In This Issue:
- A Letter from Dr. Miller
- Summer Semester Deadlines and Tuition
- Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
- Dining Dollars: Use It Or Lose It
- Dukes Microsoft 365 Account Migration
- Awareness of Parent Scam
- Join Us for Coaches Caravan...Coming Your Way This May!
- Connecting the Dots from Major to Minor
- Go Inside JMU Residence Halls!
- New Study Abroad Programs for Spring 2024
The Madison Family Newsletter is created each month by the Office of Parent Relations in partnership with many members of the JMU community. For more family resources, visit our website.
A Letter from Dr. Tim Miller
Hello JMU families,
As we finish up the school year, I want to thank you for the support you’ve given to your student, to me and to the JMU community as a whole. The JMU experience is truly a partnership and we all work together to support your child as they grow here at JMU and create the best possible life for themselves after graduation. Congratulations to all of you who have students about to graduate, I hope you come back to visit us often and remember that JMU will always be home for them and for you.
Updates
On the weekend of May 19, JMU will migrate all Dukes (@dukes.jmu.edu) Microsoft accounts into the JMU (@jmu.edu) environment. Students will not have access to their account during this time, so we wanted to let you know in case they missed any of the notifications about this change. Once complete, this will improve communication across campus. More details can be found here if you want to learn more.
Also, we have received reports from several families about phone scams, so I wanted to make you aware. The individual calls, identifies themselves as JMU police, and shares an update about a car accident, an alcohol arrest or some other incident. They then share that you must send a certain amount of money electronically (Venmo or CashApp) for bail, a ticket or some other penalty or they will be forced to stay the night in jail. These individuals are “spoofing” the JMU Police phone number, so it looks like it’s real, and they have a good amount of information about the students as well. This has mostly happened with families of student athletes, but we wanted to make all families aware in case you receive this type of call. No one at JMU will ever ask you to send money through these apps or do so over the phone. Please know that the police are looking into these situations and please report this to JMU police if you receive such a call. I am sorry this has happened to some families, and I am hoping awareness like this will help in case any of you receive such a call.
Reminders
If your student lives on campus, this Check out and Move out information from Residence Life can help you and your student be ready. Commencement activities begin on Thursday, May 11 (and continue through Saturday, May 13), so anyone who can move out prior to that is encouraged to do so to avoid the crowds and the traffic.
For students living off campus, most complexes provide detailed instructions for what needs to be done prior to moving out. You may want to remind your student to check their email to be sure they haven’t missed anything. For those not moving out immediately, they should be sure to lock doors and windows and use a dowel rod with the sliding glass door when they are away.
Questions to ask your student
How would you rate this year at JMU from 1-10 and why?
This encourages them to share thoughts or feelings beyond academics. If you just get a number with no explanation, ask them to think about the whole year and share some highlights, like best class/professor, favorite memory, best sunset, favorite picture from the year, etc.
What are you looking forward to next year (or what do you hope to accomplish)?
This can provide insight into goals and priorities. The Student Gateway can help with resources if needed.
If your Duke is graduating, I recommend the following question: Have you and your friends talked about how you plan to stay in touch after graduation?
They won’t want to answer this as they are struggling with the impending separation from their friends but it’s valuable for them to think about this before they leave in the next few weeks. Remind them that these aren’t the best four years of their lives, what comes next is an amazing adventure and their time at JMU has prepared them for what is to come.
Whether this was your first year with us or your last, I hope these letters have been helpful. We’ll continue with updates over the summer as we welcome our next class of Dukes.
Take care and Go Dukes!
Dr. Tim Miller
Vice President for Student Affairs
Summer Semester Deadlines and Tuition
Submitted by: Brandon Cline-Taskey, Director, University Business Office with contributions from the Office of the Registrar
Summer semester is different from fall and spring in a lot of ways.
The first way that summer is different is that a lot of students taking first four-week summer classes do not call them summer classes. They call them “Maymester” classes. Despite what you may have heard, “Maymester” is not a separate semester; it is a four-week session in the summer semester. Summer semester has twelve sessions, some starting as early as May 15 and some running all the way through August 22. Your student may be taking classes during zero, one or more sessions. Summer classes cover the same amount of material as a fifteen-week fall or spring class, so students should be prepared for an intensive learning experience.
All those sessions mean there are a lot of add/drop dates to keep up with. Make sure that your student checks their enrollment status. If they think that they might need to add or drop a summer class, have them review the summer Dates and Deadlines published by the Registrar’s Office to ensure that they adjust their enrollment in time. If a student withdraws from a class after the Add/Drop Deadline for the respective session, they will be assigned a “W” for that class and the tuition will not be refunded. Not knowing the deadline is not grounds to have the grade or tuition adjusted. Summer sessions are shorter than fall and spring sessions, so some of the deadlines are just one or two days.
Another important difference is that all summer tuition is charged per credit hour. Be sure to take that into account when thinking about payment arrangements for the summer. Tuition and other summer charges can be reviewed in Madison Money Manager (M3).
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Submitted by: Jessica Hopkins, Assistant Director of Compliance, Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
All students must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements to receive financial aid. Federal regulations require each institution to have a SAP policy, which establishes the minimum academic standards for financial aid eligibility.
Academic progress is measured once per year (after spring grades have posted) and there are three components of the evaluation process that must be met:
- GPA – GPA standards mirror the university’s academic suspension policy
- Pace – Students must earn credit for at least 67% of the hours they have attempted. This calculation is performed by dividing the number of credit hours earned by the number of credit hours attempted.
- Maximum Time – Students may not receive financial aid for more than 150 attempted hours. If a program(s) requires more than 150 hours, an appeal may be submitted for review.
If a student is unable to meet SAP requirements, their eligibility for federal financial aid, including loans (both student and parent) will be lost. An email regarding the area(s) of noncompliance will be sent to the student and a reminder will appear on the “To-Do” list in MyMadison. Students may appeal the SAP denial if they experienced extenuating circumstances.
2023-24 SAP Appeal Deadlines
- Summer 2023 – July 3, 2023
- Fall 2023 – September 4, 2023
- Spring 2024 – January 29, 2024
For a description of JMU’s requirements, as well as more information regarding the appeal process and to use the online estimator, visit our website.
Submitted by: Jenna (Maroney) Gray, Director of Student Engagement, JMU Dining
For those that have Dukes on a meal plan, just a friendly reminder that any unused Dining Dollars at the end of the spring semester will not roll over. Encourage your students to use JMU Mobile ID or MyMadison to check their balance today. JMU Dining has several opportunities to use it, not lose it! We have a bulk sale going on at Jemmy’s, located on East Campus, and at Mr. Chips on main campus. If they’re short on time or you want to send a surprise, food bundles are available at Mr. Chips on the Starship App. Look for details in the event calendar section of our website.
For questions, contact JMU Dining at 540.568.6751 or email dining@jmu.edu.
Dukes Microsoft 365 Account Migration
Submitted by: John Stevens, Knowledge & Outreach Coordinator, Information Technology
Beginning at noon on May 19th through Sunday, May 22nd, your student will not have access to their @dukes.jmu.edu Microsoft account, as Information Technology will be migrating their account into the same environment as employees. This change will dramatically improve our ability to collaboration and communicate with one another at JMU, including easier file sharing and the use of Microsoft Teams.
Awareness of Parent Scam
Submitted by: Office of Parent Relations
Please be aware of a phone scam targeting parents of university students. Suspects pose as law enforcement to coerce parents into giving them money. Parents in our community have received calls claiming their student has been arrested and that the parent must send money to secure the student’s release. Callers have included personal details about students. The phone numbers have been “spoofed” to appear is if the calls are coming from local numbers or the police department.
The JMU police will never call to demand money. If you receive a similar call:
- Hang up and do not provide any information to the caller.
- Report the scam attempt to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
Join Us for Coaches Caravan...Coming Your Way This May!
Submitted by: Kate Burke, Director of Internal Development, Duke Club, Athletics
Join JMU Athletics fans, friends, and the Duke Club on the road May 22 through May 25 for the 2023 JMU Coaches Caravan events — with four stops scheduled in Richmond, Virginia Beach, Alexandria and Leesburg!
The 2023 Caravan will feature JMU Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne, Football Head Coach Curt Cignetti, Men's Basketball Head Coach Mark Byington and Women's Basketball Head Coach Sean O'Regan.
Purchase your tickets today! The cost per ticket is $20.00 and includes one drink ticket and a souvenir rally towel. Don't miss this JMU tradition and the opportunity to hear about the 2022-2023 seasons in the Sun Belt Conference, the Women's Basketball run in the NCAA Tournament, and the forecasts for next season.
Submitted by: Jess Nickels, Project Manager, College of Business Office of Marketing and Communications
A general business minor sets your student up with basic business principles that can be applied in any profession. Students with non-BBA majors enjoy the interdisciplinary learning that pairs their major with the general business minor, resulting in highly marketable skills.
Katie Antonucci and Grayson Crow are two Health Administration Services majors with general business minors who are using both areas of study to make a difference in the community.
Students seeking to declare a general business minor must submit their application prior to March 1 or October 1 for admission consideration for the subsequent fall and spring semesters.
Go Inside JMU Residence Halls!
Submitted by: Sydney Wood, Social Media and Marketing Manager, Residence Life
Have you ever wanted to go inside each and every residence hall to explore all your options? Have you picked your Residence hall and now you want to look at how to move your furniture? Want to measure a piece of furniture or see if something you found on Amazon is going to fit? YOU CAN! Residence Life now offers you fully interactive and virtual tours of all our residence halls, room types, and even bathrooms!
Submitted by: Erin Smith, Study Abroad Outreach & Partnerships Coordinator, Center for Global Engagement
The Center of Global Engagement is adding two new study abroad programs for the upcoming spring semester: Spring Semester in Antwerp for General Business Minors and Spring Semester in Salamanca, designed for students looking to complete General Education coursework. All courses are taught in English. Students are encouraged to apply now!
Join 9,000+ fellow JMU parents and guardians in the official Facebook group! This group was created by the Office of Parent Relations in an effort to provide a safe online environment for parents to engage with one another. Request to join the group here »
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