CSU, Chico Parent News for March 2008

The Chico State e-Newsletter for Parents Volume 6, Issue 4: March 2008

• Residence Hall Closure for Spring Break
• Parent Advisory Council Meeting Recap
• Summer Send-Off Events in California July 24-August 14
• Financial Aid and Scholarship Office: Helpful Information for Parents and Students
• Travel with Chico State
• Campus Safety

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

Residence Hall Closure - Friday, March 14

The Residence Halls will close Friday, March 14, at 6:00 p.m. for Spring Break. The halls will reopen on Sunday, March 23 at 2:00 p.m.

Other important dates:

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 (including Spring break).

For important housing information, please refer to the 2007-2008 Living In Guide on the University Housing and Food Service Website.

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Parent Advisory Council Meeting Recap

The second meeting of the CSU, Chico Parent Advisory Council was held on Saturday, March 1. A complete copy of the meeting minutes are available online. Some highlights from the meeting:

• Vice President's report from Richard Ellison, Vice President for University Advancement

• Discussion and clarification of Parent Advisory Council roles and bylaws

• Election of officers: Congratulations to our president, Bob Combs, and vice president, Rosey Parks!

• Goals set for upcoming events including 11 Summer Send-Off events (see below)

• Content plan for University Parent Guides, a parent handbook that will be given to parents of first-year students during Summer Orientation

We are continuing to look for more parent volunteers to serve on our Parent Advisory Council. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please contact Polly Crabtree in the alumni office at pcrabtree-at-csuchico-dot-edu. Our next Parent Advisory Council Meeting is scheduled for October 11, 2008, and we would love to have a full council in place in time for this meeting.

Learn more about our Parent Advisory Council.

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Summer Send-Off Events

Join Chico State alumni as they welcome incoming Chico State students and their families to the extended Chico State Family! Representatives from the University will be on hand to answer questions you or your son or daughter might have before getting to Chico. Alumni will be on hand to share their Chico State experience, and to celebrate your student's choice of Chico State. Summer Send-Offs will take place throughout California:

Redding	Thursday, July 24
Chico	Friday, July 25
San Jose	Friday, August 1
Bakersfield	Monday, August 4
San Luis Obispo	Tuesday, August 5
Costa Mesa	Wednesday, August 6
San Diego	Thursday, August 7
Sacramento	Friday, August 8
Santa Rosa	Tuesday, August 12
San Francisco	Wednesday, August 13
Walnut Creek	Thursday, August 14

Locations and times are to be announced. If you would like to attend, help with, or host the event in your location, please contact the alumni office at 530-898-6472.

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Financial Aid and Scholarship Office: Helpful Information for Parents and Students

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

A Mid-spring Message from the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office

Spring is hectic in the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office. It is the time of year when financial aid cycles overlap. Students continue to come in to see us about a variety of issues, including options for paying unanticipated expenses and help applying for summer aid. During the same period, we also launch the next year's financial aid cycle, which begins, for students, with estimated offers of financial aid.

Financial Aid Dollars and Cents, March through May

Getting Ready for Summer

After spring break, most students begin to think about preparing for finals, finishing off term papers, and planning for summer. For some, this may mean remaining in Chico to accelerate their program with summer courses and working at a job on campus. Beginning April 7, 2008, our financial aid Web site, at www.csuchico.edu/fa , will contain information and applications for summer financial aid and information on summer work-study eligibility.

Semester Debts?

As the spring term elapses, especially after spring break, your student may feel strapped for cash. Banks aggressively market loans and credit cards to college students. Help your student avoid unnecessary debt and make sensible decisions about borrowing.

Important advice you can give your student :

1. To talk to a financial aid advisor before taking out a private loan. If they have a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file for 07/08, they may be eligible for a loan (or additional loan) through the Federal Direct Student Loan Program .
2. To avoid using credit cards they can't pay within the month. Nothing builds debt faster than overuse of high-interest credit cards.
3. To learn to save some portion of earnings for emergencies.

FAQs about Loans: Link to our Web site

• Can I still apply for a Stafford loan for spring?
• What can I do to get back a loan that I originally declined?
• Is there anything special I have to do to receive the loan(s) I accepted?
• How can I get a short-term loan?

Getting Ready for Fall 2008

Financial Aid

The Financial Aid and Scholarship Office at Chico State projects that the average undergraduate student's costs for the 2008-2009 academic year will approximate $17,850. This includes enrollment fees ($3,994), books and supplies ($1,656), room and board ($9,446), transportation ($950), and miscellaneous expenses ($1,804).

The application cycle for financial aid for the 2008-2009 academic year began January 1, when the federal government made the FAFSA available for next year. By mid-April, our office will send e-mail notifications about estimated offers for financial aid to students who have completed the FAFSA and had the information sent to CSU, Chico . It is not too late to apply for financial aid for next year. We encourage all students, regardless of income, to submit a FAFSA. Even students, who do not qualify for need-based aid, are usually eligible for federal loans that have student-friendly terms and low interest rates.

Scholarships

The CSU, Chico scholarship application for 2008-2009 closed January 1, and scholarship committees throughout the university are now meeting to make their selections. Students who receive CSU, Chico scholarships will be notified in June, after recipients are finalized.

Think Private Scholarships

We encourage eligible and enterprising students to research private and community scholarships. Many students and their families are not aware of the breadth of scholarships funded from a variety of non-university sources, including community organizations, local and national foundations, state and federal government agencies and private donors.

Scholarship announcements are posted in the lobby of the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office. Books on scholarships are also available in the reference sections of the Meriam Library and your local libraries. A good source of scholarship information for upper division students may be their major department office and the Web sites of professional associations in their academic disciplines. Private scholarship databases are also a good source of information, and our Web site gives hints on how to best use them, as well as tips on avoiding scholarship scams. See http://fa.csuchico.edu/fa/basics/typesofaid/scholarships/privatescholarships/index.aspx .

Summary of Important Financial Aid Dates

Early to mid-April 2008

• 2008/2009 forms and appeals available for downloading, April 1, 2008
• Summer 2008 financial aid applications available, April 7, 2008
• E-mail notifications to students to access their Student Centers for 2008/2009 estimated financial aid awards

April 30, 2008

• Last day to file appeal for 2007/2008 academic year
• Last day to submit Stafford or PLUS loan application for 2007/2008

June 1, 2008

• Priority deadline for requested financial aid documents to assure first fall disbursement

Also see annual calendar at http://fa.csuchico.edu/fa/calendar.aspx .

We hope you find these financial aid tips helpful to you and your students. Please note that during the week of May 19, 2008 our offices will be moving from Meriam Library 161 to the new Student Services Center (SSC 250). Only our location will change; all other contact information will remain the same.

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Travel with Chico State

Do You Like to Travel ?

GET ON THE HFA E-MAIL LIST (tsaxe-at-csuchico-dot-edu or www.csuchico.edu/hfa/travel) to learn more about wonderful tours in the years to come:

Passage to Peru including Machu Pichu with Andrew Flescher, Religious Studies (January 2009)
Anastasia's Russia with Kate Transchel, History (June 2009)
India with Daniel Veidlinger, Religious Studies (January 2010)
Another Garden Tour in England with Jeanne C. Lawrence (July 2010)
Africa with Tracy Butts, English (January 2011), and Greece with Jed Wyrick, Religious Studies (June 2011).

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

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Campus Safety

Emergency Notification System

Message to students, faculty, and staff from University President, Paul J. Zingg:

Over the past few years, we have been taking a number of steps to keep our campus and community as safe as possible in the event of an emergency. Recently, the University acquired an emergency notification system whereby we can contact the campus community immediately via phone call, text message, and e-mail. Students, faculty, and staff are being asked to provide a phone number-- likely a cell phone number -- for this emergency notification database. Please ask your student to respond so we can do everything possible to keep him or her safe and well-informed. While it goes without saying that we hope a crisis never occurs which necessitates using this emergency notification system, we must be prepared for every eventuality.

Please note, parents cannot be notified in the case of system activation. The purpose of this system is to immediately notify the campus community of an emergency so affected parties can take the appropriate action. Alerts are only sent in the event of very serious incidents. The contact information collected will be kept confidential and will not be used for other purposes.

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Privacy Message

Please note that your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, school or college, and year of graduation may be used by CSU, Chico for the development of university-affiliated marketing programs. If you do not wish to have this information used, please notify the CSU, Chico Office of Advancement Services by writing to the campus at Office of Advancement Services, CSU, Chico, Chico, CA 95929-0155. The CSU, Chico Alumni Association respects your privacy and is in full compliance with the Federal CAN-SPAM act. To remove yourself from future mailings please reply to this message and put "REMOVE" in the subject line. Contact alumni-at-csuchico-dot-edu with comments. plc 03/12/08