Ohio Parents Newsletter
From Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi
December 21, 2009
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OHIO Web Browser Toolbar
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The Ohio University Alumni Association has developed a toolbar for web browsers that provides shortcuts to frequently used Ohio University web pages - academic links, student resources, news, events, athletics, and alumni links. You can download the toolbar by clicking here or on the image below.
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Dear Ohio Parent,
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 I hope this newsletter finds you enjoying the holiday season. While fewer students are on campus this time of year, we use this time for planning and preparation for the coming winter and spring quarters.
I wanted to take time to share several items, including information including H1N1 clinics when students return, information from Executive Vice-President and Provost Dr. Pam Benoit concerning the recent academic restructuring, notes from the Bursar about accessing your son or daughters eAccount, messages from Residential Housing about how your student may become a Resident Assistant (RA), and important dates for Winter Quarter. The Center for Student Legal Services also shares information about scams targeting students and their services to students.
Winter parent and family weekend information is also included in this newsletter. My staff and I are working to bolster our efforts to provide timely updates from offices and student organizations across campus to help you plan your visit.
I want to thank you for taking the time to respond to our parent survey. You have provided a tremendous amount of feedback to improve our efforts. Over 1,550 parents took time to share thoughts about how we can do so. I am hopeful that you will notice these improvements in the future.
Finally, I want you to know that my staff and I wish you a happy holiday season. We look forward to working with you and your son or daughter as they return to campus in the new year. If there is anything that we can do to assist, please let us know.
Warm wishes for a safe and happy holiday season!
Sincerely,
Ryan Lombardi
Dean of Students
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H1N1 Clinic - January 10 at Walter Hall
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Over 5,500 of the 7,000 H1N1 vaccines received by Ohio University remain available and will be distributed in clinics for students, faculty, staff and their dependents following the start of classes in January. The first clinic will be on Sunday, January 10 from 1-6pm at Walter Hall. There is no additional charge and no preregistration required for these clinics.
Additional clinics will be released to students via email. Dates, times, and locations will be posted on the Ohio University H1N1 website at www.ohio.edu/h1n1. Please encourage your son or daughter to pay close attention to their email for these important dates and time. |
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Winter Parent and Family Weekends
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Winter quarter provides parents and families three opportunities to visit Athens, be sure to mark your calendars!!
- Dads' Weekend, January 22-24
- Winter Parents' Weekend, February 5-7
- Sibs' Weekend, February 19-21
At Ohio University, student organizations play a large role in the programming and event planning for special weekends. As a result, many of the events are still in the final planning stages and are not listed yet. The most up-to-date list of events, times, and locations will be posted in the coming days at Ohio University parents and Family website at www.ohio.edu/parents. Some Athletic tickets and Bromley Hall room reservations are currently available for purchase through the Parents & Family Weekend Packages/Ticket website, located here. Additional events will be added after the first of the year. Please note the following:
- The $7 processing fee is a one-time per weekend fee allowing additional items/tickets to be purchased for the weekend.
- All online purchases must be made by Tuesday prior to the related weekend to allow for sorting and packaging
- Bromley Hall reservations require a two night stay (Fri/Sat)
- All sales are final
Additional accommodations can be found online through the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau found here. |
Academic Restructuring
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Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit recently announced her decision concerning academic restructuring. Recommendations to change some aspects of the structure of colleges were made in March 2009. Over the course of the past nine months faculty, staff, deans, and the Provost reviewed those recommendations. After collecting significant input, Provost Benoit decided that refocusing the mission of the College of Health and Human Services on health and wellness, expanding the mission of the College of Education to include human development, and establishing an Academic Health Center would create important new academic opportunities.
By Fall 2010, the following academic programs will move to a new college: Sports Administration to the College of Business; Interior Architecture to the College of Fine Arts; Physical Education, Coaching Education, and Recreation Studies to the College of Education; Restaurant, Hotel, and Tourism to the College of Education; Retail Merchandising to the College of Education; Family and Consumer Sciences Education to the College of Education; and the Health and Human Services Early Childhood Education program will become part of the Early Childhood Education program in the College of Education.
Students who are enrolled in any of these programs will be able to continue their academic work unimpeded. Their degree requirements, time to degree, the faculty they work with, their financial aid and scholarships, their advisors, and the physical location of their programs will not be affected. A set of student FAQs along with other documents discussing academic restructuring, its benefits, and next steps can be found at http://www.ohio.edu/provost/Academic-Restructuring-NEW.cfm. Additional information will be provided to students enrolled in the programs listed above when they return for Winter Quarter.
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Message from The Bursar
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Ohio University electronic billing
notifications are sent to University students and to any authorized users the
student has granted eBill access. If you wish to receive billing notifications,
your son or daughter must add you as an authorized user. To add an authorized user login, your son or daughter
must go to the Bursar website at www.ohio.edu/bursar,
click on "eAccount," log on with his/her University Oak ID and password, and then
follow the links for adding an authorized user.
Tuition bills are issued one month
prior to the start of the quarter, and payment is due two weeks prior to the
start of the quarter (Winter Quarter fees are due December 21, today). eBills are issued monthly to reflect any
recent activity on the student's account.
We also have a monthly payment plan option available to help finance
your student's education (the first installment for Winter Quarter is due
January 4). Our scheduled billing dates
can be found at http://www.ohio.edu/finance/bursar/billinginfo.cfm. Please visit the
Bursar website for more information. The
Bursar's Office can be reached at 740.593.4130 or bursar@ohio.edu if you have any questions or concerns.
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Resident Assistants Needed
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 A Great Opportunity!
Being a Resident Assistant (RA) at is a great opportunity offered to all full-time students. The RA position looks fantastic on any resume, and the experience gained provides knowledge and skills that are applicable to any occupation. Personal characteristics such as leadership, teamwork, creativity, assertiveness, and time management will be easy for students to call upon once they have held this position. The position also holds financial benefits! Current RAs have a minimum of 90% of their room rate covered, and an additional minimum stipend of $2140 a year.
Resident Assistants have the most frequent and direct communication with residential students; therefore, they are important contributors to the development and education of their peers. They also have a great responsibility in implementing programs and enforcing policies through which the goals of Residential Housing can be accomplished.
If you think that your son or daughter would be interested in becoming a Resident Assistant, encourage them to visit our website at www.ohio.edu/housing to learn more about the position and to start the application process. All applications are due by January 25, 2010 for employment next fall.
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| Winter Quarter Residence Hall Information |
Residence Halls will open for winter quarter beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 3rd.
Students living in the halls for 2010-2011 Application for returning student room selection (for Fall 2010-11) will begin on January 19th. Students currently residing on campus will need to complete a returning student housing contract and pay a $200 deposit no later than 5:00 p.m. January 29, 2010. Additionally, students must attend an educational session in order to be eligible to select their room at the earliest possible time. Please ask your student to monitor their Ohio University email account for more information.
Students planning on living off-campus for 2010-2011 Students expecting to reside off-campus beginning next fall must meet eligibility requirements (2 full years of on-campus housing post high school graduation). Students who have missed a quarter of study or have previous attendance at another institution may need to have their eligibility validated by Residential Housing prior to signing a lease agreement. Visit www.ohio.edu/housing, email housing@ohio.edu or call 740-593-4090 with any questions or concerns. |
Scam Alert from the Center for Student Legal Services
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 Nearly everyone with an email address has had some experience with a scam originating on the internet. Whether it is an email from a distressed Prince in a far-away land who is seeking assistance transferring his inheritance or advertisements for work-at-home jobs that will earn you thousands, the rule of thumb is that if it seems too good to be true, it likely is. But not all internet scams are so obvious. In fact, some of the scams that are aimed at college students seem, on their surface, believable.
The Center for Student Legal Services is available to assist your student if they have encountered one of these scams or have other legal questions. If your student has paid the $8.00 legal service fee listed on their quarterly tuition bill, encourage him or her to make an appointment if they have questions about these issues or feel they may have inadvertently gotten involved in an internet scam. Your student can contact the Center for Student Legal Services at 740-594-8093 or visit us at our website at www.studentlegalrights.org.
Fake Scholarship Promises
There are many services that offer to help college students tap into "secret" scholarship money for a fee. The truth is, most scholarship money comes from the Federal Government, the university or college itself, or private agencies that target individuals based on their affiliation with a particular group. None of these legitimate scholarship-granting entities are trying to keep their scholarships a secret. The Federal Trade Commission warns students and parents to watch out for businesses that make promises like these:
- The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back.
- You can't get this information anywhere else.
- "I just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship."
- The scholarship will cost some money.
- You've been selected by a 'national foundation' to receive a scholarship or you're a finalist in a contest you never entered.
For more information on how to avoid these scams, go to www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/scholarship.
Counterfeit Check or Money Order Scams
These scams take on many forms and some are more obvious than others. The basic scenario starts with the student trying to sell something through Craigslist, a social-networking site, or some other classified advertising resource. The scammer contacts the student, indicates interest and offers a check or money order to pay for the item of interest. The student receives the check or money order and then tenders the item that was sold. On the surface, the check or money order looks valid and is even accepted by the student's bank. Weeks later, the student's bank contacts the student and demands repayment of the money because the negotiated check or money order was not valid. Current banking regulations protect the interest of the bank and the student is left with no recourse. To avoid this situation, students should accept only cash as payment.
Cash-back Scams
These scams start out like the counterfeit check or money order scams, but include and added twist. In these situations, the scammer requests that the student permit him to pay an additional sum of money through check or money order and then requests that the student refund him money in cash or forward a check for the difference to some other third party. In this situation, the counterfeit check or money order is later refused by the bank and the student has lost the merchandise and the cash that was returned to the scammer. This situation frequently arises for students who are attempting to sublet their apartments. The students are contacted by the scammers who claim to be international students or transfer students from another university. They agree to rent the apartment sight-unseen and make arrangements with the student to send the deposit or rent plus an additional sum of money. These scams can be avoided by demanding cash and dealing with interested buyers and subletters in person.
Grant Scams
Scammers have created an endless array of scams involving awards of government grant money. Particularly relevant to college students are offers of grant awards to apply to tuition. These awards are promised once students or their parents provide financial information such as a bank account number to route the funds to or pay a fee for this "free" money. Beware of any offers of free money. To learn more about these grant scams and how you can protect yourself, review this alert prepared by the Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.shtm.
Illegal Downloading Scams.
Many of the websites containing illegal downloads of music, videos, and books are thought to contain spyware. If this spyware allows these sites access to your personal information, it could lead to any number of problems with unwarranted credit card charges and even identify theft. The best way to avoid these issues is to stay away from sites that you are unfamiliar with and to protect your financial information when doing business online. Another scam that has arisen in the area of illegal downloading involves fraudulent collection agencies that claim that they are attempting to collect fees to settle claims of illegal downloading. If you receive a letter, phone call, or email from anyone claiming to be a collection agency, you should seek legal representation.
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Ohio University Division of Student Affairs
Creating Community, Cultivating Leaders
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