Graduate Student Orientation

Getting Started

The Graduate Student Orientation page has been designed to provide you with information that will be useful to you in your orientation to the university and your chosen course of study. Please read this page in its entirety and follow the many links to other pages and sites. Use your browser's back button to return here to continue the orientation.

Communication

Communication is the key to a successful program. You need to know how to contact the academic department and, most importantly, your advisor. Your admission letter provides you with your advisor's name, office phone, and e-mail address. We need to know how to contact you. Please promptly update your permanent address, local address (if different from permanent address) and your phone numbers on the personal information page (personal data form) on the iClarion portal.

Your Clarion E-mail Account

All Clarion students, regardless of where they take classes, are assigned a university e-mail account. You may be required to check this account regularly, even if you also use another personal account. Your Clarion e-mail account also authorizes you to publish Web pages to the university server. It is also used to register you for Blackboard courses. You can access your Clarion e-mail account via the World Wide Web using Webmail. Please do the following to access your university e-mail account:

Click here to find your username.
Your initial password is a 13-digit number consisting of your student identification number (nine digits) and your month and date of birth (four-digits). An example of your new password would be"123456789mmdd." Please change your password during your first session.

Web for Students makes communicating with the university even easier. From this site, you can:

register (but only at certain times),
pay bills by credit card,
check your grades,
update personal data,
request transcripts,
check your Clarion e-mail; and more!

Financial Aid

Check your department's homepage for information on available graduate scholarships and assistantships.
Check the two Websites for general financial aid information and for specific information on graduate assistantships.

Advising

Students are assigned a faculty advisor to help them plan their program of study and develop career goals. Your advisor's name, telephone number, and e-mail address were included in your official admission letter.

Students should consult with their advisor prior to registering for classes each term to insure that they develop a coherent program of study.

Do the following before contacting your advisor:

Think about your career goals.
Familiarize yourself with general program requirements and courses, as stated in Clarion's Graduate Catalog.
Familiarize yourself with the department's Student Policies.
Locate and review the course descriptions, either from the department Graduate Programs page or in Clarion's Graduate Catalog. Prerequisites, if any, are listed at the end of each course description.
Check the schedule of classes for the term in which you plan to begin your studies (see Registrar's home page for schedules of course offerings).

Make an appointment to speak with your advisor. Faculty members are typically willing to do initial advising in person, by telephone, or by e-mail. You are now ready to enroll in classes.

Registration

Scheduling information is available on the Registrar's page.

Early Registration:

Each semester there is an early registration period during which students can enroll for the following semester. This is announced:

via your Clarion e-mail account
on the Registrar's home page

During early registration, students register for classes themselves using Web for Students. The period of early registration ends several weeks prior to the start of the term in question.

At the start of the term:
On the first day of classes of each term, students may register during specified hours at the Division of Graduate Studies, 108 Carrier. For information, call 800-672-7171 option 6, or 814-393-2337.

After the start of the term:
Students may themselves drop or add courses during the drop/add period of each term. This is the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the first week of classes during the fall and spring terms. Web for Students may be used for this purpose. Students require special permission to enroll in courses beyond the drop/add period. Naturally, you should talk to your advisor first. It is possible to withdraw from a class beyond the drop/add period, tuition reimbursement being pro-rated depending on the date of withdrawal. An exception to this rule involves weekend classes: students will receive full reimbursement provided that they withdraw prior to the first meeting of the course.

Withdrawing From Classes

All class withdrawals must be made through the Office of the Registrar. If a withdrawal is not made through the Office of the Registrar, a failing grade will be recorded for the affected course(s). Click here to review information on Class Withdrawals and University Withdrawal. Withdrawals between the end of the second and ninth weeks may be made without penalty. After the beginning of the tenth week of a semester or the second half of a summer session, a course from which a student withdraws shall be reported with a grade of "E." Exceptions may be made for withdrawals due to extenuating circumstances such as illness or some other unavoidable occurrence.

Students may withdraw from the university (all courses) through the last day of classes. If a university withdrawal is not made through the Office of the Registrar, a failing grade will be recorded for the affected course(s). Any student who withdraws from the university (that is, withdraws from all classes) either during or at the end of a semester must notify the Office of the Registrar of his or her intention to withdraw and the reason for withdrawal. Such students must be readmitted to the university before being allowed to take classes again. This can be done by contacting Graduate Studies at 814-393-2337 or 800-676-7171, option 6.

Paying Tuition and Fees

Your tuition and fees are determined by your student status (in-state, out-of-state/international), the number of courses you are taking, and how you are taking them (on-site, interactive video, online). Click here to learn more about graduate tuition and fees.

In all cases, you will be billed by the Accounts Receivable (Student Accounts) Office and you may pay your bill by check or credit card either in person at Student Accounts (B-16 Carrier), by mail, by telephone (814-393-1071, credit card only), or using Web for Students (credit card only).

Graduate assistantships are available.

Buying Text Books

You have a number of options. You may, of course, visit the Clarion campus and purchase books directly from the Clarion University Book Center, which is located on the ground floor of the Gemmell Student Complex. The Book Center schedules extended hours for the first week of classes each term. Students may also order books from the Book Center by telephone (800-394-8825) or online (see below). A credit card is required for telephone and electronic orders. Faculty will expect that you will have in your possession for the first class all required texts that are in stock at the Book Center. Visit the University Book Store online to purchase books online and follow instructions for ordering textbooks.

Some students prefer to order books from e-businesses over the World Wide Web. A number of firms provide this service, and prices vary. Consider starting with the University Book Center at Clarion University. Book prices and selections are available online through the center.

University Libraries

The university libraries, comprised of Carlson Library on the Clarion Campus and Suhr Library on Venango Campus, offer graduate students a broad collection of resources and services to support class work and research. The university's new Carlson Library on the main campus is a beautiful $15 million facility that houses a collection of 400,000 books and periodicals, four state-of-the-art computer labs with 137 work stations, the Department of Library Science, and the University Art Gallery. The entire building is served by a wireless data network as well as standard data ports.

Students may check out lap top computers for use in the library. The library's extensive menu of electronic databases offers on-campus and off-campus access to over 18,000 professional journals and many subject-specific electronic information resources. Distance education students may access electronic information resources anytime through the online library. Interlibrary loan service further enables users to expand their research, and library instruction sessions are scheduled each term to help students become adept at finding and using information.

If you would like an online orientation to university libraries, click here.

Special Needs

If you are a student with a documented disability and require accommodations in order to complete the requirements of a course, you need to inform the instructor as soon as possible. All students that require accommodations must be registered with the Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) on campus. This office will assist you in providing the appropriate verification of the requested accommodations. To register with DSS or for more information, contact Jennifer May (814-393-2095 or jmay@clarion.edu).

Please note that faculty members are not required to provide accommodations unless they have been informed of your needs by DSS.

Student ID Cards

All Clarion University students are entitled to photo student identification cards, which can be used for many purposes, including library services at Clarion and elsewhere. Students may obtain ID cards in the Eagle Card Office, 236 Egbert Hall, during normal business hours (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday).

Distance Education and Web students may obtain a photo ID card following the procedure listed. Because photo identification is required for all new ID cards, and since that is not possible for distance or Web students, the student must provide their full name, Clarion ID number, home address, and phone number for verification along with their photo in jpeg format. E-mail to lsteiner@clarion.edu. Once this information is received and enrollment verified, we will process and mail the ID card.

Technology

The Center for Computing Services

The Center for Computing Services is responsible for telephone, data network, central computing, and instructional technology support. The central computing services include the iClarion student portal; WebDrive; e-mail; Internet access; Web-based student services such as registration, billing, and grading; and Clarion's Website. Computing Services also supports 16 general student access labs and more than 60 smart classrooms. Other services for instruction and research include the student-run radio and television stations and the Learning Technology Center. Upon admission, all graduate students automatically receive e-mail and WebDrive accounts, the ability to create their own Web pages, and access to the Internet.

Distance Education

Visit the online Distance Education programs and offerings to learn more about available online programs. The page outlines all available online programs at Clarion, class schedules, and more.

Using Blackboard

Clarion University uses a course management system called Blackboard, which allows instructors to post course syllabi and other documents online. It has a number of features including discussion board, virtual chat, announcements, online quizzes, and group collaboration. It is widely used for Web-based classes and is often used as a supplement for face-to-face classes. In any case, your instructor will inform you if Blackboard is to be used.

To use Blackboard you will need to determine that you have compatible hardware and software. Please see the COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS below. Some instructors use PowerPoint and other Microsoft Office applications. If you do not have Microsoft Office, you can download free viewers http://www.microsoft.com/downloads.

Students are required to use their Clarion University e-mail account to communicate with their instructors.

Blackboard Login information: http://blackboard.clarion.edu

Your username is your entire e-mail address. Students' initial passwords are their 9-digit SSN and 4-digit month/day (mmdd) of birth entered as a 13-digit number with no spaces or dashes.

Example:

USERNAME: s_jasmith@clarion.edu
PASSWORD: 1234567890306

Students will be able to log into Blackboard but will not be able to access their course(s) until the first day of the semester. NEW STUDENT ACCOUNTS are not created until two weeks prior to the semester start day.

Blackboard Support

For 24 x 7 phone support, call 866-434-8882,or go to Online Support Center.

Blackboard Computer Requirements

Minimum Operating System Requirements

Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP
OR
Macintosh OS 10.2 or 10.3Minimum Browsers

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (or above)
OR
Netscape Navigator 7.1 or higher (for Windows XP or Macintosh OS 10.2 or 10.3)
OR
Safari 1.2 for Macintosh OS 10.2 or 10.3

Macintosh users in Accounting, Chemistry, and Math courses must use OS 10.3.9 with Safari 1.3 in order to view all homework content in those courses.

Strongly Recommended Operating System/Browser

Microsoft Windows 2000 with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape Navigator 7.1 (or higher)
OR
Microsoft Windows XP with Internet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape Navigator 7.1 (or higher)
OR
Macintosh OS 10.3.9 with Safari 1.3 (or higher)

Warning for AOL users!

Blackboard is NOT compatible with the AOL browser. You can connect using AOL, but always use Internet Explorer or Netscape.

Additional System Requirements

Adobe Acrobat 5.0 higher
Display/Monitor with 256 colors and 800x600 resolution or higher (1024x768 recommended)
Minimum of a 56K modem connection
McAfee anti-virus software (available for download without charge through a license agreement)

Parking/Transportation

An online campus map shows parking areas on campus; this map is also included at the back of the Graduate Catalog.

Students can choose several transportation options for getting in and out of Clarion, as well as around town.


Taxi Service	Choice Cab Company 814-221-4992 Clarion County Taxi 814-226-8635

Bus Service	Local Bus Information Regional: Fullington Trailways 800-942-8287; or Clarion Ticket Info 814-226-1121.

Airports	DuBois: DuBois-Jefferson County Regional Airport Franklin: Venango Regional Airport Youngstown, Ohio: Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh International Airport Erie, PA: Erie International Airport

Student/Guest Housing

Graduate students are eligible to live in university residence halls. Interested students can contact Residence Life Services at 814-393-2352. Residence Life also publishes an off-campus housing list that can be picked up at the office (228 Egbert Hall).

Residence Life Services has a small number of guestrooms which students attending weekend classes at Clarion may reserve for $10.00 per night. These rooms are not available until after the first three weeks of fall and spring semesters. Call 814-393-2352 to check availability.

Meal Plans

On-campus, the Gemmell Student Complex houses a coffee shop and a food court. A variety of meal plans are available at Chandler Dining Hall, for both students living in campus housing and non-residents. Many different kinds of restaurants and fast-food outlets can be found in the area around Main Street, and two vending machines (soda and snack food) are available in other campus buildings.

Applying for Graduation

This will come sooner than you think, since students must file an Application for Graduation during the period of early registration the semester before they expect to graduate. Click here for information on applying for graduation and commencement.

The Application for Graduation must be accompanied by a degree audit. Candidates for graduation may obtain a degree audit from their advisor, department chair, dean's office, Web for Students, or the Graduate Studies Office.

Students who do not have an approved Application for Graduation on file in the Office of the Registrar will not be eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony nor graduate.

If You Still Need Help...

Your bill: Contact the Accounts Receivable (Student Accounts) Office at 814-393-1071.
Financial Aid Office: 814-393-2315
Registration: Contact your advisor and then register online. If online registration is not available, contact the Graduate Studies Office at 814-393-2337 or 800-672-7171, option 6.
Advisor: Your admission letter contains the advisor's name, phone number, and e-mail address.
Textbooks: Contact the Book Center (800-394-8825) or your instructor.
E-mail account not working: Contact the Computer Services Help Desk (814-393-2640).
Blackboard assistance: Contact Blackboard Help at 866-434-8882.
Transcripts: Contact the Registrar's Office at 814-393-2210.
Graduate Studies Office: 814-393-2337 or 800-672-7171, option 6.
Student ID card: Contact the Residence Life Services at 814-393-2352.
Parking permit: Contact the Public Safety Office at 814-393-2111.