Parent Newsletter January 2009

NEWS 
Legislative Update 
The 2009 session of the Iowa General Assembly begins Monday, Jan. 12. UNI is working with the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, to ensure UNI receives appropriate funding. Learn more about UNI's legislative priorities and how you can help at www.unialum.org/unite. 
 
Time to Reapply for Financial Aid
Students must reapply for financial aid each academic year. Students are encouraged to complete forms as soon as possible after Jan. 1. To reapply, visit www.fafsa.ed.gov. Contact the UNI Financial Aid Office at 800-772-2736 or 319-273-2700 with any questions. 
 
Time for Residence Hall Recontracting 
Residence hall recontracting occurs in February for current students. Students who live on campus cite costs and convenience as the major reasons for staying on campus, according to marketing research conducted by UNI students. Students who live on campus also generally earn better grades and are more likely to graduate. Housing applications and other details are available at www.uni.edu/dor. 
 
Executive Vice President and Provost Named 
Gloria J. Gibson has been named executive vice president and provost at UNI, pending official approval by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. Gibson is currently the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and professor in the Department of English, Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Arkansas State University. She will assume her new duties on July 1. The executive vice president and provost provides vision for academic excellence, guides the academic planning and assessment of university academic programs and provides administrative leadership and organization for all the academic components of the university.
 
Severe Weather Announcements
Announcements regarding cancellation of classes and/or reduced university operations are made via UNI Alert, local radio and TV stations and the UNI home page, www.uni.edu. The local TV stations also list closings and delays on their Web sites.

New Student Sexual Misconduct Policy is Approved and Posted
The new UNI student sexual misconduct policy was approved at the December Board of Regents meeting. The policy is posted at http://www.uni.edu/pres/policies/315.shtml. 

Budget Update from President Allen
To re-cap, in November, UNI was required to return $1.02 million of its fiscal 2009 state appropriation. We had planned to invest those funds in information technology systems and security, library materials and building maintenance projects. Those areas didn't have to revert funds already allocated, but they did lose planned additional investments in their programs. Several key developments have occurred that affect our budget for both the rest of this fiscal year (2009) and next fiscal year (2010). See full message at www.uni.edu/pres/.
  

TIPS 
Tutoring Can Help Get Students Up to Speed
Not everyone masters every subject right away. If your son or daughter needs help with a class, suggest UNI's ASK-A-TUTOR service. UNI has free tutors (peer instructors) for many Liberal Arts Core and major courses. Students can call Academic Services at 273-6023, to find out if there's a tutor for their course, or visit www.uni.edu/academicservices/rlindex.html.
 
How to Get Your Student's Name in the Local Paper
To ensure your student's name is included in UNI hometown news releases such as dean's lists and graduation lists, ask your student to check his or her personal records via MyUNIverse. They should click on the "Privacy" tab to make sure they haven't inadvertently restricted their hometown information. The lists are organized by the hometown a student has listed.
 

In addition, career-related information just for parents of UNI students can be found at www.uni.edu/careerservices/. Sponsored by Academic Advising & Career Services, 102 Gilchrist, 273-6857.
 
Too Much to Read, too Little Time
Academic Services offers a Speed Reading course designed to help students develop reading skills and become more time-efficient readers. Students generally learn to at least double their reading rate without losing comprehension. Study reading can take only half the time! Classes meet three hours a week for four weeks and are free of charge for UNI students.

Student Studying All Pain and No Gain?
Is your student studying hard but not getting the grades he or she expects? The Effective Study Strategies course is for students who want to learn more powerful ways of studying and is free of charge for UNI students.
 
Other Free Courses Offered by Academic Services:
 
PPST-Reading (for students preparing to take or retake the Pre-Professional Skills Test for admission to UNI's Teacher Education Program; Praxis I: PPST published by Cliff's TestPrep required). 
 
PPST-Mathematics (for students preparing to take or retake the Pre-Professional Skills Test for admission to UNI's Teacher Education Program; Praxis I: PPST published by Cliff's TestPrep required). 
 
GRE-Verbal (for students preparing to take or retake the Graduate Record Exam; any edition of Kaplan's GRE Exam published 2005-2007 is required). 
 
GRE-Quantitative (for students preparing to take or retake the Graduate Record Exam; any edition of Kaplan’s GRE Exam published 2005-2007 is required).