OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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If you desire more information about your student's transition to college, please consider this excellent text: Donald Smith and Virginia Gordon. A Family Guide to Academic Advising. University of South Carolina: National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, 2003.
You can see the Academic Calendar for recent, current and upcoming terms here.
Academic Advising is one of the most important services that OSU offers. Advisors serve as academic advocates for students. In the case of UESP, our advisors are here not only to help your student select a major and start earning a degree, but also to help them become an educated person. Our advisors attend to the details of students' academic lives, both inside and outside of the classroom. UESP students will begin working with an advisor during START. That person may ultimately be assigned as your student's advisor, or your student may be assigned a different advisor in the fall.
UESP students are required to meet with an advisor once every quarter. If they choose to do so, they may certainly meet with us more than once a term, but all UESP students have at least one mandatory advising appointment per term. Students should be scheduling their appointments well in advance of their priority registration date for the quarter. A good general timeframe, that is easily remembered, centers around these dates: Halloween, Valentine's Day, and Cinco de Mayo.
Being undecided can come with its own set of anxieties, and students need support as they work their way through the decision making process. Understand that this process can take longer for some students than others. The best way to support your student is to encourage them to be active in the process (e.g. sampling a variety of classes and talking to professors and/or advisors in academic areas that interest them) and to see a UESP advisor every term. Encourage them to schedule a timely appointments. Ask them to consider and reflect on how their current courses might influence their major decision making. Ask them to think about what they enjoy, what they dislike, what areas excite their interests, which areas fit well with their values, and which do not. A key aspect of effective decision making is very dependent on information gathering. UESP and OSU can provide students with many helpful resources, but we are obviously not the only source. We often talk to our students about using their family network to get informational interviews. If a student takes an interest in a career or academic area, often the family may have an acquaintance who pursued that profession or major. A conversation with that person can provide the student with valuable insight. Finally, engage with them in the process of weighing their thoughts and options, so that when they come in to discuss these ideas with us, they have begun to formultate certain opinions and questions.
Students entering in UESP in summer 2017 and later, will have 4 terms (not including summer) to stay in our program. Research indicates that students who do their exploration in the first 4 terms are more likely to graduate in 4 years. Many UESP students declare at the end of the first year or the beginning of the second year, but some declare as early as a couple weeks into the term. Certain majors on campus are very restrictive with access to their classes and many of these areas also often involve sequential course work, so depending on the major(s) under consideration, we may move a student more quickly through the exploration and decision making process.
| COLLEGE | LOCATION | PHONE |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural Sciences | Strand Ag Hall 147 | 737-2211 |
| Business | Austin Hall 122 | 737-3716 |
| Earth, Ocean, & Atmospheric Sciences | Wilkinson Hall 104 | 737-1201 |
| Education | Furman Hall 104 | 737-4661 |
| Engineering | Johnson Hall 114 | 737-5236 |
| Forestry | Peavey Forest Science Center 116 | 737-0833 |
| Public Health & Human Sciences | Women's Building 105 | 737-8900 |
| Liberal Arts | Bexell 214 | 737-0561 |
| Science (incl. Pre-Pharmacy) | Kidder Hall 128 | 737-4811 |
OSU requires that every student take one college level math class (105 or higher) to graduate. Your student will take the math placement exam before attending a START (orientation program). This test will give the advisors a good idea of where an individual should begin their studies of mathematics at OSU. For more information on the Math Placement Test go here.
During regular business hours:
Student Health Services in the Plageman Student Health Center on Memorial between Monroe and Campus Way, directly across from Weniger Hall. There is also a satellite clinic in Teabeau Hall on the East side of campus
Students can see a doctor, get routine laboratory work performed, and receive prescriptions through this service. Services are covered through student fees.
There are two urgent care facilities in Corvallis. They are:
Samaritan Urgent Care Center (approximately 1.5 miles from campus)
5234 SW Philomath Boulevard (Safeway shopping center)
(541) 768-4970
Hours: 8:00am to 9:00pm weekdays, 9:00am to 6:00pm Saturdays, and 10:00am to 6:00pm Sundays
Payment: Insurance is honored. Uninsured students will be asked to pay at the time of service.
Corvallis Clinic Immediate Care (approximately 3 miles from campus)
3680 NW Samaritan Drive (near the hospital, in north Corvallis)
(541)754-1282
Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm weekdays and 10:00am to 5:00pm weekends and holidays
Payment: Insurance is honored. Uninsured students will be asked to pay at the time of service.
In a true after hours life-threatening emergency, your student should be taken to:
Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center Emergency Room
3600 NW Samaritan Drive
(541) 768-5111 (hospital switchboard)
The Emergency Room is open 24 hours a day.
Insurance information will be collected at the time of admission.
If there is a campus wide emergency, the University will institute an emergency response plan. That plan differs depending on the relative severity and threat of the crisis. There are three levels of emergency, and three modes of response. Any emergency will be prominently announced on the OSU Homepage. If you would like to read about the emergency plans that the university has in place, visit the Emergency Preparedness website.
If you have a critical need to reach your student and your attempts at reaching them through their personal phone number fails, you may contact one of the following agencies for assistance (depending on the critical nature of the emergency):
If your concern is urgent, occurs during working hours, but is not critical, contact our Office of the Dean of Student Life at (541) 737-8748.
If your concern is urgent, but not critically time sensitive and it is after office hours, contact the Department of Public Safety and Oregon State Police at (541) 737-3010.
If you have an actual emergency and need to contact the Department of Public Safety and Oregon State Police for immediate response, similar to a 911 call, you should call (541) 737-7000.
If you would like to learn more about the billing process and schedule, and see options for payment methods, visit the Student Finance section of the Business Affairs website.
On campus jobs can be found through Human Resources. The Career Development Center houses listings of off campus jobs for students via Handshake. We would encourage you to remind your student of these service as it is a resource for both "work study" and regular student employment jobs located both on and off campus. They will need their ONID email address to log in.
FERPA is federal legislation which restricts access to student information. If you need information about your student, your best course of action is to ask your student directly. Your student is free to give you any information that they want.
If you call an OSU office with a question about your student, they may explain the policy or Academic Regulation that might affect your student, but they cannot discuss your student.
If you feel that your situation is unique, and it is critical to your student's safety or protection that you talk with somebody about your student, please direct your calls to the Registrar's Office at (541) 737-4331, and explain that you would like to discuss a FERPA concern.
The campus community would love to have you as a guest at athletic, cultural, community, or arts events sponsored by OSU. If you are interested in seeing what is being offered, and how to obtain tickets, please follow these links: Athletics, Memorial Union Program Council (MUPC) events or consult the Campus Events Calendar.
Students call home for advice. Research shows that the first place college students turn when they need advice or direction is usually home. Here are some topics that you can discuss with your student, to help her or him utilize resources that are in place and waiting for them at OSU:
Advising Sessions. Every UESP student meets with their academic advisor once each quarter. During that time discussion focuses on major exploration, academic success, and course selection. Feel free to ask your student about their advising experience.
Professors. Research shows that students who interact with their professors one-on-one, tend to have a stronger commitment to class attendance, feel more comfortable asking for additional help, and are less reluctant to ask for special considerations when absences cannot be prevented. Has your student met with their professors yet?
Writing Center. If your student is struggling with putting finishing touches on a writing assignment, or does not know where to begin, there is a place where any student can get help with any writing assignment for any class, practically any time. The Undergrad Research and Writing Studio is located on the first floor of the Valley Library. It is staffed by trained writing tutors, and is a very valuable resource for many students. No appointments are necessary.
Academic coaching. If your student needed individual help getting in shape, you might suggest a personal fitness trainer. Why not a personal academic coach? The Academic Success Center employs trained para-professional academic coaches who work, by appointment, with any student to improve their academic performance. Common topics include time management, study skills, test preparation, or procrastination. If your student seems to need more structure, or stronger study skills, suggest they visit the Academic Success Center in Waldo 125.
Supplemental Instruction is a structured study table program that serves a variety of important courses. These study tables are facilitated by well-trained students who are experts in the content and have close contact with the courses they support. Learn more about this program here.
Science/Math Tutoring Centers. In addition to Supplemental Instruction, there also tutoring support for foundational math and science courses in the College of Science. Read more about these centers here.
Educational Opportunity Program. The EOP office, located at 337 Waldo Hall, is a unique form of support for traditionally underrepresented populations such as persons of color, persons from rurally isolated communities, single parents, or non-traditional returning students among others. If you feel your student could benefit from a little extra academic support and encouragement, suggest that they explore what EOP might have to offer them.
Resident Assistants. Every residence hall has Resident Assistants living in the same space as students. Resident Assisttnts are para-professionals trained to guide, influence, and refer students to campus resources. If your student has a question and doesn't know where to turn, asking a Resident Assistant would probably a good first move.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). CAPS provides confidential and free individual, group, and couples counseling, as well as consultation services to students and family members. These services are designed to help students understand themselves better, improve their academic performance, and make healthy and satisfying career and life choices. CAPS also provides students with access to a very helpful mental health support resource called Anytime Anywhere. It provides access to free and confidential mental health counseling at any time of the day.
Never stop reminding... No matter how intelligent, prepared, or motivated your student is to achieve in college, chances are much better that success will occur if your student stays healthy. Often times that is as simple as eating well, sleeping enough, and remembering to MOVE! Continue to remind your student that their health is important, and encourage healthy habits.
For general information for parents and family members of OSU students, you may also want to visit OSU's campus-wide Parent & Family website.