Posted over 4 years ago
in Family Outreach News.
As school starts up again on Monday, here are some things I have learned to double-check before the first day of school here at NMSU.
- Textbooks: Textbooks are an important factor in your student’s learning here at NMSU. I have learned that I learn better with a physical textbook, but I have had friends who do better with ebooks and during these times when students aren’t here in Las Cruces all the time now due to virtual learning it’s time to see how your student might do better with. Our campus bookstore as well as other stores such as the Amazon, the off-campus bookstore, etc. offer those different options for students. Our bookstore will let us know what books we need for our classes, but sometimes the syllabus given by our teachers would say otherwise or they sometimes provide the readings. If your student buys or rents the book and turns out they don’t need it after the first day of class, there is time to return it. In our bookstore, take advantage of the price matching and billing the amount to the student account if it’s something your student can’t pay right then and there. No matter what your student chooses to do, just make sure that they are prepared, but if not professors are really understanding and give time for students to get the required readings.
- Schedule: When classes are (times and days), where they are, and what type of online format they are is really important especially now. Even though a majority of the classes this semester are going to be online, there are different delivery methods that your student might experience which are 100% online asynchronous, 100% online synchronous, and hybrid (more information can be found here: https://now.nmsu.edu/plan/instructional-readiness.html#instructional-delivery-models). Knowing what style their class will be can benefit your student and they can plan accordingly. Knowing your class schedule really helps especially when you live off-campus or have jobs, because then as a student we can see when we need to go to campus for a class, when we need to pack a lunch or get lunch, or when we need to make sure we are home to have time to get online for class.
- Financial Aid: On Wednesday 1/20/2021, if your student has any financial aid, this is the day that they would see it get fully posted in their student account. I would always check my account during the disbursement day and the following days to see if I would have a balance left or if I would be getting a refund. When I do get a refund, I always make sure my direct deposit is registered and active so that within 2 days I would see it in my bank account, or else it would be mailed to the address on file. If your student still has a balance left of $200+ after their aid was disbursed into their account then they will need to register for a payment plan at https://uar.nmsu.edu/payment-options/. If your student has financial aid, but it hasn’t disbursed there might be some requirement or something that needs their attention and they’ll need to contact the financial aid office. I have had to contact them before and it’s better to contact them sooner than later.
- Canvas and Outlook: Finally, Canvas is an application that your student will have their classes posted on. Every new semester I will check if my professors have posted their classes in order to be able to read the syllabus and be prepared for the first day of class because some classes start their course materials that day. Sometimes professors will also email us students about the first day of class or about their course on Canvas so it’s also important to be checking their Outlook email. It’s okay to check on your student to see if their professor has emailed them or if their course has been posted on Canvas because sometimes it does pass our minds.
I hope for the best for all of your students this semester!!
