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PARENT’S NEWSLETTER November 2008 Student Organization Men’s & Women’s Rugby Football Club Rugby is a great team sport mostly played overseas that is becoming more widespread in the state of Florida. FAU has a men and a women's team. The men’s and women’s team both meet at 7 pm on Tuesday and Thursday nights at Henderson Field (which is right by the student apartments). They travel all throughout Florida and play matches against other schools. Games are held on Saturday's. Furthermore, they do volunteer work within the community and fundraise throughout the year. Rugby is a tough sport but students meet many wonderful people because it is a social sport as well. Anyone who meets them always talks about their camaraderie and great sportsmanship.
For more information visit
www.faurugby.com or contact the
Women’s team Captain, Tara at
OWL PARENT ASSOCIATION Dear Owl Parent, FAU is embarking on a new venture in starting the Owl Parent Association. Our goal is to provide parents with the information they need to support their college students, and an opportunity to connect with other FAU parents. The Owl Parent Association is proud to announce the following parents have agreed to serve on the Parental Advisory Board: Allison Underwood, Jack and Arlene Halsey, John Williams, Leroy Carter, Linda Herman, Lori Martin, Martha Patrick, and Darlene Geiger. By joining the Owl Parent Association, you can become a part of this new and exciting, volunteer-driven organization. We would like to gain support of all parents and provide opportunities for parents of FAU students to develop a closer relationship with FAU. We are here to support you, just as you are supporting your students during their FAU college experience. For further details on joining the Parents Association, please go to our website www.fau.edu/parents or e-mail clynch12@fau.edu. Sincerely, Owl Parent Advisory Board Question of the Month Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Fund How Does a Student Renew? · A student who receives funding during the current academic year (fall through spring) is automatically evaluated for renewal at the end of the spring term. Renewal institutional cumulative GPA and completed hours requirements are outlined in the table below. · The institution where a student is enrolled as degree- or certificate-seeking is the home institution. That institution determines the courses to be included in each student’s renewal institutional cumulative GPA. · A student may request that a financial aid officer at the home institution use his/her high school dual enrollment courses, if to his/her advantage, when calculating the renewal institutional cumulative GPA. · Summer grades and hours earned after spring evaluation may be used if necessary to meet the scholarship renewal requirements . A student must ask a financial aid officer at the home institution (that reported his/her spring renewal grade and hours) to submit a grade and hours update to the Bright Futures office indicating the adjusted institutional cumulative GPA and/or hours. · A student who does not meet minimum hour requirements during the academic year (fall through spring) or the summer after spring evaluation will no longer be eligible for a Bright Futures award. · A student who earns the FMS or GSV in high school may not renew to the FAS because initial eligibility for the award was based on high school academic accomplishments. · Academic Top Scholars renewal eligibility is based on the FAS annual renewal requirement. Renewal of the FAS will also earn renewal of the ATS. · A student may choose to attend and receive Bright Futures funding for only one term during the academic year. Renewal criteria for this student will include completion of a minimum of six semester hours per term funded (or the equivalent in quarter or clock hours) and the minimum institutional cumulative GPA requirement.
· If a student’s institutional cumulative GPA (unrounded and unweighted), as reported by the home postsecondary institution, was less than a 2.75 and he/she was ineligible for funding, the student may apply for restoration in an academic year after which the 2.75 institutional cumulative GPA requirement was met. (The 2.75 GPA must be met before the fall term for which the student is applying.) · To request restoration, a student must complete a Reinstatement/Restoration Application for Students available on the OSFA Web site at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org by selecting the links State Grants, Scholarships & Applications, Apply Here, and then Reinstatement/Restoration Application for Students. New applications are available February 1 each year. · A student has a one-time opportunity to restore his/her scholarship. · In addition to the application, the last Florida institution where the student attended as degree- or certificate-seeking must certify online the institutional cumulative GPA which will determine his/her eligibility to restore. · A student who last attended an out-of-state postsecondary institution must request that his/her transcripts be submitted to: OSFA, Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, 1940 North Monroe Street, Suite 70, Tallahassee, Florida 32303-4759. · By contacting the financial aid office at the last postsecondary institution attended, a student may request that high school dual enrollment courses be used in calculating the institutional cumulative GPA if the use of these courses benefits the student. · OSFA recommends that restoration applications be submitted online by July 1 for a timely fall disbursement or by December 15 for a belated fall or timely spring disbursement. The deadline for submission of 2008-09 academic year restoration applications is May 30, 2009. · Funding is not available to a student prior to restoring the scholarship. If a Student’s FAS is Renewed the Following Year to a FMS due to Receipt of a 2.75-2.99 Institutional Cumulative GPA, How Can the FAS be Restored? · A student has a one-time opportunity to restore his/her scholarship. · Each subsequent renewal period, a renewing student will automatically be evaluated for restoration to the FAS if the student’s institutional cumulative GPA is reported by the home postsecondary institution at the minimum required 3.0 or above. No application is required. · Funding will then be available to the student at the FAS level beginning in the fall of the upcoming academic year. This will be the one-time restoration opportunity.
· If an eligible student did not receive scholarship funds for the last academic year (fall through spring), he/she must complete a Reinstatement/Restoration Application for Students available on the OSFA Web site at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org to reinstate the scholarship. Select the links State Grants, Scholarships & Applications, Apply Here, and then Reinstatement/Restoration Application for Students. Please note that the academic year for which a student is applying is at the top of the application. New applications are available February 1 each year. · OSFA recommends that reinstatement applications be submitted online by July 1 for a timely fall disbursement or by December 15 for a belated fall or timely spring disbursement. The deadline for submission of 2008-09 academic year reinstatement applications is May 30, 2009. · If eligible for reinstatement, the student will receive the Bright Futures award (FAS, FMS, or GSV) for which he/she was last determined eligible. · A student must receive funding within three years after high school graduation or apply for reinstatement within three years after high school graduation and receive funds for the next academic year. · Once a student has received funding (for a minimum of one term), he/she is eligible to apply for reinstatement up to seven years from high school graduation. What if a Student Does Not Meet the Minimum Credit Hours Required for Renewal? A student who does not earn the minimum hour requirements, during the academic year (fall through spring) or the summer after summer evaluation, will no longer be eligible for his/her Bright Futures award. To find more information about Florida Bright Futures, please visit: http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/SSFAD/factsheets/BF.htm
Taking GREEN to the Next
Level
Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science is striving to construct the first state funded, higher education, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified platinum level building. This is the first building of a planned complex of engineering buildings on the north side of FAU’s Boca Raton campus. FAU plans to build the facility in compliance with standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) through its LEED Green Building Rating System. The LEED designation ensures that the building is energy efficient, uses innovative technologies and offers users a clean, healthy interior environment. “Because our college is on the forefront of energy conservation and environmental research, it is important that our new home showcase to the community what we are teaching and learning,” said Karl K. Stevens, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “I think of this building as a living laboratory of ideas. After much planning, we are excited to see it become a reality.” An appropriation of $43 million from the state’s Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) program is funding the project. In addition, a $50,000 planning grant for sustainable design was received from The Kresge Foundation Green Building Initiative. The 90,000-square-foot building will provide an environmentally friendly new home for engineering students, faculty and staff. The dynamic space will include classroom space, teaching labs, meeting rooms, study and workstations, reading lounges, food service venues and recreational/entertainment areas. Schwab, Twitty and Hanser Architectural Group were selected for their experience in designing other LEED-certified buildings. Construction will be handled by James A. Cummings, Inc., a Perini Corporation. The team will recycle construction waste, use renewable building products and purchase materials from within a 500-mile radius of the Boca Raton campus. A ceremonial “ground greening” event recently took place in celebration of the anticipated landmark building on FAU’s Boca Raton campus. Calendar of Events
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Opening Reception –
Fall Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition
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The Nutcracker
For more information on campus events, please visit: http://www.fau.edu/success/CampusCalendars.php Office of the Month Financial Aid The student financial aid programs are administered according to a nationally accepted policy that the family (meaning parents, student and/or spouse) is responsible for educational expenses. Financial aid is available to supplement a family’s contribution in order to help students meet the cost of postsecondary education. After Applying for Financial Aid When the Federal Processor completes the analysis of your information, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR). On this report the government will provide data regarding your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). It is what the Federal Government has determined that your household contributes towards your education, based on the information you provided on our FAFSA. The Office of Student Financial Aid will then compute your financial need by taking the Cost of Attendance estimate for your program (which is primarily a function of how many credits you are taking, your planned housing status, and whether or not you are a Florida resident etc.), subtract from this the EFC, and arrive at a determination of financial need. COA (Cost of Attendance) - EFC (Expected Family Contribution) = NEED You may be awarded combinations of fee waivers, grants, scholarships, subsidized loans up to this need level, depending on the availability of funds. These are defined as need based programs. What students need to DO: · Annually complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) · Complete on-line Summer Application for Financial Aid (if attending in the summer) · Follow/complete procedures as required for State Programs (if applicable) · Utilize MyFau/web search for internal/external scholarship search What students need to KNOW: · Deferments can only be applied for accepted award letters received in the Financial Aid Office by Drop/Add date of each semester and covers up to the amount award – student is responsible for excess amount · BRIGHT FUTURES can be transferred only between Florida schools · Direct Deposit through any Lender who participates · Financial Aid distribution begins the third week of classes; disbursements for first time loan borrowers will be delayed · NEED to read carefully Terms & Conditions of Awards, attached to all award letters · Short Term Advances are available at www.fau.edu/finaid to assist eligible financial aid recipients in meeting educational expenses (i.e. books) incurred prior to the disbursement of financial aid funds To find more information on Financial Aid, please visit http://www.fau.edu/finaid/ or call (561)297-6532 |
