Communications

Date: December 15, 2011

To: Parents of all U.Va. Students

From: Patricia M. Lampkin, Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer

Re: Semester-end news and updates

Dear Parents:

With the University’s last exam scheduled for this Friday afternoon and Winter Break officially beginning on Saturday, I hope you soon will be enjoying family time with your student. I am writing with several updates and reminders as the semester ends and a new year and new semester lie ahead.

Closing of First-Year Residence Halls
All first-year residence halls will close at noon on Saturday, Dec. 17. Please remind your student to unplug all appliances and take valuables home. Additional reminders, regarding both leaving for the holidays and remaining safe if returning early to the Grounds, can be found on the Housing website.

First-year residence halls will reopen for the spring semester on Sunday, Jan. 15, unless your student has received special permission in advance to remain on Grounds for Winter Break or to return early for January Term. First-year women who are participating in Inter-Sorority Council recruitment may return on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Housing Deadlines
If your student is planning to live on Grounds during the 2012-13 academic year, then Winter Break is an excellent time to discuss options. Rising second-year students and students who applied to live in the residential colleges or language houses received offers last week from the Housing Office. Once they return for second semester, these students will need to sign a contract and make a $100 prepayment by Jan. 20 to secure their rooms. This is also the deadline for upperclass students to apply to live in a different room on Grounds. More information about the on-Grounds housing process and deadlines is available on the Housing website.

Chick-fil-A Bowl: U.Va. vs. Auburn
U.Va. parents are invited to join in all the festivities on Dec. 31 when the Cavaliers take on the Auburn Tigers at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Bowl Central website provides complete details on events, tickets, lodging and more. If you can’t make it to Atlanta, UVaClubs around the country will be hosting watching events. To learn more, see the website.

Educational Tax Benefits
As the deadline approaches for filing your personal taxes, please remember federal educational tax benefits for which you may be eligible. Taking full advantage of these benefits would help reduce your higher education expenses. More information is available on the Internal Revenue Service website.

Emergency Plans and Alerts
University administrators who are charged with responding in the event of an emergency regularly review plans and engage in simulated exercises. Last week's tragedy at Virginia Tech reminds us of the ever-present need to be prepared in the event of the unpredictable and unthinkable. Communication with the community is an important aspect of our plans, beginning with emergency text alerts, which are reserved for situations that pose an immediate threat to the community. Only individuals with U.Va. computing IDs may register to receive the alerts. Students can add a parent phone number and multiple e-mail addresses as additional message recipients. If you would like to receive text alerts, your student can sign you up by going to U.Va. Alerts.

An important reminder: During an emergency, the University will communicate all pertinent information and updates through the U.Va. homepage. This is the best source of official news from the University during and after an emergency. Technology, however, sometimes fails during emergencies. If this occurs, the University will switch to a no-frills, back-up emergency site. The University’s social media sites on Twitter and Facebook also will offer means of following an emergency or reporting updates.

Given the likelihood of a technology overload during a large-scale emergency, students are advised to give their parents a quick update on their welfare via a text, social media post or a phone call. Once students make the initial contact with their parents, they are asked to keep the phone lines free so emergency responders and related officials can get through and quickly access resources.

Tips:

1. Bookmark the University's homepage and the "back-up" homepage.
2. Follow U.Va. on Twitter and “Like” the University of Virginia on Facebook. Social networking offers great reach and speed, and the University will use these avenues to keep the community up to date on University operations. In addition, citizens often serve as eyes and ears in an emergency and provide on-the-scene updates through social media.
3. Check the University’s Emergency Information website, which includes a variety of useful information and links to other important sites.

Flu Shots: It's Not Too Late
Approximately 3,100 students have received flu shots this fall through vaccine programs at Student Health. This represents participation of 15 percent of our student body, which significantly exceeds the national average of 6 percent. We strive, however, to see even higher participation among U.Va. students. To protect your health and that of your relatives during the holidays and winter, we encourage arranging for a flu shot as soon as possible for your student and any family members who are over the age of 6 months.

Student Health has a generous supply of the vaccine. Students who want to get the shot at Student Health should make an appointment by going to the Healthy Hoos website. Student Health will be open during Winter Break but will observe the same holidays as the University. For more details, please see the Student Health website.

Family Weekend Wrap-Up
President Sullivan addressed parents on Saturday morning during Family Weekend. If you missed her talk, which summarized many of the opportunities available to undergraduate students, you can find it here.

Another highlight of Family Weekend was the Dome Room dinners, held Friday and Saturday evenings in the Rotunda’s historic Dome Room. (Due to their popularity, the dinners are offered through a lottery process prior to Family Weekend.) The speaker at Saturday night’s dinner, Professor of English Michael Levenson, captured the hearts of both parents and students with his talk, “Let Go, Hold On.” Here’s a sample passage: “The shape of the future is unclear, the turns of history as uncertain as any I’ve known in my life. All over the planet, there is shaking and trembling. There’s also laughing and leaping.” Read his speech here.

The date of Family Weekend 2012 will be announced sometime during second semester, after the release of the fall 2012 football schedule.

You’re Invited: Alumni Career Services Webinars
The Alumni Career Services office, part of the U.Va. Alumni Association, has added one-hour webinars on timely career topics as part of its outreach not only to students and alumni but also to parents and anyone else who could benefit from the information. The programs can help parents see the investment they are making in their students’ educations or they may be directly pertinent to parents’ own career goals.

An upcoming webinar on Jan. 6 will feature Engineering School alumnus Tim Chaney discussing “Goal Achievement Made Fun.” To register for this webinar or to view past programs, please go to the Alumni Career Services webinars and events page.

Finals Weekend: May 19-20, 2012
If your student is graduating in May, you can find up-to-date details about Finals Weekend on the U.Va. Final Exercises website. The site will be updated with new information as it becomes available, so check back frequently.

If you like to plan ahead, dates of Final Exercises for upcoming years can be found at the Parent Resources website.

Request a Copy of the 2011 Handbook for Parents

Printed copies of the current parent handbook are still available. To request one, please e-mail Virginia Carter, director of communications for Student Affairs. We will be happy to mail one to you.

Upcoming Dates

Dec. 17: First-year residence halls close (noon)

Dec. 17 – Jan. 17: Winter Break

Dec. 31: Chik-fil-A Bowl, U.Va. vs. Auburn (Atlanta)

Jan. 3 – 13: January Term 2012

Jan. 15: First-year residence halls re-open

Jan. 18: Courses begin

March 3 - 11: Spring Break

May 1: Courses end

May 3: Exams begin

May 11: Exams end

May 12: All residence halls close

May 20: Final Exercises

In closing, I extend warm wishes for the holiday season to you and your entire family. Enjoy the time with your student over Winter Break. We look forward to working on behalf of you and your student in 2012.

Best regards,

Patricia M. Lampkin

Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer