October 2016 Newsletter

Student Mental Wellness –the Focus of New Task Force

While the college years offer newness, excitement and academic and personal growth, for many students it can also be a time of tremendous stress and anxiety. Reinforcing its commitment to student well-being and success, Purdue University has just launched the Mental Wellness Task Force, created to help students build resiliency and coping skills as they navigate the unique emotions and demands of university life.

“As a campus community and nationally, we have been witnessing an increased demand for mental health services,” said Dr. Beth McCuskey, Vice Provost for Student Life. “Mental health services will continue to be available, but in some cases our students primarily need resources and guidance on how to deal with the new world around them—for example, communication skills, coping skills, how to handle those tough test scores, perhaps for the first time in their lives.”

The Task Force comprises a group of university partners who are trained and focused on five universal themes: Problem solving—understanding that everyone has challenges and asking for help is okay; Failure—the acceptance of which is an important part of learning and success; Core Values—how to clarify them while adapting to a new normal; Coping with Stress—by building resilience and finding healthy ways to “de-stress”; and Interpersonal Relationships—how to communicate, respectfully disagree and navigate challenges in a positive manner.

“The Mental Wellness Task Force embodies the commitment on behalf of our faculty, administrators and staff to equip our students with as many resources as possible to help them succeed,” said McCuskey. It’s really “one giant leap for student-kind,” making Purdue a leader in overall wellness for our students and campus community!”

Note:

Over the next few months, stories will be posted that delve deeper into the five universal themes noted in this article. Families are encouraged to visit the Mental Wellness Task Force website for more information and a full list of resources available to students.

Featured Stories

Family Weekend

Family Weekend 2016 brought families from all over the globe to campus for a number of events. From a Wine & Food Tasting on Friday evening, to a number of activities throughout the day on Saturday including academic college open houses; the announcement of the Parent & Family Campaign; a Boilermaker win against Nevada for the Hammer Down Cancer football game; and over 8200 people attending the Mackey Match with the Boilermakers taking on IU in Volleyball. Events for Sunday included a Family Service Project @ ACE Campus Pantry and many families enjoyed brunch at the campus dining courts. As we continue to grow Family Weekend programming, we welcome your feedback, the survey will be open through Monday, October 10th.

Parent & Family Campaign Announced

On September 24, President Mitch Daniels announced the Parent & Family Campaign as part of Ever True: The Campaign for Purdue University. Spotlighting the impact that parents and family members make on Purdue through philanthropy, this initiative seeks to raise $30 million by June 30, 2019, when the overarching campaign concludes. Dollars raised through the campaign go to any area you wish, including academic programs, scholarships, student organizations, or the Purdue Parents Fund, which supports student success, leadership, and well-being. To find out more—and learn how you can make a gift that helps deliver higher education at the highest proven value—visit purdue.edu/evertrue/parentfamily.

Flu Vaccinations for Students

Beginning Wednesday, October 12, students can receive their flu vaccination for $30 from PUSH. Students will need to make an appointment by calling 765-494-1700, and need to bring their Purdue ID and insurance card with them to the appointment. Students with the United Healthcare Student Resource insurance will have the immunization billed to the insurance, all others will pay at the time of their appointment or have the charge put on their Bursar bill.

Commencement

Do you have a student slated to graduate this December? There are a number of key dates and information they need to be aware of.

Winter 2016 Commencement

• Division I - Sunday, December 18, 2016, 9:30 a.m.
  • Health and Human Sciences
  • Management
  • Pharmacy
  • Polytech Institute
  • Science
  • Veterinary Medicine
• Division II - Sunday, December 18, 2016, 2:30 p.m.
  • Agriculture
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • Liberal Arts

Spring 2017 Commencement

• Division I - Friday, May 12, 2017, 3:00 p.m.
  • Graduate School (All School and Colleges)
• Division II - Friday, May 12, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
  • Education
  • Health and Human Sciences
• Division IIl - Saturday, May 13, 2017, 9:30 a.m.
  • Liberal Arts
  • Polytechnic Institute
• Division IV - Saturday, May 13, 2017, 2:30 p.m.
  • Agriculture
  • Management
  • Pharmacy
• Division V - Sunday, May 14, 2017, 9:30 a.m.
  • Engineering (Aero & Astro, Industrial)
  • Science
  • Veterinary Medicine
• Division VI - Sunday, May 14, 2017, 2:30 p.m.
  • Engineering (Agricultural & Biological, Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Construction, Elect & Computer, Engineering Education, Environ & Ecological, Materials, Mechanical, Nuclear)

Did you know- FAFSA

Families interested in receiving financial aid (including federal loans) at Purdue University for the 2017-2018 academic year could begin to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as early as October 1, 2016. For maximum consideration the student FAFSA must be received by Purdue’s priority filing date, March 1, 2017.

Instead of waiting until January-February and reporting personal and family income using previous year tax data, the 2017-18 FAFSA will look two years back and use 2015 tax data for the second year in a row.  This change will allow most current students and their families to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) to complete the FAFSA with their already completed 2015 IRS tax return information.

Students and families can visit http://www.fafsa.gov/ to complete their FAFSA by using the IRS DRT.

Applicants and parents must have a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) to complete the FAFSA filing process. If you do not have an FSAID or cannot access it, you can create, retrieve or reactivated it at https://fsaid.ed.gov.

University Residences

Resident Assistant (RA) Recruitment

Information sessions are underway for students interested in becoming an RA. There are a number of sessions scheduled through Sunday, October 16. Students interested in becoming an RA must attend one information session in order to gain access to the application.

University Residences Contract Renewal for 2017-18 begins November 2nd at noon

Current residents will have an opportunity to select where they will be living on-campus for the 2017-18 academic year beginning November 2, 2016 at noon. Residents were sent an email on October 4 to make them aware of the upcoming date and to also inform them of available Move Up Options Tours. Families of current University Residences students can be on the lookout for a mailer soon with additional information. More information will also be available in the November Parent & Family newsletter.

Dates

Oct. 10-11, Fall Break- Note- Revised Dining Court Hours

Oct. 26, 5:00 p.m. – Last Day to Add/Modify a Course With Instructor, Advisor, and Department Head Signatures

Nov. 2, University Residences Contract Renewal Begins

Nov. 23-26, Thanksgiving Vacation

Dec. 10, Classes end

Dec. 12-17, Final Exams

Dec. 17, Semester Ends

Jan. 9, Spring Semester Begins

Jan. 16, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No Classes

See the full 2016-2017 academic calendar