Chico State Parent Newsletter (September 2006)

The Chico State e-Newsletter for Parents of First-Year Students Volume 6, Issue 2 August 2007

• Join Our Parent Advisory Council
• Getting Connected Events
• Family Weekend - October 12-14, 2007
• Financial Aid and Scholarship Office: Helpful Information for Parents
• Residence Life Information
• Travel with CSU, Chico to South America!

Visit the CSU, Chico Parents' home page at www.csuchico.edu/alumni/parents/

We Need Your Help! Join Our Parent Advisory Council

We are looking for parents willing to participate on our brand-new parent advisory council. The function of this council is:

• Help the University identify unmet parent needs
• Outreach to other parents through attendance at University events
• Raise Parent Council funds that can be used to fund scholarships

Our ideal council will have 15 to 30 members representing parents of students of all class years. There will be two meetings of the council per year. The first meeting will be held in October in conjunction with Family Weekend (October 12-14, 2007). The second meeting will be held sometime in March. We would like to hold a meeting/conference call (for remotely located parents) on Saturday, August 25. Please contact Polly Crabtree at pcrabtree-at-csuchico-dot-edu in the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations if you are interested, or have questions.

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Getting Connected: New Student Orientation - August 23-25, 2007

Getting Connected is NEXT WEEK! This program is designed to celebrate our newest members of the community - incoming first-year and transfer students. Parents play a very important role in the college education process, and Getting Connected helps parents identify this role and make the transition to a new stage in the lives of students. Here are calendars to help you navigate through the events scheduled for both parents and students:

• Parent Calendar
• Student Calendar

We hope you will be able to join us for this very important time in your student's life. Campus administrators, faculty, and deans will be on hand to meet with you and answer your questions. Workshops are scheduled for Friday, August 24 that should provide much needed information and resources for the coming years. Each workshop is offered three times - from 9:00-9:45 a.m., 10:00-10:45 a.m., and 11:00-11:45 a.m., all in the Bell Memorial Union:

• Help Your Student Succeed Academically - Provides the opportunity to discuss important strategies for helping your student to succeed academically including specific techniques and campus resources.
• What Your Student Can Do Now to be a Top Candidate Upon Graduation - focuses on how college students can maximize their entire University experience to be as marketable to employers as possible upon graduation. Specifically, we will discuss what skills and experiences employers look for most and how your student can get the competitive edge in a very competitive labor market.
• Student Safety - The University is concerned about student safety and has developed a variety of initiatives/policy changes beginning this year. Along with new ordinances under consideration by the City of Chico, we believe our students will be better educated about the dangers of alcohol and will become more mindful of their personal safety in and around the campus. Join us as we discuss our plans for student safety and what parents can do to reaffirm our efforts.
• Financial Aid - The Financial Aid and Scholarship Office will provide a brief overview of the following topics: Tax Benefits for Higher Education, Budget Planning, and Reapplying for Financial Aid.
• Health Services - The Student Health Service is an outpatient clinic that provides medical care to students enrolled in the University. The University believes that comprehensive health services are essential because of the residential nature of the campus. Funding for the services, at least in part, comes from a mandatory health fee that students pay at registration.
• Life Skills Needed to Survive the First Year - This workshop will outline some specific life skills that first year students need to have mastered before they arrive on campus. An assessment tool will be completed during the workshop. Also, information will be shared on ways that parents can help our new students to be ready for the new freedoms and responsibilities coming their way.

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Family Weekend - October 12-14, 2007

Chico State will hold the first-ever Family Weekend October 12-14, 2007. This event will celebrate the role families play in the lives of our students. Parents of new and returning students alike can benefit from parent workshops on "Studying Abroad", "Balancing Student Life and Academics", and Student Safety." Men's and Women's Soccer and Volleyball games will take place on campus over the weekend, and without a doubt, the Family Picnic and Barbecue that takes place on Saturday afternoon is a definite weekend highlight. The weekend calendar of events is available at http://www.csuchico.edu/alumni/parents/family_weekend_calendar.php. The barbecue order form is available at http://www.csuchico.edu/alumni/_pdf/family_weekend_bbq.pdf.

We hope you can join us, and we know your student will be happy to see you, too!

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Financial Aid and Scholarship Office: Helpful Information for Parents

Financial Aid and Scholarship Office

Meriam Library 161
Phone: 530-898-6451
Fax: 530-898-6883
Email: finaid-at-csuchico-dot-edu
Web site: www.csuchico.edu/fa

Financial Aid and Scholarship Award Disbursements

Financial Aid is available five days before the beginning of each semester. Students may choose to have their financial aid funds deposited directly to their bank account, or paid as a check that is mailed to them. Students will receive money on the first disbursement day of each semester only if:

•  All requested documents have been signed and returned promptly

•  Their file has been reviewed and finalized

•  Any loans have been certified (and, if borrowing for the first time, master promissory note and loan entrance counseling have been completed)

•  They are enrolled in at least half-time units

•  There are funds left over after registration charges and other costs are paid

Important Dates

Thursday, August 2, 2007 Students must pay fees or pay the difference between anticipated financial aid and registration fees for the units they are enrolled

Thursday, August 23, 2007 Checks mailed to students or direct deposit (EFT) is effective

Monday, August 27, 2007 First day of Fall 2007 semester

Additional Information sometimes required

Sometimes additional information is necessary to finalize an award offer. Requests for additional documents or actions are noted on a student's To Do List, which is shown on the upper right of their Student Center . We advise students to complete the requested paperwork and to return it within three weeks. Requested items may include parent federal tax schedules and W-2s. The To Do List will specify the items requested.

Awards are subject to change

Your student's financial aid is estimated using their initial FAFSA information, and their offer is based on full-time enrollment, which is 12 units per semester for undergraduates. Awards may be revised for a number of reasons, including corrections to the FAFSA, changes in enrollment or residency status, and over-awards due to receipt of aid from other sources. Student athletes receiving the athletic grant-in-aid are also subject to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations governing the individual limit of countable aid, which includes both institutional and outside aid. Students will always receive updated award notifications if there are changes to their awards.

Scholarships

CSU, Chico Scholarships. University scholarship recipients receive their payment according to the specific guidelines of the scholarships. Some scholarships are fall-only, while other scholarships are divided evenly between fall and spring payments. Students receive a letter from the campus scholarship committee that has made the selection, and an e-mail from the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office that explains the procedures for acceptance and payment. After the start of the academic year, scholarship funds are typically disbursed within one week after the scholarship has been accepted, a thank you letter has been submitted, and all eligibility requirements have been met.

Private Scholarships . After the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office has received a student's private scholarship check(s), the office enters it into the student's financial aid award, and the student receives an e-mail informing them of a change in their award. The scholarship is considered anticipated aid. Anticipated aid defers charges until the first disbursement (August 23), after which disbursements occur weekly as files are completed. After all charges are paid, any money remaining will be disbursed as above. The turn around time for complete processing of private scholarships is two to three weeks.

Service to Students and What Parents Can Do

While we encourage parents to be knowledgeable about the financial aid and scholarship process and supportive of their students, we expect the students themselves to handle the details of filing and following through on their aid as part of their overall education. Financial Aid and Scholarship advisors are available throughout the year to assist students with their questions and concerns. In order for our office to act in compliance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), we have a downloadable form, Authorization to Release Information, which allows our personnel to speak directly to a parent about their student's financial aid file, if necessary. We encourage parents and students to discuss such topics as living within a budget, use of credit, self-protection against identity theft, and loan terminology and repayment of loans. See the financial literacy resources posted on our Web site at http://fa.csuchico.edu/fa/basics/typesofaid/loans/index.aspx.

Contact Information

The Financial Aid and Scholarship Office maintains an informative and up-to-date Web site, which we encourage you and your students to consult. Two features may be especially helpful to you: check out Quick Links and the Search button , both available in the upper right corner of the home page.

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Residence Life Information

Important Dates

Residence Halls:

Friday, November 16
Halls close for Thanksgiving Break at 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 25
Halls re-open at 2:00 p.m.

Friday, December 21
Halls close for Winter Break at 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 24
Halls re-open at 11:00 a.m.

Friday, March 14
Halls close for Spring Break at 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 23
Halls re-open at 2:00 p.m.

Friday, May 23
All on-campus halls close at 6:00 p.m. This ends the academic year and housing license.

University Village:
Please note - University Village remains open throughout all academic year break periods (Thanksgiving break, Winter break and Spring break).

For important housing information, please refer to the 2007-2008 Living In Guide on the University Housing and Food Service Website. Housing also provides a "What To Bring" checklist for all new residence hall residents.

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Travel with CSU, Chico to South America: The Galapagos Islands and Quito, Ecuador

January 4-14, 2008

The tour includes six nights in Quito and four nights on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos. The faculty-in-residence is religious studies professor Dr. Andrew Flescher, who earned his PhD from Brown University . He has traveled extensively to Brazil and spent one summer studying wildlife in the Amazon River basin.

It is possible for CSU, Chico students to earn 1-3 units through Religious Studies for this tour. The $3274 package includes round-trip airfare from Sacramento, airport fees, transfers, 3-4 diamond hotels, daily buffet breakfast, one dinner on land, and all meals in the Galapagos, a guided tour of Quito San Francisco Monastery, an excursion to the Equatorial Line, and three one-day yacht excursions from Santa Cruz Island to Bartolome, Plazas, and North Seymour Islands, and the full-time services of a professional tour director. (Note: The land-only option costs $2498 and the single supplement costs $315.) A tax-deductible portion of the cost goes to college scholarships and programs. Limited space remains. Last day to sign up unless the tour fills earlier: Oct. 3, 2007 (PLEASE NOTE WE WILL NEED 15 RESERVATIONS BY SEP. 3, 2007, IN ORDER TO KEEP THE ITINERARY AND PRICING AS STATED.)

Contact Ms. Thomasin Saxe, group coordinator, tsaxe-at-csuchico-dot-edu or 530-898-4642. You may also check the Web: www.csuchico.edu/hfa/travel

DO YOU LIKE TO TRAVEL? GET ON THE HFA EMAIL LIST ( tsaxe-at-csuchico-dot-edu) TO FIND OUT ABOUT WONDERFUL TOURS IN THE YEARS TO COME: Spain and Portugal with Steve Lewis, History (June 2008).

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