Parents

WINTER COMMENCEMENT

Winter Commencement is Saturday, December 15, 2012. Details at:
http://www.eastern.edu/parents/commencement.html
http://www.eastern.edu/news/releases/2012/wintercommencement_dec2012.html

FINANCIAL AID

http://www.eastern.edu/centers/finaid/pdf/FA%20News-%2011-12.pdf

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT NOTE

Click here for details

FIVE WAYS TO HELP YOUR STUDENT TRANSITION HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

Click here for details

HAVE YOU ORDERED A YEARBOOK YET?

Eastern’s yearbook, The Log, is available for purchase throughout the year. If you are interested in purchasing a yearbook for your student for the 2009-10 year, please contact the yearbook adviser, Katie Caruso at 610-341-5823 or email kcaruso@eastern.edu. Also, if your student did not order a yearbook last year (2008-09) there are still some for sale!

ATTENTION EASTERN FAMILIES!

Do you know of other families that could be a part of Eastern's future? We'd love to talk with them about Eastern's diverse programs and where they might fit in. If so, contact Mike Dziedziak, our Director of Admissions and University liaison to the Parents' Council. You can contact him directly at 610-341-1376 or mdziedzi@eastern.edu.

CAREER & CALLING

THE MISSION of Careers & Calling is to provide information, encouragement and opportunities for each College of Arts & Sciences student to develop the skills necessary at each stage of career development: Self-Exploration, including the consideration of God's purpose for her or his life; Career Exploration; and Job Search. Click here to read more!

EU EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

Parents encourage your students to sign up, NOW!

Frequently and especially in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech events, Eastern University reviews security procedures and safety features and efforts on the St. Davids campus and at other locations. The most valuable method of emergency notification we have put into place this year is emergency text messaging. We have asked all in the campus community to register for this service several times but still do not have all of our students and employees registered in our system. We need your help: please ask your son or daughter to sign up for text messaging today at http://www.eastern.edu/campus/university_wide_services
/security/e2campus_info.html.

Continuing in our effort to motivate students to be prepared for emergencies, for next year we will require all resident students to provide us with emergency phone numbers as well as addresses, names and contact information for the place that they have prearranged to go, in case they have to leave University housing due to a campus wide or area wide emergency. We are hopeful that your influence as you ask your student to sign up for text messaging and to fill out the emergency contact forms, will help us reach our goal of being able to alert them in an emergency and of obtaining emergency-contact information for every student.

Bettie Ann Brigham,
Vice President for Student Development

SHOULD YOUR CHILD TAKE A SUMMER SCHOOL COURSE OR TWO?

Some students get behind in credits due to adjustment to college, an especially hard semester, not signing up for the right courses and other reasons. Summer courses can also help a sagging GPA and help an athlete become eligible for team participation again. There are annual credit minimums for financial aid and many scholarships too. Make sure that your student has what he or she needs to make progress. Summer courses are a good option to get ahead or to make up credits. All courses for transfer from other schools must be pre approved by request using the "Undergraduate permission to take course work elsewhere" form located here: http://www.eastern.edu/academic/registrar/pdf/UndergraduatePermissionCourseElsewhere.pdf

Students may speak to their department chairs about the following summer opportunities that are available at Eastern: Field Experiences, Internships and Directed Studies for majors and YMIN specialty courses . Each of these courses must be prearranged by the student by working with a faculty member and directly with the department.

HEALTH CENTER INFORMATION/UPDATES

1.Personal Health Insurance is required for all full-time Undergraduate and Graduate students who attend St. Davids Campus and Palmer Seminary. Part-time students are not eligible for coverage at this time.

Students meeting this requirement will be automatically billed for the Eastern Health Insurance Policy at the beginning of Fall Semester. Proof of personal coverage must be provided ONLINE after July 1 to have the fee removed from the semester bill. The DEADLINE to waive is Sept. 15, so don't forget to go online and enter this information at: http://www.firststudent.com/

2. Health Records for all full-time students are required to complete the admission process. This includes:

Vaccination record
Health History
Physical Exam (done within 1 year)
Current TB skin test
These forms are available on the EU Website at: http://www.eastern.edu/centers/health_center/index.html
and are DUE by August 1 to avoid a late fee for processing.

3. Health Center Services & Resources. Did you know?

There is no charge to see the campus physician
We carry many generic drugs such as antibiotics for under $20
The Campus Physician is here 4 days weekly
Onsite cultures and testing like throat cultures, blood work, mononucliosis testing, thyroid studies, can be done here and billed to your insurance
Equipment loan such as crutches, nebulizer etc.
Check our our website at: http://www.eastern.edu/centers/health_center/index.html

DID YOU KNOW?

Grades and Privacy Laws
As you know, federal privacy laws prevent the University from providing access to grades to parents but we encourage you to talk with your student about his/her performance. Students have on-line access to their grades via the Eastern E-Net as grades are posted. Note that first year students are sometimes disappointed with their first semester grades. Remind your student that he/she is to be congratulated for making the transition from high school to college and that the first semester makes up only 1/8 of his/her GPA. It may be a helpful exercise to discuss openly with your student what went well this semester and why, along with what could have gone better and why. Also, take the opportunity to ask about the courses your student has chosen for second semester.

Academic Advising
First year students are assigned an academic advisor who is specially trained in the matters that apply to new college students. The first year academic advisor is also the instructor for your student’s course, Introduction to Faith, Reason and Justice (INST 150). Once your student has selected a major their advisor will likely change to one from the department for the major they choose.

Encourage your student to meet with their academic advisor frequently. It is up to the student to initiate meetings with their advisor and it is also up to the student to be familiar with the University catalog and the requirements for their major and/or concentration. The advisor can recommend certain courses and help in course selection, but each student is responsible to make sure that he/she stays on track for graduation in the desired time frame.

Note that not all courses are offered every semester. Students should plan carefully to make sure that they schedule courses in the correct sequence where necessary in order to remain on schedule for graduation.

Resident Student Parking Policy

Resident Student: First year resident students are not permitted to have a vehicle on the campus.. Students who do not have access to a vehicle adjust better to college, make more friends, attend more events and do better academically than do those who have access to a vehicle/and/or go home on weekends. Resident students with 26 or more college credits on their EU transcript as posted in the E-net system and commuters may be issued on-campus parking privileges on a first-come, first-served basis subject to availability. Parking applications are found on-line at, http://www.eastern.edu/campus/university_wide_services/security/index.html. Permits will be issued only to the limit of the maximum number of spaces available. Returning students should apply for parking privileges prior to the beginning of the semester and as early as possible. Parking for residents will not necessarily be convenient but it will be available somewhere on the campus within the areas available for residents. Failure to find a convenient parking space is not an excuse for parking in violation of parking signage and policy.

Commuting Students: New student commuters and all returning commuting students must apply for parking privileges before the beginning of their first semester of entry and must have received the permit and must display it before parking on the campus even once. No student may bring a car to the campus even once without prior, express authorization from security who manages parking. So that everyone is served well we take our parking policies seriously and expect our students to do so as well. Parking for Commuters will not necessarily be convenient, but will be available somewhere on the campus within the areas available for commuters. Failure to find a convenient parking space is not an excuse for parking in violation of parking signage and policy

Because of the limited available space for on-campus parking, this policy is strictly enforced through ticketing, booting, towing and for repeated offenders, the suspension of parking privileges. Students who bring vehicles without prior authorization will receive a substantial fine and will likely be required to take the car home immediately. This is especially important to remember for returning students who have been studying abroad or otherwise have taken a semester off, and expect to be able to bring a car when they return to on-campus studies. Prior planning by students and families will prevent problems and disappointments.

Many, many students, in fact most, never receive even one parking ticket or citation for their entire enrollment period at Eastern. Compliance is the key. We wish that we did not have to issue any parking tickets, boot any cars or suspend any parking permits; however the management of parking for those who do abide by the regulations makes these penalties essential for a few students.

MRSA INFORMATION

Like many schools we have had a few cases here on campus that have been treated promptly. We have initiated a campus-wide office and keyboard cleaning campaign as well as an infectious biohazardous waste program for every building on campus. Any students with signs or symtoms are seen promptly at the Health Center, culture the site and provide preventative medicine.

MRSA-(methicillin-resistant staphylococcus areus) is a type of staph infection that is resistant to standard antibiotics. Infections frequently look like pimples or boils, may be red, swollen, painful or have pus or drainage.

Who gets staph? Anyone can get it, but more likely if they have skin to skin contact with someone who has it, openings in their skin such as cuts or scrapes, poor hygiene(handwashing)

Treatment-usual treatment is antibiotics or having a doctor drain the infection. If antibiotics are give it is crucial to complete ALL the medicine.

Decrease spread: wash hands often or use hand sanitizer, keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered, do not share personal items like razors or towels.

DINING SERVICES

Are you looking for more information about the food services at Eastern University? Our foodservices provider has set up their own webpage with information about:

Locations & Hours of Operations
Online Menus
Special Dietary Needs
Online Payments for Commuter Meal Plans & Add Ons
Campus Employment – both for students with Federal Works study and for students without
www.easternultimatedining.com

CONVERSATIONS THAT HELP WITH PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS

Many parents find that once college begins, some expectations that they had for communication with their student were not shared by the student. With this in mind, we recommend that you sit down with your child and talk through your expectations for him/her relative to leaving home. If these things are discussed well before the packing begins, you will be ahead of the game. With clear expectations, there will be fewer problems later.

Among other things that are specific to your family, your worries and your relationship with your child, we suggest that you have intentional conversations about these things:

I/we pay your bills and I/we expect to know your grades.
How will you let us/me know how you are doing in your classes (grades)?Midterm warnings are important and I/we need to know when you receive them and what you are going to do about them
Discuss things that you are worried about. For instance: alcohol, drugs and “partying” are a big part of some high school students’ lives. (Whether the parents know it or not…) This likely will not change in college. Ask your child:
- How are you going to handle peer pressure to do things that you know are dangerous, disrespectful or just plain wrong?Do you plan to drink alcohol in college?
- How will you handle it if you feel pressure to try drugs?
- How will you handle hazing if it happens to you or you are asked to do it?
- If you are involved in a disciplinary process or police matter, we want to hear about it first from you. Can you promise that?
I/we need to hear the good news as well as the bad news. When you are upset or angry about something, I/we want to know. Likewise, when something gets resolved or when you are happy about something, I/we want to know.
I/we want you to handle most things yourself; however we also want to know when something is particularly hard for you so that we can help out.
The University is not permitted legally to give us information about you, since you are over 18. How will you keep us informed?
Would you like your child to sign a waiver of privacy rights or release for information to be given to you when you ask? If so, click here:
http://www.eastern.edu/academic/registrar/pdf/Parent%20Access%20Form2.doc
Be sure to submit this form before the first day of classes.
What other expectations/questions do you have for your child related to his/her independence legally and dependence financially?Staying on the campus over the weekends is essential to feeling comfortable socially in the new environment. What is a reasonable number of times to go home each semester if that is an option at all?

These are a start to some of the conversations you will be glad you had as the University months and years go by. Don’t put it off. Have the conversations early.

HEALTH CENTER CONTACT INFORMATION

Call 610-341-5955 or e-mail Janet Topper, Director: jtopper@eastern.edu. Visit: http://www.eastern.edu/centers/health_center/index.html

MISSION TRIPS AND CONFERENCES FOR 2012-2013

Sponsored by the Office of Faith and Practice
See the complete list of missions trips at:
http://www.eastern.edu/campus/christian_life/missions.html

For more information, contact Andy Horvath, Director of Christian Formation, at 610.341.1830 or ahorvath@eastern.edu