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Generations - October 2021

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Recommendations for Homesickness

Students have been back to school for two months now. As they are excited to move on from home-based classrooms to university ones, they are still somewhat familiarizing themselves with campus, roommates and classes. This change from “conventional” to campus life is commonly when homesickness sets in for residential students.

A University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee article offered the helpful recommendations listed below for students longing for home. These can also be helpful for parents who are missing their young adults.

  • Acknowledge and reassure them that homesickness is normal.
  • Tell them to talk about homesickness with someone they trust.
  • Encourage them to explore their campus and its surroundings to find ways to keep active. Boredom breeds melancholy.
  • Suggest they get involved with campus activities.
  • Send them familiar things from home, like pictures of friends and family or a stuffed animal.
  • Remind them to eat healthily, get good sleep and exercise. 
  • Set a date for them to come home or for you to visit campus. It will give you both something to look forward to and plan.
  • If the sadness persists, your student can contact counseling@uarts.edu to schedule a first appointment with a member of the counseling staff.

Honors Program

The University of the Arts Honors Program is a vibrant hub of engaging coursework, rich student life, community collaboration and co-curricular programming. The Honors Program is intended to provide academically exceptional and creatively gifted students with a rigorous and enriching intellectual and artistic experience while they pursue their undergraduate degree. Coursework leading to the fulfillment of the Honors Program challenges students to expand the limits of their intellect, artistry and imagination. This year, we are excited to have 49 students active in the Honors Program at UArts. 

The Honors Program comprises a total of 15 credits. Honors students begin the program with the Honors section of FYWT*112, First-Year Writing Seminar II Honors, which serves as the gateway course to the program. Honors students must also complete one honors-enriched course in each of the following: one course in their major field of study or discipline; one course from the Critical Studies; and, one course in a major or discipline outside of their own field. Honors students must also complete the Honors Thesis Tutorial and Colloquia in which scholars complete an Honors Thesis related to the capstone work in their major.

Students are invited to apply to the Honors Program based on their fall semester midterm GPA, only students with a midterm cumulative grade point average of 3.75, will be invited to apply. Invitations to apply for the program will be sent the week of October 18, 2021.

Honors students must maintain a 3.65 cumulative grade point average in order to continue in and complete the Honors Program. Students who fall below the 3.65 minimum cumulative average will be placed on Honors Probation and will be dismissed from the Program if their cumulative score remains under 3.75 for two consecutive semesters. Scholars who fall below a cumulative average of 3.5 are automatically dismissed. 

Transfer students are eligible to apply to be Honors Scholars if their cumulative grade point average from their previous college or university is 3.75 or higher.

If your student is interested in the Honors Program, please encourage them to contact Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Honors Program Director, Sara Pyle at spyle@uarts.edu. 

Midterm Grades & Advising

All UArts undergraduate students receive midterm grades. This year, midterm grades will be available beginning Oct. 11. (All midterm grades must be submitted by faculty by Oct. 17.) Midterm grades are visible to students immediately upon being entered, so your student might not see all their midterm grades posted on the same day. Midterm grades remain posted until they are replaced by final grades at the end of the semester. To access their midterm grades, students log in to Student Self Services using their portal username and password and click “Grades.”

Midterm grades do not factor into a student’s term or cumulative GPA. Each course syllabus includes a clear description of how the midterm grade and the final grade will be determined. For a midterm grade to be meaningful, the midterm grade should be based on completed and graded assignments, tests, papers or projects that comprise 30 – 50% of the final course grade. Student participation might also be graded at midterm. If your student has any questions about their midterm grade, they should contact their faculty for that course. 

Academic Advising for the fall semester begins Nov. 8, 2021. Your student will be contacted by their academic advisor prior to registration to schedule a time to discuss their spring 2022 registration. If your student has questions about registration, they should contact the Advising Center at advising@uarts.edu or their specific academic advisor.

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