The student has the sole responsibility for fulfilling each course’s obligations and for working out missed class time with each faculty member. However in the event of an emergency such as death in the family or emergency hospitalization, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs will notify faculty members of the situation but this office has no authority to grant any concessions or excuses for missing class.
The Vice President for Student Affairs office has established a procedure for students to file complaints concerning student concerns or other issues. The purpose of the procedure is to provide for an orderlycollection of information, to address students' complaints in a timely manner by appropriate Universitypersonnel, and to help students learn effective conflict resolution skills. More information is available at http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndsu/vpsa/forms/ProblemsProcedure.pdf
(Student Rights/Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974)?
FERPA is a federal law that grants students rights to privacy for their educational records. This means that the university addresses all correspondence to students over the age of 18, including financial aid/billing information, health and counseling information. Grades are available to the student through the Campus Connection Student Portal, so the University does not mail grades to students or parents.
It is important to inform parents of this law in sessions where it applies, but not to cause alarm. Rather, it is important to emphasize that the law is in place to protect students. Encourage students and parents to talk with each other. It is important to note that it is the student's responsibility to fill out and sign the form. Release forms are also available on the Registration and Records Web site (under forms). When signed by the student, these forms authorize identified individuals (i.e: parents/guardians) to access confidential academic, accounts receivable and/or financial aid information. While the form serves the Business Office, Student Financial Services and Registration and Records, they always are to be turned in to the Registration and Records Office. Counseling and Disability Services and Student Health Service use separate forms for release of confidential medical records.
For students under the age of 21, there are exceptions when students are found in violation of NDSU policies on alcohol and other drugs. Students of any age may be cause for exception in situations involving violence and cases where the health and safety of students is in question.
The Safety and Security brochure is on-line. ND is one of the lowest crime states and our campus mirrors that. However, we want to encourage students to take appropriate safety precautions including locking residence hall doors, locking cars, not leaving book bags unattended, etc.
University officials gathered in April ’07 to review the safeguards currently in place on campus. Procedurally, the following are points that can be highlighted:
- Residence Halls are locked 24 hours a day, and enforce a 24 hour guest escort policy
- Legitimate access is limited to residents of that facility, their escorted guests and staff who supervise and maintain the facility. The Bison Card is used for access.
- Residence Life staff do rounds regularly during evening and weekend hours
- Admission and Employment processes include criminal background information
- Blue emergency lights are available across campus to alert campus police to emergencies
- Lighting on campus is reviewed each year
- University police is a licensed, armed force , with cross jurisdictional authority, that provide 24 hour, 7 days a week coverage
- Public safety officers regularly conduct security rounds of campus facilities
- Escort Service is available campus-wide
By mid-fall semester 2007, the newly developed Bison Connection will open in the Memorial Union. Bison Connection will use technology and excellent customer service to bring processes together in one central location to simplify student transactions. Services included are: Registration & Records, Student Financial Services, Business Office, Bison Card Center and Self Service Kiosks. Bison Connection will be operational both weekday and weekend hours.
FERPA - Generic Release
Registrar/Financial Aid/Business Office FERPA Release
Study Abroad Assumption of Risk Release Form
Email as Official Communication
E-mail, just like regular mail, is an official medium of communication between students and the University. Students often change their mailing address, causing important and timely information to be overlooked or lost. This is explained in Section 609 of the Policy Manual: “Expanding reliance on electronic communication among students, faculty, staff and administration, coupled with convenience, speed, cost-effectiveness and environmental advantages of using electronic communication, make e-mail effective and efficient means by which to communicate with students enrolled at NDSU.” It is a student’s responsibility to activate their electronic ID (and e-mail). Students may choose to have their official e-mail (Firstname.Lastname@ndsu.edu) forwarded to another address of their choice (i.e. lastnamefirstname@yahoo.com or jane@hotmail.com), however it is important that e-mail (which ever form they choose) be checked on regular basis so they do not miss important information.
Alcohol and Other Drugs Information
NDSU is a dry campus. In addition, NDSU views high-risk drinking as a serious issue on campus as does nearly every campus in the country. Our president has designated significant funds to address this issue. We are concerned about the health and safety of our students and also about their success. We know that high risk drinking is an obstacle to success. Our drug and alcohol problem is not any worse or better than anywhere else. However, we choose to talk about it openly with students and parents and we choose to aggressively address it by working to build a caring and safe community. We address concerns both on and off campus. Off campus issues are addressed when incidents are reported to NDSU personnel. Late-night, weekend activities (alternative events) are planned on campus for individuals to be involved in. Both students and parents have brochures in their packets talking about alcohol and drug issues. Visit www.ndsu.edu/alcoholinfo for more information.
Smoking Ban
Recently there has been a lot of discussion about smoking bans around the Fargo-Moorhead Community. The NDSU community has been discussing the possibly of creating a policy or statement regarding smoking. An Ad-Hoc committee voted unanimously for the ban; however that was voted down by both the staff and university (faculty) senate. This fall Dr. Donna Terbizan will chair a committee to explore further a smoking ban at NDSU. Students will be able to give their input and will have representatives on the committee. Currently no one can smoke in any campus buildings, including residence halls.
Downloading Music
The downloading of copyrighted material from websites without paying for the material is a very serious issue. Downloading any copyrighted media or software, without paying for it, is illegal and in violation of the Code of Student Behavior. Students that are caught illegally downloading are faced with legal, financial and campus sanctions. Some students may also have questions regarding news reports that came out this past spring saying that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) placed NDSU No. 20 on its list of the 25 universities receiving the most copyright complaints from Sept. 1 - Feb. 9. According to the RIAA, NDSU had 360 copyright violations. However, Information Technology Services said the 360 violations did not all occur at NDSU, noting that NDSU is in the same range of Internet addresses with five other North Dakota institutions. According to the ITS Help Desk, NDSU saw 156 violations during the period cited in the RIAA probe. Remind students that the amount of bandwidth they are using is monitored and they can face serious consequences if caught misusing technology. Also the legal and financial consequences are quite significant. According to the law, the minimum fine is $750 per song title.
Non-Native English Speaking Instructors
Our non-native English speaking instructors [faculty and graduate students] are required to meet English proficiency requirements in order to teach at NDSU. Students often find these instructors to be a wealth of information as they not only know the subject matter at hand, but they bring the knowledge of another culture to the classroom. If students have concerns about their ability to understand an instructor, they are encouraged to take their concern to the Department Chair or Dean of that particular department if it is perceived to be a significant problem.
Availability of class sections/courses
Deans, Department Chairs, Registration and Records have been working to anticipate the number of sections that will be needed in many of the basic courses and to make those courses available this summer, rather than opening sections later in the fall or not at all. However, scheduling will require flexibility on the part of students. Students may need to take classes early in the morning or later in the evening. Also, sometimes the course can be taken in the next semester and another course taken for fall. There may be cases when certain courses are closed and in those cases wait lists are kept by departments or the Registration and Records Office.
Graduation Rates
NDSU's most recent data on retentation and graduation rates indicated that 80.6 percent of our first year students continued into their sophomore year. On average, fifteen to seventeen percent of students graduate in four years. Around fifty percent graduate within six years. Our retention rates are very similar to other schools of our size and selectivity. It is important to remember that the more selective a school is the better their retention rate, so it is not accurate to compare us to highly selective private institutions. NDSU serves a wide range of students with varying interests and abilities. It is important to note that NDSU’s Pharmacy program (6 years) and Architecture program (5 years) impact the graduation rates.
Students don’t always leave NDSU because they are unhappy or they were not able to make it academically. Students leave for a variety of reasons including financial reasons, personal reasons, career path decisions, etc.
Assignment notices/Overflow Housing
Students who applied early will receive their housing notices prior to orientation. They can also go to our website www.ndsu.edu/reslife to check their assignment status and roommate information. Students who applied later will receive them in July or August. Also, some students may be assigned to overflow housing. Please assure parents and students that the overflow rooms are adequate living and learning environments and that transportation will be provided from off-campus sites to campus, trained staff are on site at each location, and that most are not high density roomsAny students who are placed in high density areas are given priority for permanent rooms.
24 Hour Visitation
24 hour visitation is allowed in all of the Residence halls with a few stipulations. Guests must be escorted at all times. Roommates must complete a roommate agreement before 24 hour visitation would be allowed. Overnight guests of the opposite gender are not allowed in any of our residence halls.
Wellness Community
Beginning fall 2005, two floors in Seim Hall have been designated as a Wellness Community. The purpose of the floor is to provide a supportive environment for students who are working to make healthy choices. In addition, students on this floor will pledge to remain substance free on and off campus and will hold each other accountable. The floor is filled mainly with upperclass students. Plans are to expand this option for new students in future years.
Bison Bucks
By using Blackboard, students and/or parents can add funds via Mastercard and Visa to student Bison Bucks accounts. A $2 convenience fee is applied to each transaction. Click on the Bb link and then look for the Bison Bucks Deposit module. For assistance, click on Help.
FYE [First Year Experience]
FYE is dedicated to providing an environment where first year students will have the resources and support to make a successful transition from high school to college. This program will be implemented in Reed/Johnson and Weible Halls. Learning teams comprised of a faculty member, 2 RAs, Peer Mentor, and an ACE tutor will be available on each floor.