Online Nursing Students Experience the UND Campus

One of most enjoyable parts of our jobs as recruiters for The Graduate School is providing campus tours to prospective and new students. On Wednesday, Mike Hinschberger, our Graduate Recruitment Associate, and I gave a tour to our new Advanced Public Health Nursing students who take their courses online.  As a part of their orientation into the Nursing program, these students came from as far away as Alaska to spend a few days on campus.  This visit is a great way for our online students to meet their professors as well as fellow students they will be working with over the course of the next few years.

We like for our online students to get involved at UND and are excited when they come to visit us!

The weather cooperated as we made our way around campus.  We started at the Northern Plains Behavioral Research Center and made stops at “The Ralph”, the UND Bookstore, The School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The Memorial Union, and Twamley Hall.  In between these stops, we took some time to admire the beauty of our campus.  Our maintenance and grounds crews do an incredible job of beautifying campus and making it enjoyable for everyone.

Advanced Public Health Nursing students tour campus

It was also the first day I had walked around campus since the start of the fall semester and it was nice to see so many students around again.  Many in our group commented that they will have to come back for another visit so they can spend more time taking in the atmosphere.  We hope they do!

I wish all of our students, both online and on campus, a great semester!

David Konerza, Graduate Recruitment Specialist

Ready, Set, Semester Go!

This week, The Graduate School spent a good amount of time putting last minute preparations together for Fall semester which begins next Monday. Evan Nelson and Susan Caraher visited graduate program directors for all of our programs and distributed some Welcome Back to School kits with resources and helpful tips to get the academic year off to a good start. (We’ll catch up with our College of Education and Human Development faculty later in the month after they have had a chance to settle into their brand new offices in their brand new Education building.) There’s no doubt that by close of business on Tuesday, Evan and Susan were feeling the distances they’d walked around campus, as well as a great sense of achievement to have successfully navigated the School of Medicine!

Alas, no rest for the weary. Wednesday they were back bright and early, together with interim dean, Wayne Swisher, TGS recruiters David Konerza and Mike Hinschberger, Admissions Specialist Matt Anderson and grad assistant Moussa Nombre, to welcome our new graduate students for Day 1 of orientation. About 115 students (local, interstate and international) came together in the Memorial Union to meet TGS staff, learn important information about policies and hear from invited speakers about the resources and services available to them as they undertake their graduate career at the University of North Dakota. Information sessions were followed by a great student panel where newcomers were encouraged to ask the “tough” questions about being a grad student, and what to expect of UND and their new community. A fun and informative discussion ensued.

For those new to the university, the resource fair was able to answer many questions with more than 30 offices and organizations available from UND and the Grand Forks community. We followed that up with our 4th annual City Bus Tour, taking a busload of new students on a Grand Forks Highlights tour. This is becoming one of the mainstays of our orientation activities, and with tour guide, Juan Pedraza of University Relations, it’s a fun and informative guide to the history of the city, too!

To round out an already packed day, The Graduate School hosted the annual Welcome Picnic in beautiful University Park. The weather was perfect and Dining Services threw a good feast of burgers and sides for around 100 people. The best part was seeing the new connections and friendships being made by many who arrived in the morning not knowing anyone. This was evidenced by groups who stayed long after the burgers were gone. Students connected with one another not only by program but also across programs, and we hope this continues throughout their time here.

Thursday’s orientation program focused on Graduate Teaching and Research Assistants. After a short introduction by Dr Swisher, and University Registrar, Dr Suzanne Anderson, students broke into their new assistant roles to learn more about responsibilities, expectations and available resources. Student panels for each group completed the day and addressed questions about teaching and research.

A huge thanks to all of our speakers, student panelists and resource fair volunteers. We literally could not do it without them!

We’ve posted few pics from the picnic here, and will also post more to our Picasa album.

Meet Darwin

TGS Picnic

TGS Picnic 2

TGS Picnic 3

Orientation – Day 1

The weather was kind to us this year. Despite an early morning storm, the New Graduate Student Orientation went very smoothly including sunshine for the picnic. We had a great turnout. Students were making connections with one another and with faculty members who came to help welcome them. Here are a few pics from the day. We’ll post a Picasa album with more photos after the event.

Getting Oriented

Twice a year, The Graduate School hosts an orientation for new students to provide them with critical information about policies, services and what to expect as they become senior members of our student body. Several new campus-wide initiatives currently in discussion have given a reason to pause and consider what it is that prospective students  might wish to learn about the University of North Dakota. This is a topic we frequently discussed in our recruitment conversations. Yet the focus now changes to helping students learn critical information they will need before they even step into a classroom. Now that they have committed much of time over the next several years to advancing their knowledge, there is an obligation to provide all the tools they’ll need.

Typically, our orientation for new students includes a welcome to the university-at-large, policies and procedures of The Graduate School, some student life and services talks and an information fair showcasing many of the great student support units around campus. We also give them an opportunity to hear from current grad students about their experiences – good and bad. At the end of a fairly lengthy day, we invite them to join us, meet our staff, and faculty members for an informal picnic in the park.

A second day of orientation is designed for students who will work as Graduate Teaching or Research Assistants – topics such as intellectual property, time management and learning how to navigate the semester as both student and a teacher. Our agenda is meant to provide a big picture  view of graduate life and provide resources for new and current students. Many departments offer an introduction with more of a program emphasis, and we believe that both are important.

So, now is the time for us to review our plans from previous years, revise the agenda based on feedback and design some sessions that will help our incoming students ease into graduate school. If you are joining us this Fall, mark your calendars for August 18 & 19. Details will be coming to you very soon. And if you are a distance student, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

A new semester right around the corner

Monday morning, students will brave the cold, shake off the holiday slumber, and return to classes. Some of those students will begin new graduate programs.

As we did last fall, we will host a New Graduate Student Orientation on Monday, January 11.

If you’re a new student, it’s not too late to register for this orientation. (It’s easy, and it’s in My GradSpace.) We know the first semester of graduate school is a big gear shift, so we put together this orientation to help get students started on the right foot.

Keep checking back here to read about more upcoming events, as the Spring 2010 semester is chock full of exciting news from The Graduate School.

Share your best winter tips for our new students

Graduate students at UND come from places far afield including every state in US and over 40 countries. Each year, we have questions from students who ask about our winters and the best places to find clothing, tips for traveling and getting around town. We decided to put together a “Winter Survival Guide” for newcomers. On this web site, students can learn more about the challenges and opportunities for living in our region.

Yes, winters are cold, but this also provides some “You can’t do THAT in California!” moments, too. Public ice skating, cross-country skiing, building snowmen…you get the idea. We have also provided some winter weather health and safety tips, as well as places to consult in case of a winter storm.

We would like to hear from you, too. Do you have a great winter tip? Leave a comment and we’ll add it to our Winter Survival Guide web site.

Welcome back, students!

We are now officially into the fall semester after what seems to have been an all-too-short summer break. This past week, The Graduate School hosted two days of orientation for a record number of students.

More than 140 new graduate students joined us on Wednesday, and even some of those braved the stormy weather to come to University Park for the picnic.

On Thursday, over 100 new Graduate Teaching and Research Assistants listened to a variety of sessions that focused on their new jobs on campus.

We are excited by the turnout, and optimistic at the prospect of a record enrollment this fall. Welcome back to our current students and for those who are new, enjoy your classes and your new academic environments.

The storm didn't dampen our spirits