Academics
Academics and Activities
Throughout their academic career, students should
try to combine their studies with out-of-classroom experiences. Numerous
opportunties are available—see Tips
for student success from the Orientation issue of the Parent
Newsletter.
The Orientation
and First-Year Programs Web site links students with opportunities
to find balance in their academic, co-curricular, and social life—all
the way through graduation. The site features current and upcoming
events for first-year students, first-year stories, advice from current
students, ways to get involved, and more.
Campus Calendars
See the calendar page for links
to academic calendars, final exam schedules, billing dates, tuition
refund schedules, commencement dates, and more.
FERPA—Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
also known as the Buckley Amendment, considers college students
as responsible adults who are allowed to determine
who will receive
information about them. Under this law, parents who want to receive
a copy of their student’s academic or financial records
can do so if their student signs a release form.
Study Abroad
The Learning Abroad Center can help students select and prepare for a summer,
semester, or year-long study abroad experience. Parents can find out more about
study abroad including locations available, the various types of programs, expenses
and scholarships, and other valuable information from the Learning
Abroad Center.
Study Abroad Workshop
for Parents 2006 gives parents an introduction to international
study and how it fits with their student's academic program. The program includes
information on financial aid for study abroad, strategies parents can use to
support their student's international study, and the perspective of students
and parents on how study abroad impacts students.
The following articles from past Parent Newsletters focus on study abroad:
Parents can help make study abroad successful
When students go abroad, should
parents visit?
Academic Resources
 The Academics page
on the Twin Cities Campus Web site links to academic resources including
- colleges and professional schools within the University;
- descriptions of majors, minors, and certificate programs;
- international resources and study abroad;
- catalogs (policies, college, degree program, and course information);
- continuing education;
- diversity and multiculturalism;
- learning resources;
- and student conduct.
The Office of the Registrar has developed a list of resources for
students seeking assistance to improve their study habits or looking for
tutoring help: http://onestop.umn.edu/onestop/Services/Assistance.html.
Academic FAQs
Where do I get proof of my student's enrollment
and grade point average for my insurance company?
My student was invited to join an honorary society.
Should he join?
When is commencement?
How can I obtain a copy of my student's grades?
My student is not doing well academically. How
can I help?
How can my student buy course books before classes
start?
Can I send
a note to a teacher saying thank you, or do instructors prefer
not to hear from parents?
Where do I get proof of my student's enrollment and grade point
average for my insurance company?
Students can download a form from the Web that
will cover both these issues. The form is at the following Web
site:
onestop.umn.edu/onestop/forms.html.
On that Web page, scroll down to the heading "Verifying your
Academic Record," and link to the Acrobat file called "Request
for Certification." Your student will need to sign the form.
Students also can get the form by going in person to one of the
Registrar offices, which are located in Fraser Hall on the East
Bank, in the West Bank Skyway, and in Coffey Hall on the St. Paul
campus.
My student was invited to join an honorary
society. Should he join?
In terms of assessing whether it's worthwhile
for your student to join any group, our recommendation is to ask
your student to consider why he or she wants to join the group
and
whether this group will meet your student's reason for joining.
For most students, the reasons for participating in an organization
is to share a particular interest, to meet like-minded students,
and to advance personal or career knowledge and opportunities.
In general, it seems not to be beneficial to
have the name of an organization on a resume unless the student
can also say that he or she participated in some ACTIVE way. That
participation might be serving as an officer, playing a role in
planning or organizing events, or making a contribution to the
development
of the group through a committee.
Students sometimes believe that having a list
of memberships on their resume will improve their chances when
they apply for a job or for graduate school. Employers and graduate
schools
will be impressed with a good grade point average, and they will
want evidence of how students contributed to the organizations
to
which they belonged. They will want to know what students learned
from their activities.
Some groups suggest that membership in an honorary
society helps in getting scholarships—the most important factors
in receiving departmental and academic scholarships are grade point
average, evidence of involvement, and the recommendation of a professor
or an academic adviser. Advisers usually know about a range of
scholarship
opportunities; professors are likely to hear about the scholarships
offered by their department.
The best suggestion for determining the value
of any group would be for your student to get in touch with the
person listed as the contact to find out what the group does and
how your student feels about the person or people leading the organization.
If the contact person can talk about planned activities and the
organization's goals, see if they fit your student's interests.
You can find out if a group is a registered student
organization on the University of Minnesota campus by checking
the Student Activities Office's list of registered
student groups.
You also can do a Web-based search for a national
branch of the organization through any Internet search site (Yahoo,
Netscape, AltaVista, Google, etc.) to find out about the organization's
mission and goals and any national activities the student can participate
in.
When is commencement?
Each college within the University has its own
commencement ceremony. A listing of the various times and dates
can be found at www1.umn.edu/twincities/commencement/.
How can I obtain a copy of my student's grades?
The easiest way for you to receive a copy of
your student’s grades, current financial information, and
other student information is for your student to look up his or
her student
records at the Student OneStop Web site: onestop.umn.edu/Student/.
Students can print the information from the Web site and pass
it
on to you.
The University is prohibited from releasing certain
information to parents without permission of the student. By federal
law (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, FERPA, also
known as the Buckley Amendment), students over the age of 18 are
considered responsible and are allowed to determine who will receive
information about them.
Students can go to www.onestop.umn.edu and
select Parent/Guest Access in the right-hand column to give
parents access to protected information. Parents
also can receive information by submitting proof that their student
is dependent. Proof is considered to be a copy of the most recent
year’s federal tax form showing that the parent claims the
student as a dependent.
Note: More information about the the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act can be found on the FERPA page.
My student is not doing well academically.
How can I help?
Students, particularly freshmen, can encounter
academic difficulties. First-year students often face difficult
transitions and adjustments to college, including separating from
family members, adjusting to new living arrangements, and accommodating
the University's higher academic standards.
The Student Affairs, Understanding
Today's Students Web site, offers suggestions and resources
for achieving academic success, dealing with stress, depression,
illness, alcohol misuse, and other issues.
How can my student buy
course books before classes start?
Students may buy course books at the U of M Bookstores
or online from their Web site at
at any time after registering for classes, as long as the instructor
has identified the required textbooks.
To determine textbook needs, students can log-on to
www.bookstore.umn.edu and follow the links to buy textbooks.
Students can enter their University Internet ID and password, and
the Bookstore's Web site generates a book list directly from the student's
registration records. Students may print this listing and bring it
to the Bookstores to shop for their books, or they may purchase them
online by selecting the books they wish to order.
Can I send
a note to a teacher saying thank you, or do instructors prefer
not to hear from parents?
Even the best teachers rarely receive direct praise from their
students. Appreciation for the special effort that an instructor
has offered
is a tremendous reward for a professor who works hard to make the
University of Minnesota a more intimate, personal, and effective
experience.
The University's Center for Teaching and Learning Services (CTLS)
provides a program called the "Thank A Teacher Project," which gives
students and parents a chance to thank (anonymously or not) a teacher
who has made a difference in a student's life. Students or parents
can write a letter online, and the note—along with a certificate—is
sent to the professor or teaching assistant who has made or is
making a difference in a student's education.
Thank A Teacher Project information is available at <www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/thank.html>.
Past Articles of Interest
Strategic positioning: A plan for the University’s
future—Fall 2005
Student Academic Success Services—Fall 2005
Office for Student Affairs encourages
learning outside the classroom—Winter 2005
The University encourages students to develop and demonstrate life skills that
will ensure their future success beyond college. The Office for Student Affairs
provides many opportunities and resources that facilitate this maturation.
Service learning deepens educational
experience—Spring 2004
Service learning is a teaching method that came out of ideas popularized in the
early 1900s by John Dewey, who emphasized experiential learning as a key component
to education.
Graduation: According to plan—Spring
2003
The
goal: graduating in four years—Winter 2002
A Question for 'U'—Winter
2002
Q: My son is a freshman, and he's living at home. The first
semester, he seemed unconcerned about his classes, then he began
panicking
in mid-October. In November, he dropped his math class because
he felt he was way behind and didn't think he could catch up.
He's also
working 15 hours a week at a computer store near home. Sometimes
I think his job is a higher priority for him than homework. How
can
he learn to manage his time better this semester?
A question for 'U'—Spring
2001
Q: My son was due to graduate this spring, but now he
says he won't have his senior paper done. He has been stressed
over this
paper all year, and he seems to think that he just can't get it
right. Is there somewhere he can get help with this?
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