Pieces of Success for NEC Students

The January 2012 Term begins on Tuesday, January 17th.  Before the term starts, we are offering a workshop for new students to help them learn more about registering, buying books, being a successful learner, communicating effectively with instructors and mentors, and engaging with a student panel to learn some tips for a successful first term at Empire State College.  Some of the information is also a great refresher for continuing students or students who have stopped out for a while.

We hope you will join us:

January 11th (Wednesday) — 6:00 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Join us online (http://bit.ly/NECworkshops) or onsite in Latham or Saratoga

See details below….

Completing orientation is only the first of many pieces to your success at SUNY Empire State College’s Northeast Center (NEC). Now that you have met your mentor and learned about the many resources available to you, you are ready to put together the other pieces that will help you have a successful first term.

At four important stages during your first term, we are offering workshops and interactive sessions conducted by staff and current students in order to provide you with the additional resources and effective strategies crucial to helping you piece together a successful academic experience.

The second event in the series is titled “Start The Term Off Right” and is offered February 1st (Wednesday) from 6 p.m.-7 p.m.  Please see the details for that workshop and the others below.

Pieces Save the dates Jan 2012 - click this to find out more about the other workshops in this series.

This Open House is available to any SUNY Empire State College and you may attend face-to-face in Latham or Saratoga or  online.

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Start The Term Off Right

Each offering will have a workshop, a student panel, and light refreshments.

• Starting the Term Off Right
• Student & Academic Support Resources
• Organizing Yourself : Learning Contracts, Assignments, & Maintaining a Balanced Life
• Student Panel : Study Smart & Other Success Tips

Evening- February 1st (Wednesday) — 6:00 p.m. – 7 p.m.

To reserve your spot at one of our face-to-face locations or to receive the link for the online session, please email NECAcademicSupport@esc.edu or call (518)783-6203.

Please indicate the date, time, and location (Latham, Saratoga, or online) that you would like to attend.

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The next Open House/Workshop in the series is in late February and the final is in April.

Midterm Check-in

• What’s Going Right? What Can Go Better?
• Critical Thinking & Reading
• Using the Library and Doing Research
• Student Panel: What I Should Have Done & Other Success Tips

Evening- February 29th (Wednesday) — 6:00 p.m. – 7 p.m.

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The End is in Sight

• Finishing On Time
• Stress Management
• Student Panel: Planning Your Next Steps
• & Other Success Tips

Evening- April 11th (Wednesday) — 6:00 p.m. – 7 p.m.

It’s that time of the term again…the long awaited and dreaded end of term. Long awaited because you want the break and dreaded because of all the work that is left to do.

If you are having concerns about how to to finish on time, you have several options to help support you at this time of the term.  Make an appointment with a Learning Coach or Peer Coach or look at all the materials on the NEC Academic Support webpage.

Or, join us on Friday, December 2nd (morning) and Wednesday, December 7th (evening) we will be hosting the final offering in the September 2011 term.

The End is in Sight

• Finishing On Time
• Stress Management
• Student Panel: Planning Your Next Steps & Other Success Tips

Daytime – December 2nd (Friday) — 9:30 to 11:30 am

Evening- December 7th (Wednesday) — 5:30 to 7:30 pm

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Join us online (http://bit.ly/NECworkshops) or onsite in Latham or Saratoga

To reserve your spot at one of our face-to-face locations or to receive the link for the online session, please email NECAcademicSupport@esc.edu or call (518)783-6203.

Please indicate the date, time, and location (Latham, Saratoga, or online) that you would like to attend.

Here in Latham, it was New Student Orientation Day yesterday.

For me New Student Orientation Day is exciting . It’s a day to welcome new Northeast Center students and introduce them to the Center’s staff, faculty, and administrators. It reminds me how exciting this can be for you if you are a new student. It also reminds me how nervous you can feel when they sit down at orientation.

 We do our best to make each of you feel welcome and that you have made the right choice in coming through that front door of the Northeast Center. I also encourage you to ask questions as new (and experienced) students. Your questions help all of us here at the Center to know what information is important to you. Sometimes those of us, who work here every day, forget how complicated ESC can be when you start out.

 Here are some of the questions that our newest students asked at yesterday’s orientation in Latham, along with some information that I hope sends you in the right direction.

How can I find out about scholarships to help me pay for college?

Scholarship information can be found in a couple of places on the Empire State College website. You can look at the following links:

www.esc.edu/scholarships   This is the link to the ESC Foundation web page. The ESC foundation awards scholarships to students in the Fall of each year. At the Northeast Center, Student Services receives a list of the Foundation scholarships and all eligible students each summer. We email each eligible student the list of scholarships and ask students to let us know which of the scholarships they think they are eligible for. This information, along with recommendations from mentors is forwarded to the Student Accounts office where awards are determined, and students are notified.

Please carefully read over the general guidelines for Foundation Scholarships on the web page.

 www.esc.edu/financialaid  This is the link to the ESC main Financial Aid page. On this page there is a bulleted list of links. If you click on this link “Financial Aid Programs and Eligibility Requirements”, you will be directed to a page that includes information about many other sources of aid and scholarship opportunities.

 What are “residency classes”?

Residency programs offer you the opportunity to take undergraduate studies in a blended-model that combines face-to-face group meetings with an online component.

 The format for residency programs varies, but in general a residency provides a face-to-face group meeting combined with an online component. You register for a residency course during the standard registration period. You first access the course materials generally on line (through Angel) and have readings and/or assignments to work on before you meet face to face in a group with other students who are enrolled in the same course. These meetings are usually held at the Northeast Center or a local venue that is connected to the residency theme. During the face to face meetings, you have the opportunity to network with, and hear from, professionals and community leaders and attend career building workshops. Many students find residency programs to be a preferred mode of study that provides the support to accomplish their goals while balancing the demands of work, life and family responsibilities.

A sample of the residency programs can be seen at this web site: www.esc.edu/bmeresidency

 Where can I use my student ID?

Your ESC ID card can be used at other SUNY and CUNY libraries. You can also use it to get student discounts at some local businesses. Bookstores and movie theaters often have a student discount policy. Here at NEC, I would like to collect information on local businesses that offer discounts to ESC students. If you know of a business that gave you a student discount, please email me at:  NEC.StudentServcies@esc.edu

I look foward to your comments, Joan Johnsen

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