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Student guide

Thrive at Ů

Welcome to Ů!

This guide has been created to help you navigate your journey here at Ů.

You may have come Ů with an idea of strategies, skills, organizational systems, and a support network that worked for you. As you step into a new season of life, you may need to also learn new skills to help you succeed. Like a navigational system, you sometimes need to “reroute” to reach your desired destination. As you figure out who you are and who you are becoming, there are a plethora of resources and people here at Ů to come alongside you.

Being successful in college is about more than passing classes — although of course this is an important part of it. College is about thriving through self-discovery, exploring our worldview, becoming a life-long learner, and identifying the skills we have and the skills we need to live out our Divine Design.

Meet Your Teams

Of all things you can be at Ů, alone is not one of them. These teams are here to walk alongside and support you during your academic, social, and spiritual journey.

*Ů main campus in Lakeland

Thriving Tips

  • Connect with your classmates and attend campus events (as applicable).
  • Go to the Welcome Week events,
  • Volunteer
  • Look into internship and practicum opportunities

Whether you use Google Calendar, a paper planner, or one of many apps, start the semester off by writing down all of your assignments.

Don’t be afraid to go to their office hours or send an email if you’re struggling.

It can be helpful to have an initial conversation and schedule a time to check in a few weeks into the semester. This gives you a chance to get used to living together and note things you would like to talk through.

You are a human being, not a human doing. As you settle into your routine, take note of times when you can stop to rest and have fun.

Whether it’s budgeting your Fire Funds to get you to the end of the semester or planning out when you will get your Spiritual Formation credits, think ahead and see how you can be kind to your future self.

  • Don’t wait until you find yourself overwhelmed.
  • Sign up for our free support services such as tutoring through ACE (on campus) or Brainfuse (online tutoring), on-campus or online counseling (LINK to Counseling page),
  • Eligible students can also request disability accommodations through the Office of Ů & Auxiliary Services.

Email is the official form of communication at Ů. Make sure you are checking your email, MyFire course announcements, and other forms of communication regularly.

Remain curious as you start to develop your professional identity. Explore options through Career Services and your Divine Design courses.

Give yourself grace as you become someone you’ve never been before. College is new to you, and it’s okay to be a learner and not know everything along the way.

Whole Person Health

While college is a time to engage in academics, it’s also a season to transition from a high schooler to a college student, then from a college student to an adult.

Along the way, we’ll help you grow in all areas of being so you can walk across the graduation stage not just career-ready, but life ready!

In your college journey, there comes a layer of responsibility to have awareness of and care for your own well-being. This is not an easy task, be sure to offer yourself grace as you compassionately navigate tending to all areas of your life.

On average, students spend 15 hours in the classroom. How you spend the other 153 hours in a week will begin to fill this time based on your personal values, faith, and lived experiences.

While college is a time to engage in academics, it’s also a season of growth. We’ll help you grow in multiple ways, so you can walk across the graduation stage not just career-ready, but life ready!

Campus Resources:Career Services

Campus Resources:Department of Spiritual Formation (DSF)

Student Resources:

TimelyCare (Virtual; all undergraduate students)

Counseling Center (main campus)

Student Outreach & Support (main campus)

Campus Resources: First Year Experience (FYE ), Student Government Association (SGA), Multicultural Affairs (MCA), Campus Wide Events (CWE)

Campus Resources:Ů Center for Enrichment (ACE), Brainfuse (free online tutoring in located within MyFire)

Campus Resources: Student Financial Services (SFS)

Campus Resources:Just Move, Student Activities Center (SAC), Intramurals, Health Services

Go to sleep! Students of all ages should make an effort to prioritize their sleep. Good sleep habits can improve both your grades and quality of life. Here are just a few ideas:

  • Go to sleep at a reasonable hour.
  • Set a consistent sleep schedule.
  • Aim to sleep for between 7 and 9 hours each night.
  • Do not sacrifice sleep in order to study.
  • Get a sleep mask and/or earplugs if minimizing light and/or sound helps you sleep.
  • A pair of anti blue light glasses is helpful for the nights when you’re doing work on a computer or phone closer to when you go to bed.
  • Limit caffeine intake (including energy drinks) after 3:00 PM.
  • Consider investing in a sleep tracker to help you evaluate your quality and quantity of sleep.

Tips from Students

Stay in the Know

Calendars

Lakeland Campus Events Calendar

Ů Calendar

Athletic Calendar

Music Performance Calendar

Social Media


University-based content


Student-focused content


Student Government Association


First-Year Experience


Spiritual Formation updates

Informacast

Campus Safety Alerts

Members of the Ů community are able to receive emergency text alerts concerning crises on or near the campus as part of the Ů Alert system.

Ů Conflict Resolution

If you have an academic concern, please follow this procedure.

  1. Talk to your professor.If you have a concern regarding an assignment, grade, or experience in class, start by communicating directly with your professor. We encourage you to have a face-to-face conversation and then follow up with an email.
  2. Communicate with your department chair. If you are not able to resolve the conflict directly with your professor or you would like to appeal a decision, you can contact the department chair
  3. Involve the college dean. If the conflict is still not resolved after talking with the department chair, the next level of appeal goes to the dean of your academic college.
  4. Final appeal through the provost. If you would still like to appeal a decision after talking with the professor, department chair, and college dean, you can do so through the Office of the Provost.
The modern guide to college book on desk next to computer

The full complaint and appeal policy can be found in the

Community Living

Student smiling in dorm room

Roommate Agreement & Expectations

STEP 1: Fill out your own expectations
Upon move-in, each student will be given a worksheet to process through and note their preferences for community living. You will think through things such as when guests can come over, what is shared, scent preferences, lights out times, and noise level (among other things).

STEP 2: Schedule a meeting with your entire suite before Add/Drop
Each suitemate will share the individual responses they wrote on their Roommate Expectation Questionnaire. Together you will decide what will go in your collaborative Roommate Agreement. The Roommate Agreement will serve as your guidelines for living together for the semester.

STEP 3: Turn in your completed roommate agreement to your resident assistant
A hard copy of the completed Roommate Agreement will be turned in to the Resident Assistant the week of Add/Drop. All roommates will have agreed on and signed the document.

Conflict Resolution Process

Purpose:To help students resolve conflict with dignity and grace in order to increase self-sufficiency, promote resiliency, and build sustainable relationships.

Remember

  • Roommate conflict is a normal part of college
  • The majority of college students experience some form of roommate conflict
  • Assume the best of your roommate(s)
  • Address conflict when it arises
  • Listening and asking questions are just as important as sharing your own experience
  1. Get a roommate communication form from your RA.
  2. Set up a time to speak with your roommate(s).
  3. Prepare “I” statements:When [specific behavior], I feel [personal feelings].
  4. Identify the issues and create and action plan.
  5. Put the action plan into practice for 7 days.
  1. If major conflict exists after 7 days, our RA will facilitate a mediation with you and your roommate(s).
  2. The mediation will involve open and honest conversation.
  3. Together, you will revise your roommate agreement and practice for 7 days.
  4. A follow-up meeting will be scheduled between you and your RA.
  1. If severe conflict still exists after the follow-up meeting with your RA, your RA will recommend RD mediation.
  2. Your RD will email you to schedule a conflict resolution meeting.
  3. Your RD will work with you and your roommate(s) to determine the best course of action.
Two students sitting on hammock smiling and laughing

Resources

Two students smiling outside of mi casa resturaunt

  • Student Finances:Check your balance and pay your bill
  • Student:Register for courses or check your transcript
  • Housing:Check your room and roommate assignment
  • Emergency Preparedness Plan: Submit your plan and emergency contact
  • Fire Ready:Check your Fire Ready status
  • Parent Access:Give your parents access to information such as finances and academics
  • Forms:Withdraw from a course, request to take a CLEP exam, request transient courses, select or change your meal plan

  • Access your courses
  • Ů Services: ADA, ACE, Brainfuse (online tutoring), Library, Writing Skills
  • Becoming Badging: First Year CORE 1111 and CORE 1112
  • Download the Pulse App to view MyFire on your mobile device

  • Ůs:Ů Advising, Catalog, Center for Student Success, Change of Status, Library
  • Campus:Bookstore, Campus Dining, Housing, Maintenance Request, Mail Room
  • Services:Counseling, Health & Wellness, IT Helpdesk, Mentoring, Security, Student Outreach & Support, Title IX
  • Student Development:Career Services, Clubs & Organizations, Discipleship Groups, Student Government, Student Handbook
  • Spiritual Formation:Chapel Schedule, Check your SF Credits, Discipleship, Ů Chapel YouTube