Welcome to 2024! We hope you had a relaxing and restful winter break with your Spartan, and a hearty “Go GREEN!” to our newest Spartan families. We’re glad to have you in our community. The new year brings fresh outlooks and renewed optimism for many, and new questions or continued reservations for others. We are here to help you as your Spartan continues their journey. We understand how important you are in the life of your students and are so thankful to have you as a part of our students’ success.
Take good care,
Laurin Gierman, Director
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Spartan Family Reflect and Connect Session: Helping Yourself Stay Grounded While Your Kid is Away at College
It can be hard to have your college student away from home, off in the world, doing their thing. This can be especially challenging and upsetting with all the violence in the world today including the events on our main campus last Feb. 13. The natural tendency is to grab hold of your kid and hold them tight, protecting them from any possible harm. Yet, this is not what they need most from us. What they need from us is our wise and grounded self, listening to them, helping them find their own way forward. Most parents could benefit from some help to navigate their children’s quest for independence in a world beyond our ability to control.
Spartan Family Connections and the MSU Division of University Health and Wellbeing and are teaming up to offer Spartan families two opportunities to gather in community, reflect on this parental challenge, and explore keys skills such as:
- Strengthening your ability to notice when your stress response is activated
- Increasing capacity to ground yourself in the red hot moment of your upset and fear
- Interrupting unhelpful thought habits
- Managing your own emotional reactions
- Increasing the likelihood of responding from your deepest, wisest self
Join us for one of these online reflect and connect sessions by registering using the link below.
Wednesday, Feb. 7, 6-7:30 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 12, 4-5:30 p.m.
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Martin Luther King Jr. Events
A variety of exciting and educational opportunities will be offered to the MSU community in celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the historical events that took place in our nation and on our campus. A calendar of events can be found here. Please note, the university will be closed Monday, Jan. 15 in observance of Dr. King’s birthday. Residence halls will remain open and residential dining hours can be found here.
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Meal Forms for Ill Students
As a reminder, students who are sick should not pick up their on-campus meals in person to help avoid spreading illness to the campus community. Culinary Services has a sick meal pickup process in place. Any ill student can complete a Sick Meal Pickup Arrangements Form and provide the completed copy (printed or electronic) to the person designated to pick up their meal. The student must complete a separate form for each requested meal period (e.g., breakfast, lunch, dinner). Additionally, students are not allowed to provide their ID card for someone else to pick up their food because meals are nontransferable.
The form is available at eatatstate.com/FAQs. Dining hall entrance host stands and residence hall service centers also have copies of the form.
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Make Health and Well-being a Priority in 2024
The start of a new year is a popular time to reflect and make changes focused on improving health and well-being. While change can be positive, it is important to be aware of diet culture messages and health misinformation that can lead to harmful or dangerous trends that impact attitudes and behaviors related to food, eating, weight and physical activity. MSU University Health and Wellbeing (UHW) encourages a health-centered approach for students to learn and practice skills that support well-being and contribute to academic success. Below are a few ideas you can share with your Spartan that can help support their physical and mental health year-round.
- Prioritize adequate and quality sleep patterns.
- Plan for eating regular and reliable meals and snacks throughout the day.
- Build meaningful social relationships and connections with others.
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Find enjoyable ways to engage in physical activity.
- Build and practice stress management skills.
- Connect with campus and community resources and services.
Health and well-being will be top of mind at MSU in 2024. UHW is committed to supporting both individual and community well-being at MSU by providing relevant information, resources and services that meet the diverse health needs of students.
To further support our Spartan community, UHW is conducting a health and well-being assessment this semester. A survey link was sent to MSU students, staff and faculty, and responses will be kept anonymous. Focus groups will also be conducted. Information gathered will help UHW identify prevalent health trends and issues, understand gaps in services, and identify potential solutions.
To learn more about proactive steps that can help your support your Spartan if needed, visit
caps.msu.edu/resources/Parents.html.
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FAFSA Information From the Office of Financial Aid
The new FAFSA application is now available at FAFSA.gov. As the U.S. Department of Education (ED) monitors the rollout of the new system, any important updates will be available at studentaid.gov. ED has indicated MSU should begin receiving FAFSA data at the end of January. Processing and loading of this data will take several weeks, after which financial aid packages will be available in the financial aid student portal at student.msu.edu. We will provide any key information and updates on this process at finaid.msu.edu/fafsa2024. If you have questions or would like assistance with the new FAFSA, contact the MSU Office of Financial Aid, where advisers are ready to help.
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1098-T Information
Your student can view their 1098-T in SIS, or you can retrieve it with guest access, by clicking on the “Student Accounts” tile. On the left is a drop down: “View Tax Forms” and “View 1098-T” are options to select. 1098-T forms are required to be available by Jan. 31. To view frequently asked questions, visit the 1098-T FAQ page on the Controller’s website.
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Graduation Notes From the Office of the Registrar
If your student is eligible to apply for graduation for spring semester 2024, now is the time to apply. Graduation applications for summer semester 2024 also opened Jan. 8. At MSU, there are two parts to graduation: applying to graduate (in SIS) and registering to participate in commencements at commencement.msu.edu, which is the resource for all commencement-related information.
Please keep in mind, if your student is applying to graduate and they have FERPA restrictions on their account, their name will not appear in the commencement program. Students can check to see if they have FERPA restrictions by selecting “My Profile” in student.msu.edu and clicking “FERPA Restrictions” in the left navigation, then “FERPA Activities View.” To remove restrictions, simply uncheck the box.
With the holiday break and end of term processes, most degrees for December 2023 graduates will not be conferred until after Jan. 5. Once your student’s degree is conferred, they will receive a confirmation email from the Office of the Registrar. Students will receive their diplomas in the mail, typically 4-6 weeks after the conferral date for domestic students, and 6-8 weeks for international students.
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2024-25 Housing Selection for Current First Year Students
Residence hall sign-up for current first-year students will take place later this semester. Housing contracts will open in early February and be due in March, ahead of selection. Students will be able to choose their own space and their roommate. An interest form will be available for students interested in a single room space prior to the regular room selection process.
Learn more at liveon.msu.edu/residence-hall-sign-up.
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Updates from MSU DPPS
As students head back to campus for the spring semester, the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety would like to remind families to encourage their students to download the SafeMSU App to their phones. The app provides access to valuable safety resources directly to Spartan’s hands. Students should also log in to alert.msu.edu and review and update their notification preferences. MSU DPPS will conduct a full system test of its campus alert notification system Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. This is standard at the beginning of every semester. As always, MSU DPPS can be contacted any time at 517-355-2221. In the case of an emergency, contact 911 — call if you can, text if you can't.
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Have You Made it This Far?
Let’s celebrate! Click here to enter to win two (2) MSU Dairy Store single scoop coupons (one entry per person). Drawing will take place Jan. 31. Watch your email for updates!
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Undergraduate Action Items
On a monthly basis, Vice Provost & Dean of Undergraduate Education Dr. Mark Largent and Senior Vice President for Student Life & Engagement Vennie Gore send an Action Item email to all undergraduate students. You can find this messaging here.
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Upcoming Events and Important Dates
January
Jan. 12-19: 44th Annual MLK Commemorative Celebration events
Jan. 12: Last day to add a class for spring semester
Jan. 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, university closed, residence and dining halls open
Jan 18: College Nights at Wharton Center, "Mamma Mia!"
February
Feb. 1: Second spring semester payment plan installment due
Feb. 1: Last day to drop a full-session course with applicable refund
Feb. 7: Spartan Family Connect and Reflect Session, register here
Feb. 12: Spartan Family Connect and Reflect Session, register here
Feb. 13: Classes canceled, university open
Feb. 26-March 1: Spring break, residence and dining halls open
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