1. I’m thinking about coming to ETSU/I’ve
received these papers from ETSU – What do
I do next?
Where do I go from here? Am I in time for the term in which I want to
enroll?
What’s supposed to happen and when?
Whether you are a first-time
adult or a transfer student, the place to
begin your paperwork is, of course, with
the ETSU office of Admissions–
once you click on their link you’ll find
the telephone numbers, names and locations
of counselors who are ready and willing
to start you on the road to admission to
ETSU. They
even have an on-line process by which you
can apply for admission via computer. When you speak with the counselors in admissions
they’ll provide you with necessary applications
and forms and discuss possible majors and
scholarships.
Among other vital information, they’ll
let you know which transcripts you must
arrange to have sent to the Admissions office.
These official transcripts must come
directly from your former high school or
other institution directly to ETSU – student
copies are not acceptable.
The steps you’ll need to follow to
keep yourself on-track can be accessed through
the Footsteps
link. After
you’ve been admitted to ETSU, you’ll begin
receiving information from other areas like
the office of Orientation. Depending upon when you
apply to ETSU, you will begin hearing from
various ETSU offices at different times.
If the process has you confused, don’t feel
lonely, come and see us A.C.T.S.
We specialize in help to gain understanding
about what should happen and when.
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2. I want to talk face-to-face with
someone who'll help me pull everything together
– Who do I speak with and what can they
tell me?
Perhaps you are not sure
about what you want to be when you grow
up (again), perhaps you need to find a place
to live, perhaps you have received some
information from ETSU and you aren’t sure
what it means - maybe you’re just lost. Come and see us. Our web location can be found
by clicking on A.C.T.S.
We specialize in helping students pull it all
together.
If we don’t have the information
you need right away – we’ll make it our
business to help you find the answers and/or
office(s) you need.
We can be reached through various
methods. Telephone us at 423/439-5641. Physically
we are on the second floor of the D.P. Culp
University Center in the ARC – that’s right
next to the ETSU bookstore and chances are we’ve got the help you need.
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3.
How will I know what classes to
take? When do I have to decide upon a major?
Why do I have to attend orientation and
what is it anyway?
Every new ETSU student
must be advised as to which classes they
must take in order to receive a degree.
New ETSU students will receive their
initial advisement during Orientation. During the orientation program, students receive
massive amounts of information and finish
with their class schedule in hand.
The university does its’ best to
provide each student with tools needed to
get off to a solid start so there are opportunities
to hear about Financial
Aid, meal plans from ARAMARK,
residence halls from the office of Housing
and the ability to get your student ID from
I.D.Bucs. In addition,
this is a great time for the university
to let you know about the many support systems
that can mean the difference between mediocre
grades or A’s.
All students who have earned less than 60
hours must be academically advised before
registering for classes.
A listing of academic advisors is
published in the A.C.T.S. success manual
“You Can Do It”,
both on hard copy and online.
It’s hard to decide what classes you want
to take, if you’re not sure what you want
to be when you grow up (again.) The Peer Career Center helps ETSU students
decide upon a major utilizing a series of
tests and tools. At any rate, it’s far better to make an informed
decision about choosing a major, rather
than rushing through the process.
That’s why the Peer
Career Center exists – to
help ETSU students through the process of
deciding upon a major.
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4.
I've heard that parking is a chore
at ETSU – Where will I park my car?
If you are a visitor
to ETSU, stop by the Public Safety Office
(off University Parkway between West Pine
and West Locust streets) to get your temporary
permit – then you can park in either student
or faculty/staff lots. Parking
lots designated for students are painted
with a gold swipe, those for faculty/staff,
with a blue swipe.
Student parking decals are paid for as part
of your tuition and fees.
Depending upon the time of day you
arrive on campus, you might have to park
some distance from your class site. However,
every parking place is within walking distance
of campus buildings; simply utilize good
time management skills.
The only place you’ll be virtually
guaranteed a good parking place at the last
moment is if you take advantage of Carpool
parking.
One of the lots is conveniently located
across the street from the administration
building and the other is next to the tennis
courts. The Office of Disability
Services can help if you
need special assistance with parking. Our office, A.C.T.S., maintains maps of ETSU
and the region as well as transit schedules
for Johnson City Public Transit.
Click your way into our Commuter pages for more specific information
about what’s available for commuters at
ETSU.
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5.
I'm moving – Where's the best
place to start looking? What's around the
university? What housing is available on
campus and off campus?
Of course, the best
place to live depends upon your individual
needs.
Only you can make that decision.
The ETSU Office of Housing
has student housing opportunities ranging
from single occupancy to housing suitable
for family-living on a space available basis.
Sometimes – notably during bad weather,
you might need a place to spend the night,
especially if you have a long distance to
travel.
If it’s after hours, call Public
Safety at 439-6200.
They’ll help you to arrange for emergency
housing through the ETSU Housing Office.
For a minimal fee – less than the
price of a motel, they’ll set you up with
a place to safely spend the night.
To continue your investigation, click on
our off-campus
housing link.
We list apartments, condos, townhouses
and homes from area landlords and we update
the listing on a regular basis.
Information about the turning on
water, electric, gas and telephone services
is available on our Commuter Web Page.
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6.
Is there help to pay for classes
and books? Are there payment options? What
does it cost? Are there jobs?
How to pay for school
is the single biggest worry for many students. Federal Student Aid, usually referred to simply
as Financial
Aid, is the primary monetary
resource for ETSU students outside of family
support. Financial aid consists of grants, loans and student work programs. If you want to know whether or not you are
eligible for these programs, fill out the
FAFSA. That’s the acronym for Federal Application for
Federal Student Aid. Don’t
assume that you will or will not receive
federal student aid – the only way to know
for sure is to fill out and submit the application. Each application covers the academic year –
that’s from the start of the fall term,
through the spring term, until the end of
the summer term.
However, the financial information
you must enter on each FAFSA is from the
most recently completed calendar year –
that’s January through December of a given
year. The entire financial aid process can be quite
confusing.
When in doubt, ALWAYS
check with your financial aid counselor.
They are the professionals who make
it their business to keep up with rapidly
changing rules and regulations – and they
don’t get to keep money that students aren’t eligible to receive.
Student
work at ETSU exists on a
couple of levels.
First of all, remember to complete
your FAFSA.
That will determine your eligibility
for Federal Work Study (FWS.) This program usually requires about ten hours
of work each week at various offices around
campus; you’re paid twice a month.
What you can earn each semester depends
upon the hours worked and upon how much
money you are eligible to receive from the
financial aid process.
Regular Student Work positions (RSWP)
are harder to find because each office pays
100% of the salary, unlike FWS which has
monetary input from Financial Aid.
ETSU has an Office of
Scholarships. When in doubt, go ahead and apply for scholarships
for which you think you may be eligible
– this is an area in which you don’t want
to turn yourself down.
Scholarship applications are available
at the Admissions Office, in the Financial
Aid Office and in the ARC, thanks to your
friendly neighborhood A.C.T.S. Office.
In fact, A.C.T.S. guides the Re-entry
Student Scholarship , which
has a deadline of July 1st each
year. This scholarship has as its focus, the student who is a caregiver.
The term caregiver is interpreted
to include students who may be caring for
the elderly as well as those who have the
responsibility to care for children.
ETSU offers a payment option where for the
price of $50 for the fall and spring terms,
you may pay half of your tuition and fees
up front (not books), and then pay the second
half in two equal installments.
How much is tuition?
You’ll have to check with the Bursar’s
Office to be sure – of course it’s directly
related to how many class hours in which
you are enrolled. In these rapidly changing budget times the price of tuition and
fees is subject to change.
To find out what the prices were
for the last semester, link onto the Bursar’s
web page.
As soon as the University knows what
fees will be for each upcoming semester
– they will be posted.
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7.
I never was the greatest writer/mathematician
– I'm worried that I might not be able to
handle it – Where can I get some academic
support?
One of the things of which
many first-time and transfer students are
unaware is that there is lots of help at
ETSU for students who want to become better
at studying, writing, understanding math
and other academic woes. University Tutoring Services offers a range of options for tutoring from online tutoring to group sessions in many general education courses. The Math Lab
and the Writing
& Communication Center
are both staffed with personnel who will
help a student find their way with specific
assignments – they won’t do the work for
you, but when you bring in your assignments
to show where you got lost – they’ll help
you get found. There
are even discipline specific programs like
the N.U.R.S.E. Center where (in this case)
nursing students have a wonderful opportunity
to get help with their nursing academics.
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8.
What can I do to make myself more
attractive to future employers? Are there
organizations where I can find other students
like me? Is there anything to do socially?
How do I find out?
Employers want to know
many things about you, in addition to whether
or not you are able to do the job.
The ETSU Office of Career
Development is the place
to begin. However, you have probably heard how important
it is to get involved with outside activities
during your college career.
It’s not just rhetoric. Getting involved with organizations like the
adult student organization
THE NET, or with one of the many
groups covered under the SORC and the CELL provide
an opportunity to meet and know the who’s
who of our campus. It’s one thing to be able to look up a person’s
name in the telephone book.
It’s another to not only know who
to go to for information and help, but to
have a previously developed relationship.
One never knows when they might need
an advocate. The Office of Multicultural
Affairs is charged with the
responsibility for creating and fostering
a campus-wide climate of respect for each
individual, and advocating for a culturally
diverse non-discriminatory campus community. The Gospel Choir and the Black Affairs Association
are just two of the functions administered
by this Office.
If you want to find out what’s going on
at ETSU, look through one of the university
Calendars
on the main ETSU website.
Current students should also read
the East
Tennessean, (the ETSU student
newspaper) or read the many flyers posted
throughout campus each semester.
Several academic departments have organizations
that are tied to their respective fields.
For example, if you are a Nursing
major the SNA or Student
Nursing Association might
be a good place to begin outside involvement
in the field of Nursing. Departments
and colleges like the College of Business,
the Communications Department, Social Work
and many others also have discipline-specific
organizations – check with your major.
The Center
for Physical Activity was
designed with the user in mind.
Programs are available in five areas:
fitness, intramurals, non-credit instruction,
outdoor adventure, and sports clubs. Facility
times are set aside on a daily basis for
self-directed recreational activities. Previous
athletic participation or high skill levels
are not prerequisites for becoming involved
in some type of physical activity or recreational
sport.
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9.
I'm transferring to ETSU; I could
use some help with the process – What should
I do next?
Our office, Adult, Commuter
and Transfer Services – A.C.T.S. specializes
in helping transfer students to pull the
whole process together.
Call and make an appointment to see
us by calling 423/439-5641. We concern ourselves not only with the application
process, which begins with the Office of
Admissions,
but also with visits to various local colleges
like Northeast State Technical Community
College, Walters State Community College,
Pellissippii Community College and others.
There are Articulation
agreements in place, which can help you
semesters in advance, before you apply to
ETSU for your bachelor’s degree. We’ll tell you all about Orientation, Financial
Aid, scholarships, tutoring, advisement
and also parking. Even if you’re only thinking about transferring to ETSU; we’re here to help you get your
act together.
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10.
I've got family and childcare
responsibilities – Where and what is available?
A.C.T.S. maintains a county-by-county
listing of daycare facilities in the Tri-Cities
area. You
can get a copy by coming to our office on
the 2nd floor of the D.P. Culp
University Center. These are only listings; so of course, you
must check them over on an individual basis.
On campus, located in Warf-Pickel, is the
student child care facility, Little Bucs.
The difference between Little Bucs
and a daycare center is that Little Bucs is for the
children of ETSU students and is open when
classes are in session – to include some
evening hours. Another ETSU childcare facility is the Child
Study Center. They are located not too far from the main ETSU campus.
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11.
If I go back to school I won't
have medical insurance – What if I get sick?
Where do I go?
The ETSU Health
Clinic is the place to begin
if a student feels ill.
They take currently enrolled students
on a walk-in basis.
Some services require an appointment,
but there is no charge for visits to the
clinic.
Brochures and applications for Student
Health Insurance
are available through the Office
of Student Affairs located on the 3rd
floor of the D.P. Culp University Center.
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12.
My question's not here – Who do
I ask?
As you might imagine, it’s impossible
to ask and answer all possible questions
in the space allotted to this “frequently
asked questions” format.
Adult Commuter and Transfer Services
– A.C.T.S.,
is one of the few centrally located offices
at ETSU, where you can come to find answers
to a wide variety of questions.
If we don’t know the answer, we will
do our best to get you to the assistance
you need. Whether you are an adult, commuter, transfer,
new, current or prospective student, let
us help you get your act together.
We can be reached not only via the
web, but also by calling 423/439-5641.
On the ETSU home page is the Need
Help? link.
This link has answers to selected
topics and includes contact names, telephone
numbers and e-mail addresses for various
offices and departments around campus.
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