January 2012 - Parent E-Newsletter
Parent E-Newsletter – January 2012
• Welcome
• PLNU Dates to Remember
• Chapel & Time-Out Schedule
• PLNU News
• Offices of Strengths and Vocation: Life after Graduation
• Student Financial Information
• Sweet Celebration Treat!
Welcome
Hello Parents,
A new year is upon us and I pray that the year ahead will be filled with great trust in the Lord, fulfilled dreams, and much joy for you and your family.
As usual, the Spring Semester is a busy one. So, we will do our best to keep you up to date on all that is going on here on campus. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help!
Happy New Year!
Blessings,
Cristy Booher
Parent Connection Manager
parents@pointloma.edu
PLNU Dates to Remember
January 8 – Residence Halls Open at Noon
January 10 – Classes Begin (including Quad I Classes), Monday Schedule*
January 16 – No Classes, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 20 – Last Day to Add 15-Week Classes
January 25 – Study Abroad Fair
January 30-February 3 – Spiritual Renewal Week
January 31 – MBA Info Night
*Please note that classes start on Tuesday, but will follow a Monday schedule (just like the Fall Semester started). That means that Monday is a day for the students to unpack, buy their books, find out where their classes are, and do any other preparation they need for the semester of classes.
Chapel & Time-Out Schedule – All Things New
1/11 – Chapel: Wesleyan Covenant
1/11 – TimeOut: Derek Richdale
1/13 – Chapel: Mark Carter, PLNU Chaplain
1/16 – No Chapel
1/18 – Chapel: Praise & Worship
1/18 – TimeOut: Pami Young
1/30 – Chapel: Spiritual Renewal Week: Tanya Cantarella
View Chapel via the Live Stream.
More information about Chapel.
PLNU News
Stay up to date by visiting the PLNU website. You can always find recent information about what is going on around campus HERE.
RA Selection Process
The RA hiring process for the 2012-2013 school year has begun. There will be an informational meeting in Cunningham from 8-9 p.m. on January 12. This meeting provides information about the RA selection process and gives you a time to meet and talk with the Resident Directors.
If your student would like to download an application or get more information, please visit the Residential Life portal page.
2012 PLNU Senior Women’s Forum Retreat
For seven years now, the Women's Forum has been a place for PLNU senior females to gather and prepare for life beyond Loma. It's a time to get away, deepen friendships, connect with other PLNU seniors for the first time, and learn from those a bit farther down the road than you. The retreat is January 27-29, 2012.
Registration information is online at www.pointloma.edu/womensforum.
More information.
Contact: MelissaTucker@pointloma.edu.
More News
Debate Team Wins PSCFA Fall Championship
PLNU Welcomes New Associate Vice President for University Advancement
Melissa Tucker’s Article Published in Engage Magazine
Psychology Professor Publishes Yoyo Dad’s Journal
Students and Faculty Collaborate for Religious Communication Association Conference
PLNU Has Third Highest CPA Exam Pass Rate in California
Student Writing Contest - Deadline 2/20/12
Offices of Strengths and Vocation
Life after Graduation
It seems the way you start any article on finding work after college begins with, “It is a tough job market.” Students of the graduating class of 2012 who will be looking for employment need to have outstanding résumés, be persistent in applying to many jobs, and should always be prepared to network and follow-up on leads and connections. The average timeframe in finding employment has been estimated to being close to 7 months. In other words, seniors need to start now. Finding a job is a full-time endeavor! 
Some of the patterns we saw for last year’s graduating class were that many of their internships worked into full or part-time paid positions. We were also in contact with a few seniors who used the entire summer in a full-time effort for their employment search. The majority of the students who found employment right after graduation began the process of networking, having informational interviews, and applying for positions during the late fall of their senior year.
Transitioning from college life to the world of work is often seen through rose colored glasses of the students. They cannot wait to be done with studying, are ready to finally earn real money, and leave the dorm life. However, many will quickly realize their free time is actually less, they are not able to set their own schedules, and the less pressured part-time positions are a thing of the past. The perfect dream job is not always the first job after graduation. The harsh reality of starting at the bottom, doing tasks that are mundane and ritualistic, and having the entire week consumed with working begins to set in. We know of a few graduates from last year who decided to quit their jobs after experiencing this beginning place in their careers. However, to their dismay, when they began their job search again, there were either no openings or the available positions were less appealing than the ones they left. Encourage your new graduate to stick it out, do activities they enjoy, and make a plan to accomplish greater things in life. We always tell new graduates in OSV it is easier to get a job when you have a job. Don’t quit your current position!
A new trend we saw with a few students last year was them making the decision to take advantage of the poor job market and seeking new experiences such as volunteering with non-profit organizations, with Teach for America, or being a nanny or teacher in foreign countries. Their hope was there would be more jobs available after taking this time and before they started their careers. The only downside I have seen with some of these graduates who returned home is that jobs are still not available and they have lost many of their networking opportunities. They have had to start all over finding new connections, scheduling informational interviews, and working part-time while looking for full-time employment. 
We recommend that all seniors take advantage of the services in The Offices of Strengths and Vocation. Seniors should attend as many networking events as possible, inquire about leads for informational interviews, check the job board for spring internships that could lead to full-time employment, have their cover letter and résumé reviewed, and schedule an appointment for a practice interview. We always recommend to the students to start with a list of 100 people they know and then ask those contacts if they have a connection for an informational interview of someone in their career field of interest. We realize this requires a lot of work during the last semester of their senior year, but it is the persistent student who uses available resources who finds the most success.
Say you “Like” us on the OSV Facebook page and check out all the photos from our events!
Facebook: facebook.com/OSVatPLNU
Twitter: @OSVatPLNU
Student Financial Information
Important Student Financial Services Dates
January 3 Spring 2012 Payment Due
January 20 Deadline to make changes to on-campus meal plan
January 23 Financial Aid posted to Student Accounts
January 31 1098-T tax forms will be available through student portal
February 3 Deadline to waive health insurance
February 6 5% Late Fee Applied to all unpaid balances
SPRING 2012 STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT
If your student is registered for the spring semester, s/he should already have received a statement of account in the mail. If you have not seen the spring statement, please contact your student or visit the parent portal to view the statement. All future bills for the spring semester will be made available on the student and parent portals. Payment for Spring 2012 was due January 3, 2012. Amounts showing as Pending aid are considered payment, even if they haven’t yet posted.
If your student has provided you with financial information releases, you will receive a postcard each month that a bill is generated, notifying you that the bill is available to be viewed online through your parent portal. If you’d prefer to receive this notification by email, please update your “Notification Preferences” through your parent portal (this is found on the same page as the statement of account, under Financial Services). Please be sure that we have a valid email address on file for you.
BOOK MONEY ADVANCES
Students who will have a credit balance for the spring semester can receive a book money advance during the first two weeks of the semester. Spring financial awards will not be posted until January 23rd. Students with credit balances will need to contact SFS for the money to be advanced. According to federal law (FERPA), college students are responsible for their own records. This forbids educational institutions from divulging information or refunding credit balances without the student’s permission.
MEAL PLAN AND HEALTH INSURANCE DEADLINES
Students who are looking to change meal plans or to decline health insurance can make these changes on their student portal. Meal plans need to be changed by January 20th and health insurance needs to be declined by February 3rd.
CHAPEL AND DORM FINES
Chapel and dorm fines for the fall semester have recently been posted to students’ accounts and can be viewed by generating a new bill online through the student or parent portal.
1098-T TAX FORMS
We will be reporting to the IRS the amount of tuition and mandatory fees that PLNU charged your student in 2011. This information will be included on a 1098-T tax form which will be available through the student portal by January 31st. Please have your student print this form and provide it to your tax preparer.
TUITION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
If you currently have a monthly payment contract set up with Tuition Management Systems (TMS), please compare the amount of your contract to the amount owing on your spring statement of account. If you need to make any adjustments, please contact TMS directly at http://www.afford.com/ptloma or 888-285-3052. TMS does not have access to your PLNU account balance, but they can help you adjust the amount of your contract based on information you provide to them from your statement of account. You’ll want to be sure to keep an eye on your PLNU statement of account, in case there are any changes to registration or any additional charges added to the account (such as fines).
If you have any questions regarding your student’s statement of account, please feel free to contact the Student Financial Services Office at 619.849.2538 Monday through Thursday, 8:30 AM-5:00 PM and 8:30- 4:30 on Friday or email us at sfs@pointloma.edu. We are here to serve you!
HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!!
Send a Celebration Treat!
Point Loma Nazarene University Women’s Auxiliary
Would you like to send your student some homemade desserts? For a $25 donation, the Women’s Auxiliary of PLNU will lovingly bake homemade cakes, cookies, or brownies and have them delivered right to your student’s residence hall!
You can order and pay online at www.pointloma.edu/cake.
Proceeds from this fundraiser are going toward Women’s Auxiliary’s NEW fundraising efforts to update the resident halls’ lounges. So, it is a double benefit for your student!
Please note: Two weeks advanced notice is appreciated.
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