain about what they want to major in can talk to a counselor in Career Services. They can call 836-5359 or stop by Schofield 230.

For answers to most registration related questions, see “Steps to a Successful Registration.”

Registering for Summer Session

Summer Session 2007

Students can now register for Summer Session 2007. Students should check out the Summer Session Class Schedule now to see if a course or two will fit into their plans for this summer.

Summer Session allows students to:

Complete their undergraduate or graduate degree program more quickly.
Catch up on missed courses and/or lighten workload for fall and spring semesters.
Enhance career opportunities.
Make new friends in small, interactive classes.
Earn while they learn. Our flexible scheduling options and online local job listings make it convenient to find a summer job while taking classes.
Enjoy the beautiful Chippewa Valley and all it offers during the summer.

New this year- $100 down payment not required until April 27, 2007!

Many of the summer course are available online through UW-Eau Claire Online These programs and/or courses that will allow students to earn college credit at times and from locations that are convenient for them.

Paying Spring Semester Tuition

If your student elected to participate in our partial payment plan, the remaining balance of their bill, plus finance charges, is due on Friday, Mar. 16. An electronic bill with be emailed to students at their UW-Eau Claire email address on Mar. 6.

For more information about billing go to: http://www.uwec.edu/bussvs/busoff/index.htm

Spring Break Safety Tips

Spring Break

It’s finally warming up outside, and after a bitterly cold February, UW-Eau Claire students have even more reason to look forward to a warm week off from classes in March. Spring break is a time for students to enjoy the first days of spring here in Eau Claire or at home, or for many, it’s a time for trips to even warmer locales. If your son or daughter is planning a spring break trip away, take a few minutes to talk with them about how to be safe while traveling. You have an important role to play in helping to ensure a safe and fun spring break for your student!

The Center for Alcohol Studies and Education has prepared the following list of top 10 things to discuss with your college student before spring break:

Remind your college student about the health and personal physical safety dangers of excessive alcohol consumption (i.e. fighting, drunk driving, and sexual assault).
If your student is using a tour company to plan their trip, ask to see any company promotional materials they have. Make sure that the company is reputable, and that it isn't using excessive alcohol promotion to target and influence students.
Ask your son or daughter to provide you with a copy of their travel itinerary, the name and number of their hotel(s), as well as cell phone numbers for themselves and their friends.
Talk to your son or daughter about your expectations with regard to alcohol use. Remind them of the importance of setting limits if they do decide to drink.
Give them a pre-paid calling card and establish a regular check-in time.
Offer to cover the cost of participating in an alternative spring break program.
Review the signs of alcohol poisoning with your son or daughter so that they can better protect their peers and themselves.
If someone exhibits any of these symptoms of alcohol poisoning call for help immediately: Person is passed out and cannot be awakened; Cold clammy or bluish skin color; Slow or irregular breaths; Vomiting and does not wake up.
Make sure you and your student know the alcohol laws of their destination. Ask your travel agent for information on age of consumption and local laws regarding alcohol use. Some areas will ticket for open intoxicants, while others may have stiff penalties for public inebriation. Some international locations may allow students as young as 18 to legally purchase alcohol (e.g. Cancun, Mexico).
Warn your college student about the danger of drinking and dehydration. It’s important that if in the sun, they remember to drink plenty of water, non-carbonated, and non-alcoholic drinks, even if they do not feel thirsty.
Prepare your college student with tips on how to travel safely.

Safe Travel Tips:

Stay with friends at all times.
Do not give out personal information to strangers.
Never go off alone with someone you have just met.
Carry only the minimum amount of cash needed when out, including enough for a taxi or public transportation back to the hotel.
Stay off hotel and balcony railings.

For more information about travel and spring break safety tips, visit the following web sites, or search the web for spring break safety.
http://www.cdc.gov/women/owh/springbreak

http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/tips/brochures/brochures_1219.html

Adapted from a fact sheet prepared by A Matter of Degree: The National Effort to Reduce High-Risk Drinking Among College Students.

Spring Break Housing

All halls will close on Friday, Mar. 16 at 6 p.m. with the exception of Towers, Katharine Thomas and Chancellors Halls. If your student will be staying in the residence halls during the break, he/she can do this by completing an on-line registration form by 4 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 15. All students, including those living in Towers, Katharine Thomas and Chancellors, must register to stay in the halls during the break. The halls reopen on Sunday, Mar. 25 at 12 noon.

Residence Hall Room Sign Up for Fall 2007

Residence Hall Room Sign Up

Students who currently attend UW-Eau Claire will be able to sign up to live in the hall of their choice for the 2007-2008 academic year on Feb. 26 (Chancellors Hall) and Mar. 6 - 7 (all other residence halls). Sign-up forms are available at all residence hall front desks. A required $75 deposit can be made on line at Housing Deposit Payment.

Mid-semester Grades

Students with freshman classification will get mid-semester grades emailed to them on Mar. 30. Students can also go to MyBlugold. A student should enter a username and password to login. Then select the My Info tab, choose Grades, Midterm/Final. The grades will come from each individual professor. It is a good time to check-in with your son or daughter about how things are going. If the student does not receive a mid-term grade, encourage him or her to ask the professor for one. University policy states that all freshmen should receive such reports.

Viennese Ball

Viennese Ball 2007

The Viennese Ball transforms W. R. Davies University Center into a mini-Vienna complete with street signs, shops, cafés and places of entertainment. Dining experiences include authentic Austrian specialties, spectacular tortes, brats and casual fare, imported wines and beers, and a wonderful Tom Cat Breakfast at the end of the evening. In addition to dancing, listening to music, and eating, guests may shop for flowers, crystal, or chocolates, or have a photograph taken as a personal souvenir of the ball.

The 33rd Annual Viennese Ball will take place Friday, Apr. 13 and Saturday, Apr. 14 from 6:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. in the W.R. Davies University Center
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Saturday's Viennese Ball is sold out, but tickets are still available for Friday. Tickets must be ordered via US Mail. Students and parents can download this printable Ticket Form to order tickets.

Little Sibs' Weekend

The National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) of UW-Eau Claire proudly offers Little Sibs’ Weekend 2007. Little Sibs’ Weekend gives 5 to 15 year-old brothers and sisters (or nieces, nephews, cousins, neighbors, etc.) of UW-Eau Claire residence hall students the opportunity to experience a little bit of “college life.” Little Sibs’ Weekend activities cover a variety of ages and provide enjoyment for the entire weekend. Comfortable, student-chaperoned coach buses are available for transportation to and from Green Bay/Wausau, WI, Woodbury, MN and Milwaukee/Madison, WI.

Little Sibs’ Weekend 2007 is Apr. 20 - 22. Registration is due by Wednesday, Apr. 11. Parents can contact Paul Shepherd, Assistant Director of Housing & Residence Life, at 836-3630 or shephepr@uwec.edu for more information.

NRHH also offers the opportunity for UW-Eau Claire students to ride the coach buses to Green Bay/Wausau, WI, Woodbury, MN and Milwaukee/Madison, WI for this weekend. If your Blugold is looking for a ride home this weekend, encourage them to stop by the Think Tank in Towers 137 to sign up for the bus. The cost is $10 per rider.

Credit Cards

Credit cards offer some advantages and may be a useful tool for college students, allowing them to pay for emergencies or other unexpected expenses. Credit cards, however, must be used with discretion. Debt counseling professionals believe that college students, due to their financial inexperience, may be especially susceptible to accumulating more debt than is reasonable for them to pay. Because the interest rates on credit cards are so high, credit cards should not be a mechanism for long term borrowing.

You may have had this conversation before your student left for college, but with Spring Break approaching it might be a good time to revisit the topic!

Advice for students for Avoiding Credit Card Debt:

Credit cards are a good tool for emergencies. Anything you can eat, drink, or wear, however, normally does not constitute an emergency.
Develop parameters for what is an OK use of your credit card. Car repairs may be appropriate, but pizza or CDs are not. Unless it’s an emergency, don’t spend money you don’t have.
Remember when you use your credit card you are taking out a loan. It is a loan with significantly higher interest rate and much less advantageous terms than the long term educational loans available to you.
Track weekly and monthly expenses to get a handle on your cash flow. Often, just by recording how you’re spending your money, you’ll start to curb unnecessary expenses.
Establish a plan for meeting your expenses for the semester and the school year by establishing a budget. The UW-Eau Claire budget worksheet can be a useful resource.
A student should limit to one credit card. For most expenses, a debit card, rather than a credit card, is preferable.
For some families, allowing the student to use the parents’ credit card provides a back-up for emergencies but prevents the student from inadvertently building up unreasonable credit card balances. Research shows that students who consult with their parents about acquiring and using credit cards have lower debt.
If students are in trouble they should ask for help. Rule of thumb: if you find you are unable to pay the full balance owed on your credit card for two months in a row, ask for help. Call home and/or arrange to meet with a financial aid counselor to discuss your options.
Students will receive many solicitations offering you pre-approved credit cards. Students can opt out of these offers through the Federal Trade Commission web site for mail solicitations - and by registering for the Wisconsin No Call List.

Parents Sought for Career Services Advisory Council

Transitioning from college-life to career-life is one of the most important life changes a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire student will go through. Career Services is available to help students make that transition go as smoothly as possible.

Career Services is continually looking for ways to improve. The department is currently seeking several parent volunteers to serve on our newly formed Advisory Council. The council will be made up of students, faculty, alumni and employers, as well as UW-Eau Claire parents. Your input in this process is invaluable. The council will meet twice a year. Volunteers will serve three-year terms.

If you are interested in serving on this council or would simply like more information please contact Jeanne Skoug, Director of Career Services at (715) 836-5358 or skougjm@uwec.edu.

Illegal Downloading of Copyrighted Materials

UW-Eau Claire is committed to educating students to be good citizens and good scholars, and as such it is not acceptable to steal another's work, no matter what it is. Please encourage your student not to share or serve out files with any Peer-to-Peer software or allow other users to download files from your computer. Most all Peer to Peer software such as Kazaa, WinMX, BearShare, BitTorrent, Limewire, etc., often introduces adware/spyware onto your machine and can cause many system problems.

Both the RIAA and the MPAA have stepped up their search of illegally obtained music/movies and users must be aware of the legal action they potentially face. We have had a good number of users whom have had contact from either the RIAA or MPAA regarding illegal file sharing.

Those users found downloading and/or sharing out illegal files will have their computer or device banned from our network or have their Internet port shutdown until the appropriate resolution has been fulfilled.

More information on Disabling Peer-to-Peer software can be found here.

Encourage your student to make sure they are following University Computer Usage Guidelines. If you or your student would like more information about this issue visit www.campusdownloading.com

Names in the News

UW-Eau Claire's News Bureau shares information about student accomplishments with newspapers that serve students' hometowns. Examples of news sent to hometown newspapers include: dean's or academic distinction lists; commencement; scholarships; honor society inductions; musical or theater performances; and distinction in forensics competitions and other activities.

The following are questions we often hear from families regarding information shared with hometown newspapers:

Where do you send student news? During their first semester, student's hometown and hometown ZIP code is based on the student's permanent address provided to the Registrar's Office. The News Bureau uses that information to determine where information should be sent.
How can students change their hometown listing? At the beginning of each semester, the Registrar's Office sends a notice via e-mail to all current students requesting verification of information – including updates to hometown news. PLEASE NOTE: Only students can change their record since it is part of their confidential information. To request a hometown change, students are instructed to contact the News Bureau.
When is information sent to newspapers? The News Bureau typically sends information within days after it's provided to the office. But it sometimes takes time for the News Bureau to receive information. For example, dean's and academic distinction lists aren't available for several weeks after the semester ends because final grades must be calculated.
What if nothing appears in the newspaper? Contact your hometown newspaper. Sometimes newspapers misplace information, don't use it or forget. The News Bureau will follow up with newspapers and send information again if necessary.
Must newspapers print the information? Newspapers decide what they will print. Many newspapers publish news about students from their area, particularly commencement and dean's and academic distinction information. But we cannot dictate if, when or how they print what we provide.
What if students don't want information released? Students must contact the Registrar's Office at 715-836-4524 to request a form, which they must file to place restrictions on their information. If restrictions are in place, information will not be sent to newspapers. PLEASE NOTE: Only students can change the restriction since it is part of their confidential information.

More questions? Contact the News Bureau at 715-836-4741 or newsbur@uwec.edu

Walk-in Writing Center

Academic Skills Center

Walk-in tutoring is available for assisting students on writing papers shorter than six pages. For assistance writing papers longer than six pages, students should visit the Academic Skills Center and inquire about individual tutoring sessions.

Tutors will work with students on writing skills within the context of a single paper but will not edit or proofread the work. Hours of tutoring services vary for each day.

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