April 2013

Additional information regarding payment and registration dates can be found on MyCentral.

Do you have trouble remembering all of those campus dates and deadlines? Add "UCM MoInfo" to the Facebook pages that you "like" and you will receive updates from the Office of the Registrar. These announcements will include information regarding course enrollment, graduation, refund dates and other important deadlines. The Registrar's Office also tweets. Check out their Twitter account at "UCMRegistrar".

FALL AND SUMMER ENROLLMENT

Fall and summer enrollment began on March 25th. To see the date on which your student can first enroll, you can click on our enrollment timeline.

Summer courses are offered in six-, eight-, or twelve- week sessions, and can be taken at the UCM Summit Center, on the Warrensburg campus, or online. Summer is the perfect time to raise a student’s GPA or take a step closer to earning a degree and possibly graduating sooner. You can visit our Summer Sessions 2013 web page to get more information.

Encourage your student to talk to his or her academic advisor and enroll on the first day of eligibility!

IT'S NOT TOO LATE

What's that? Your son or daughter hasn't applied for financial aid yet for the upcoming 2013 fall semester?

There's good news! It’s not too late to be considered for grant and/or low-interest student (and parent) loan assistance to help you with the educational and living expenses of attending the University of Central Missouri. To apply, complete and submit the 2013-14 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.gov/. For complete details about the financial aid application process, be sure to review the information located at www.ucmo.edu/sfs/apply/undergrad1314.cfm.  In addition, if you have questions or need clarification about any aspect of UCM's financial aid programs, policies or procedures, you're always welcome to contact the UCM Office of Student Financial Services online (www.ucmo.edu/contactsfs) or by telephone (660-543-8266).

TIME TO DECIDE -- FIRMING UP ACADEMIC PLANS

Most college students have either been undecided or uncertain about their academic plans.  While this is very normal, it is important to encourage your student to keep moving forward in the process of exploring and deciding on an academic program that fits them.  If your student is approaching, or has past 30 credit hours of study, it is time to decide.  By taking active steps to explore and decide on a major before accumulating more than 30 hours of credit, students greatly improve their chances of making timely progress toward graduation.  

A hold has been placed on all Open Option students and progressive action must be taken before the hold will be removed to allow enrollment in classes for next semester.  The following options are available to assist your student in moving forward with making their major decision and removing the hold on their account:

• Declare their major.  Please have them email their name, 700#, and their major selection to gateway@ucmo.edu.  We will email specific instructions on how to declare the major and any other steps they might need to take to get focused and moving in the right direction.   
• Schedule an appointment with a Career Counselor. To schedule an appointment with a career counselor, contact Gateway Center 660-543-4721.
• Stop by the Gateway Peer Support Monday-Thursday 1:00-4:00 to speak with peer mentors who have all been Open Option students at one time, received assistance with their decision, and are now trained to assist others in the exploration process.

We are here to help.  The career counseling and open option advising professionals in the Gateway Advising and Major Exploration Center are experienced and dedicated to helping students find and follow their passion. There are over 150 different major programs of study at Central. In addition, there are over 70 minors to choose from. Some majors are designed to lead the student to a particular career field, while others provide a broad range of knowledge and the foundation to be successful in a wide variety of careers.

The key is to help the student identify the right choice for who they are and who they want to become as college graduates. In other words, what degree program will best prepare the student for a successful career that fits the unique characteristics they possess? The Career Counselor will approach this in a comprehensive, highly individualized process of exploration. Through this exploration process, the student will gain the focus necessary to understand where they are headed and how a college degree will help them get there. Statistically, this alone has been proven to significantly increase their success as students.

Call our office at 660-543-4721 with any questions.

We look forward to helping your student,

Gateway Advising and Major Exploration Center
Ward Edwards 1900

FINALS WEEK SCHEDULE

Finals week is May 6-10. Like the fall semester, finals week is on a different schedule from the rest of the semester. Please encourage your student to check www.ucmo.edu/provost/resources/finals.cfm for the schedule of final exams. We don't want students missing an important exam simply because they failed to consult the schedule.

FINAL EXAM PRESSURE

What’s the big deal about taking final exams? Have the students not been taking tests all their school life? They should be used to it.

Well, true, students typically are accustomed to taking tests. In college, though, the exams may cover more material and in more depth than they have in high school. Final exams may be cumulative so there’s a lot to review (which, ideally, the student should have been doing throughout the semester and not just the day before). They tend to all take place during the aptly named Finals Week, which means the student may have several exams to prepare for around the same time. For some students, it is their last chance to pull up a grade. What’s more, there tend to be other things going on at the end of a semester and even more so at the end of a school year, such as saying goodbye to friends, packing to move home, and finding a summer job.

What can you do to support your students as they prepare for and take their final exams?

• Encourage them to plan a study schedule.
• Studying for an hour each day until the exam is more effective than studying several hours the night before.
• Remind them to take breaks when studying.
• Remind them to take care of themselves: nutrition and rest are essential for mental functioning!
• It’s not unusual to feel nervous – some anxiety motivates us to want to do well and study.
• If they need, help them prioritize their tasks and perhaps hold off on less important ones.
• Listen, support, and encourage.

FINAL EXAM HELP

There is help for your student before and during final exams. The Student Success Center, 3rd floor of the JCK Library, offers free tutoring for over 40 classes at UCM.  The tutoring schedule can be found at www.ucmo.edu/successcenter/documents/ssc_schedule.pdf.

The Writing Center, in Humphreys 116, provides one-on-one assistance with any paper or written assignment for any class. The week before finals and during finals is always a busy time for the Writing Center tutors, so please encourage your student to take advantage of this free help early and often between now and finals.

COMING HOME

All students living on campus are required to move out by 6 p.m. on Friday, May 10. Students will need to move everything out of their room and check out with their community advisor.

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