2013 Incoming Student - Archived Email

August 7, 2013

Good morning!
Couple quick updates:

  • course announcements
  • Orientation & Service day registrations

Course announcements: Just wanted to bring to your attention a couple courses that we added to the schedule for this fall. You can still register via Wolverine Access for courses through mid September, but spots in the class may fill.
Shelie Miller: NRE 597 "Environmental Systems Analysis" on MW from 10-1130 in 173 Lorch Hall.
Tom Princen: NRE 565 Principles of Transition on T Th 1-2:30pm in 1046 Dana Bldg

Orientation Service day registrations: Please complete your registration for these events by Tuesday 7am. I will be starting to make cabin assignments on Tuesday!
http://snre.umich.edu/oap/incoming_student_orientation

Service day is optional - but we still need to capture the number of students who will be joining us. This link is to register: http://www.snre.umich.edu/service_days_registration

To read more about this info, please refer back to the Archived Emails on the Incoming Student webpage.

Let me know if you have questions,
Sondra

Dates/Calendar
June 1: Start to register for fall courses
June 20: Start sending resume to snre.careers@umich.edu
Mid June/Early July: Secure housing
July 15: Orientation registration begins. Details sent out immediately prior to registration.
August 23: Deadline to send resume to snre.careers@umich.edu
August 23: SNRE International Student meet n greet Orientation 10am-2pm (more info later)
August 26: Service Day (optional)
August 27-29: SNRE Orientation at the Biostation, Pellston, MI
August 30: Join SNRE's Linked In page
August 30: Explore erecruiter

July 30, 2013
Greetings from Ann Arbor!  Here's a couple pieces of info and some extended reminders.
If you have questions, please let me know.
 
Sondra
  • Dates/Calendar
  • Joinable email groups by field of study (FOS)
  • Test-out Exams for Core Courses
  • Registration for Orientation REMINDER
  • Golf Outing - still spots! REMINDER
  • Registration for (optional) Service Day(s) REMINDER
Dates/Calendar
June 1: Start to register for fall courses
June 20: Start sending resume to snre.careers@umich.edu
Mid June/Early July: Secure housing
July 15: Orientation registration begins. Details sent out immediately prior to registration.
August 23: Deadline to send resume to snre.careers@umich.edu
August 23: SNRE International Student meet n greet Orientation 10am-2pm (more info later)
August 26: Service Day (optional)
August 27-29: SNRE Orientation at the Biostation, Pellston, MI
August 30: Join SNRE's Linked In page
August 30: Explore erecruiter
Joinable email groups by field of study (FOS):  Each field of study (FOS) has a joinable email group.  You may join as many as you wish.  Some students interested in water policy, for example, may officially be pursuing the Env Policy & Planning (EPP)  FOS, but join listservs for both EPP and Conservation Ecology.
To join an email group:
  1. Go to http://mcommunity.umich.edu/
  2. Enter the email group name in the search field
  3. Log in (upper right) with uniqname and password
  4. Click 'join group' upper left.
  5. If the 'join group' button does not appear, write to the FOS track leaders who "own" the email group.  Their names are listed on the 'group info' tab on the search page.
bectracksnre
conecology
snreinformatics
snre.ejstudents
snre.epp.joinable
snre.landarch
sus.sys.track
 
Test out exams for core courses:  
 We recognize that some students enter our MS program with significant years of experience and knowledge.  Students who wish to test-out of either NRE 509 or NRE 510a or b must complete this petition for approval prior to taking the exam. Exams will be Thurs Sept  and Friday Sept
  • You may elect to take only 1 core course (509 or 510) test-out exam.  
  • You may elect to test out of one or both of the NRE 510 test-out exams.
  • Test results will be posted a few days after the exam the first week of class.  
  • Assume that you will be in the core course until your score reflects otherwise.  You are able to add/drop courses until the 3rd week of class via Wolverine Access.
Petition for the exam and further information can be found on this page:  http://www.snre.umich.edu/oap/incoming_students/core_course_testout
 
Orientation:  Registration link is now live! http://snre.umich.edu/oap/incoming_student_orientation
Students starting in our program this fall are expected to attend Orientation, August 27-29 at the UM Biological Station in Pellston, Michigan. You must rsvp so we can reserve a cabin spot for you!  More details along with the rsvp link are on the site above.
 
Golf Outing:  We still have a few spots open for our Annual SNRE Golf Open - Sunday August 18th starting at 10:30am.  Send me a note if you want to participate!! 
 
Registration for (optional) Service Day(s) 
SNRE is offering 3 optional service opportunities prior to Orientation.  This is our first effort, so we're capping the registration on Monday's event to 50 (a busload) to go to the Mattaei Botanical Gardens and 7 (van capacity) to go to SNRE's property Stinchfield Woods.
 
Please note: You may elect to do both Saturday's service (organized by Robert) and 1 on Monday - you need to submit two registration forms.  This is optional - Orientation begins Tuesday August 27th.

 

July 16, 2013
Hi All,
Three things to bring your attention to on this hot hot Tuesday in July:
  • Registration for Orientation
  • Golf Outing - still spots!
  • Registration for (optional) Service Day(s) 

Orientation:  Registration link is now live! http://snre.umich.edu/oap/incoming_student_orientation
Students starting in our program this fall are expected to attend Orientation, August 27-29 at the UM Biological Station in Pellston, Michigan. You must rsvp so we can reserve a cabin spot for you!  More details along with the rsvp link are on the site above.
 
Golf Outing:  We still have a few spots open for our Annual SNRE Golf Open - Sunday August 18th starting at 10:30am.  Send me a note if you want to participate!! 
 
Registration for (optional) Service Day(s) 
SNRE is offering 3 optional service opportunities prior to Orientation.  This is our first effort, so we're capping the registration on Monday's event to 50 (a busload) to go to the Mattaei Botanical Gardens and 7 (van capacity) to go to SNRE's property Stinchfield Woods.

Please note: You may elect to do both Saturday's service (organized by Robert) and 1 on Monday - you need to submit two registration forms.  This is optional - Orientation begins Tuesday August 27th.



Saturday August 24th, Detroit Playground  
Contact: Robert Primeau  (rprimeau@umich.edul)
Departing around 6am/6:30am from the Dana Building
Hoping to have morning snack or lunch provided, but bring water bottle and something to munch.
Dress light, as it'll be August, but we'll be working rain or shine.
Robert will connect with you as the event gets closer to provide final details.
 
Monday August 26th, Mattaei Bottanical Gardens & Farm (~8:30am - 1:15pm)
Service opportunity capped at 50 registrants
Rain or shine, so be prepared
Meet in the Dana Commons at 8:30am for instructions.
Bus departs from N. University by Chemistry Building at 8:50am for Botanical Gardens & Farm
[Matthaei Botanical Gardens; 1800 N. Dixboro Rd.; Ann Arbor, MI 48105]
Bus leaves Botanical Gardens area at 1pm to return to the Dana Building.
Lunch in the Dana Commons 
 
Monday August 26th, Stinchfield Woods (~8:30am - 1:15pm)
Service opportunity capped at 7 registrants
Rain or shine, so be prepared
Meet in the Dana Commons at 8:30am for instructions
Van will depart from the Dana Building immediately following instructions.
Lunch in the Dana Commons
 
Take care,
Sondra
Monday July 8, 2013

Good morning - just touching base on a couple items:

Boston & San Fran Meet n Greets
Summer BBQ&Silent Auction (announcement)
Surveys: Project themes & Mentor interest (optional) - by July 10
Resumes - by August 23
International Student SNRE Orientation
Service Day (optional)
Orientation

Boston & San Fran Meet n Greets: Incoming students - if you are in these areas, please stop by to meet current students and alumni!
SNRE Happy Hour today Monday July 8th from 6-8pm at the Vault (105 Water Street, Boston, MA).
SF alumni happy hour on Thursday at the Thirsty Bear Brewery (661 Howard St., just south of Market) 5:30 - 7:30pm RSVP to jactal@umich.edu
More in the works! I will keep you posted -
Summer BBQ&Silent Auction: Incoming student Blake H. is coordinating a BBQ and silent auction to benefit the Spinal Cord Injury Foundation Wed July 24 6:30pm - 9pm at Cobblestone Park in Ann Arbor. For tickets and further information about the event, please visit http://www.spinalcordscholarship.org/

Surveys: Project themes & Mentor interest (optional) - by July 10 Thanks to everyone who completed the surveys thus far. Just a reminder that Wednesday is the deadline. (More details about each survey is on the email from June 20th. Read in full on the Incoming Student Archived Email area.)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2013project_themes Project themes
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/snre_student_mentor Mentor interest (optional)

Resumes/CVs - by August 23 Keep them coming to snre.careers@umich.edu! Thanks for those who have submitted resumes & CVs thus far. Again, refer back to the June 20th email for more details. The templates are below:
SNRE Resume Template: http://www.snre.umich.edu/current_students/career_services/resume (2nd bullet is the template)
SNRE CV (for PhD) Template: http://www.snre.umich.edu/current_students/career_services/cv (1st bullet is the template)

Service Day (optional): Monday August 26 we will have our first-ever service opportunity. From about 9am to 1pm, we will be sending students over to the UM Botanical Gardens http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/ which also has a campus farm area http://www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg/see/campusfarm/ . The event will conclude with a lunch back at the Dana Building.

We're chartering a U-M bus to take students to/from the Dana Building to the Botanical Gardens. We estimate the time to be 9am - 1pm rain or shine. Since it's our first time offering such an event, we're capping the number of volunteers at 50. We're creating a rsvp site, which will become live next week as well. Be on the lookout for the announcement!

Also - One of our returning student Robert P is organizing another service event in Detroit for Saturday August 24th, building a new playground at Glazer Elementary Academy. You can get more info from Robert about this event (rprimeau@umich.edu) and I'll include this option on the rsvp site. Clip from his announcement: "It will be a fun day of work and play, and we’ll be constructing the ENTIRE playground from the ground up! We're looking for volunteers to assemble playground equipment, help with youth activities (like painting or planting), serve food, assist with registration, work on side projects (like building benches) and tons more! At this point, scheduling is tentative, but construction will start in the morning and go all day until it's done. Lunch, snacks, and water will all be provided."

International Student SNRE Orientation: International students - we invite you to join us for a SNRE Orientation on Friday August 23rd 10am - 2pm-ish. Mark your calendars! We'll be sending you email directly about this opportunity.

Orientation: Registration for SNRE Orientation will begin next week. Students starting in SNRE this fall are expected to attend. Orientation is three days in Pellston, Michigan at the U-M Biological Station, departing Tuesday August 27 morning and returning Thursday August 29 evening. If you have questions or conflicts, please let me know. There will be a late van going up Tuesday evening to accommodate those with earlier Tuesday GSI training obligations.

Questions? Let me know -
Happy July,
Sondra

 
Thursday June 20, 2013
Good morning,
This email seems to be about surveys!  Please read below to learn more about:
 
Survey: Admitted student  - by June 28
Survey: Project themes - by July 10
Survey: Mentor interest (optional) - byJuly 10
Meet n Greets this summer
Resumes - by August 23
Dates/Calendar

Survey: Admitted student  Last month you should have received an individual email about completing our 'admitted student' survey.  It's anonymous, so I can't direct this email to specific people - but if you haven't had the chance to complete, please click on the link.  These responses will help us improve/adjust our recruiting processes and our curriculum offerings.  Should take....5-8 minutes to respond?  Thank you to those who have already completed the survey.  If you haven't, please try to complete by June 28.
 
Survey: Project themes  As part of your MS/MLA curriculum, you are required to complete an opus, which is a 18 month research piece.  Our master's project experience is quite impressive - not only is it the most challenging experience but also the most rewarding, according to our exit surveys.  You work in interdisciplinary teams (EPP/SS/LA, CE/LA, EJ....) with a client on a real-world issue.  Teams are formed in the winter term during the Project Planning course.  Prior to the course, we collect project ideas from clients, faculty, &  students.
We had 73 project ideas submitted in the fall 2012, and we had 21 teams form in winter 2013.  Each year, the project ideas change, as the ideas are driven by student interest.  We condensed the most recent project ideas into themes, and created a quick survey.  If you could complete this survey just so we can get a pulse of where your project interests lie, that will be helpful as we start soliciting project ideas from clients & faculty.  There's also a write-in box.  Please complete this survey by July 10.
 
fyi- project teams - ideas proposed by whom are chosen most often?:
23% of project ideas proposed by clients turn into project teams
29% of project ideas proposed by SNRE alumni turn into project teams
43% of project ideas proposed by students turn into project teams
 
Survey: Mentor interest (optional)  Each year, we have returning students volunteer to be mentors to the incoming students, primarily for the first few weeks of school.  We've called these mentors "Greenbuds".  This year, we've revamped the mentoring system and given the returning student volunteers a new name:  Student Ambassadors.  Perhaps you had one contact you during March/April when you were making a decision where to attend?  Photos of the ambassadors can be found here: http://www.snre.umich.edu/student_profiles/ambassadors
If you wish to be matched with a Student Ambassador, please complete the following survey.  It's fairly quick, really just to learn your interests/backgrounds to match you.  There's no long-term obligation on your part - if you want to talk to/email them once, fine.  Or if you wish to talk through October, fine.  We will have a meet-n-greet for the student ambassadors and mentees during the first week or so of the term.  Please complete the survey by July 10 so we can start making matches.
 
Meet-n-Greets this summer:  This summer our student ambassadors (and alumni) will be hosting a few meet n greets. When I learn of these events, I'll send you the announcements.  Feel free to join up with us!
 
Resumes/CV:  Send us your resume by August 23rd!  We want our career services staff to see your resume and provide you feedback. Make sure to include your new graduate degree program, with your expected graduation date. (exciting, right?)
 
Resume/CV submittal request: Q.  Why participate and why so early? A. In the fall, we create a resume book and electronically send it out to potential employers; you want to be included in this opportunity, even though you are just starting your graduate program. The resume book is reviewed for internship opportunities and other type of opportunities.  It's never too early to start promoting yourself.  Our career staff has created some templates.  If you are NOT a native English speaker, once you have revised your resume using the templates, have an English-speaking person review your resume first!  (I'll be happy to review them if you don't know anyone yet!)
 
SNRE Resume Template: http://www.snre.umich.edu/current_students/career_services/resume (2nd bullet is the template)
 
SNRE CV (for PhD) Template: http://www.snre.umich.edu/current_students/career_services/cv (1st bullet is the template)
 
Dates/Calendar
June 5: Start to register for fall courses
June 20: Start sending resume to snre.careers@umich.edu
Mid June/Early July: Secure housing
July 15: Orientation registration begins. Details sent out immediately prior to registration.
August 23: Deadline to send resume to snre.careers@umich.edu
August 23: SNRE International Student meet n greet Orientation 10am-2pm (more info later)
August 26: Service Day (optional)(more info later)
August 27-29: SNRE Orientation at the Biostation, Pellston, MI
August 30: Join SNRE's Linked In page
August 30: Explore erecruiter
 
 
Questions? Please let me know.
 
Happy June,
Sondra
 
Wednesday May 22, 2013
Hi All -
The U-M is performing software updates which impact WolverineAccess.
Incoming students will be registering no earlier than June 3.  The Registrar's Office staggers enrollment times to avoid system overload; please refer to your WolverineAccess student page to see your specific registration start time.  http://www.ur.umich.edu/update/archives/130522/wolverineaccess
 
 
Additional Registration tips:
-Keep in mind that people are adding/dropping this summer through the 3rd week of September.  
-Also - we've intentionally closed some classes to save spots for the incoming class.  They will open at 8am on the first day incoming students can register.
-Pre-populate your backpack, so you can easily click to officially register for classes!  View the samples and tips about registration and backpacking on the Incoming Student webpage: http://www.snre.umich.edu/node/5822/#announcements
-Cross-listed courses:  the system requires us to assign seats to both sections.  For example, NRE xxx/EEByyy.  NRExxx has 30 seats and EEB has 20 seats.  If you register for the NRE side and it's full, try registering for the EEB side.  It doesn't matter which way you register; it's the same class.
 
More to come later,
Sondra

*****************


May 17, 2013

Good afternoon -
May is going fast! June 1 is around the corner, and I wanted to get some more information toyou about courses and registration. If you have any questions, please let me know. There's a lot of info on the Incoming Student webpage - so take your time reading!

Reminder - this email group is a closed group - ie you can write to each other but outsiders can not write to you. Also remember the ctools group to find housing options. (ctools.umich.edu - SNRE Housing Bulletin)

Happy Friday,
Sondra

Incoming Student Webpage - now live!
NRE 566 Field Ecology
Registration - begins June 1
Experimental Courses and Seminars
Timeline and Dates

-Incoming Student Webpage - now live http://www.snre.umich.edu/incoming
This is your go-to page to find information registration, orientation, housing, insurance, core course test-out information - just to name a few. Also there's an 'archived email' page, where you can re-read some emails that was sent to you folks.

-NRE 566 Field Ecology - Profs Ivette Perfecto and John Vandermeer have more info to share about their Fall field ecology course. Below is a clip of info, but the entire Invitation to Students is an attachment to this email.
NRE 566 - Field Ecology - Fall 2013
The course runs on weekends, at the E.S. George Reserve, a biological research reserve
about 40 minutes north of Ann Arbor. We leave Ann Arbor on 7:00 PM Friday and
return about 7:00 PM Sunday. A typical weekend includes 3 or 4 lectures, two field
problems and much discussion. In addition to the two regular faculty members (Perfecto
& Vandermeer), each weekend one or two other faculty members will be visiting to lead
field problems and present lectures on their research. The course is thus an excellent
way to get to know several faculty members from the department of Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology (EEB) and the School of Natural Resources and Environment
(SNRE) on a relatively informal basis. It is also one of the main vehicles whereby
graduate students from EEB interact intensively with graduate students from SNRE.

-Registration: Registration for incoming students begins June 1 (and continues through the 3rd week of September). Please see the Incoming Student webpage for Registration Tips and Simulations, found under the 'Important Announcement' section.
Common questions about registration:
Q. What courses should I enroll? There's so much from which to choose!
A. Most masters students take 3 - 4 courses their first term. MS students - check out the degree requirements for your Field of Study (FOS). http://www.snre.umich.edu/degrees (click on your FOS, then 'requirements' and 'courses'). You can also see what other students have taken in your FOS using the 'course exploration tool'. (we are in the process of updating that data too). https://sitemaker.umich.edu/snre-course-exploration/course_exploration_tool And explore the NRE 501 courses too!
MLA students: your curriculum is more set. Click here to find an outline of courses you should take: http://www.snre.umich.edu/sites/all/files/MLA3Y%20Advising%20Worksheet%2... (page 2 of the pdf has the courses by term)
PhD Students: make sure to enroll in NRE 741 this fall. Your other courses will be worked out with you, your advisor, and your interim guidance committee (IGC) members. Reach out to them for guidance if you haven't heard from them already.

Q The course I want is full. What do I do?
A. If a course is full, then a) get yourself on a waitlist, either electronic via WolvAccess or by the dept/instructor. Electronic waitlists will appear on WolvAccess. Students over-enroll; there is a lot of course switching/dropping in the fall. b) also write to the instructor, introducing yourself and explaining why you need to enroll in their course for that particular term and c) show up the first day of class. Many times, if there are enough seats in the room, the instructor will allow you to remain.

-Experimental Courses and Seminars: Each term, SNRE offers 'experiential courses' - NRE 501.xxx. Each section is different. These courses are taught once or twice - and then they will either go away or be given a permanent course number. This fall, we have 8 NRE 501 courses. Make sure you read all the descriptions and register for the appropriate one! Copy of the course listing, as we know it today, is posted to the Incoming Student site in the 'Important Announcement' section.

We also have seminar courses that change each term, NRE 639 and NRE 677. Right now, we have 2 NRE 677 seminars and 1 NRE 639 seminar.

-Timeline and Dates:
June 1: Registration begins
June 30: You should have finalized your housing situation
August 23: Orientation for International Students - more info coming later
August 26: (Optional) Service Opportunity for Incoming students - more info coming later
August 27-29: SNRE Orientation at UM Biostation (all expected to attend)
August 30: (Optional) Rackham Grad School Welcome
Sept 3: Courses Start
Sept 5 & 6: Core Course Test Out Exams (by petition only - see Incoming Student website for details http://www.snre.umich.edu/node/5822/#course)

******************

end of April/early May, sent by Sondra

Greetings from Ann Arbor - 

We’re pleased you will be joining our tremendously talented cohort this fall!  I’m thrilled about our incoming students’ diverse experiences and excited to put more faces with names.
 
As Spring/Summer progresses, you will be receiving emails from the SNRE community. 
Right now, I have a few topics to touch-base with you on:  
-umich email account/uniqname
-Registration 
-Housing 
-Incoming Student website (live!)
-Orientation Aug 27-29 (Tues-Thurs) - mark your calendars
 
 
-UMICH email account - uniqname.  Heads up!  Once you have accepted our offer, all official communication from the U-M goes to your uniqname@umich.edu.  If you want to receive emails via gmail, hotmail, yahoo, whatever, you will have to redirect your umich account there.  I will send emails to the email address you provided on your application through April (ok through today), and then I will only send emails to your umich account.  Do you not have a uniqname yet (uniqname@umich.edu)? You’ll want to read these procedural sites and setup your uniqname now!  http://www.itcs.umich.edu/accounts/uniqname-processes/A2student.php
 
-Registration.  Registration for incoming graduate students begins June 1.  As that date gets closer, I’ll be sending out more detailed information.   However, you may want to look at the Registrar’s Office website to see a list of all U-M fall classes.  http://www.ro.umich.edu/schedule/ .  What classes will you need to take?  If you are in the MS cohort, you’ll need both fall core courses, NRE 509 and NRE 510. In addition, you’ll want to look at the ”˜degree requirements’ for each of the fields of study to see the courses required and recommended.http://www.snre.umich.edu/current_students/courses  This link will help you get to each MS & MLA field of study, along with our Course Exploration Tool.  Again – I’ll send out more details later, but this is just to give you a little bit of information.
 
-Housing.  We have a housing bulletin board site hosted on CTools.  (you will want to get familiar with CTools!).  It requires a login with your uniqname and Kerberos password.  Please make sure you read the instructions on the site first before posting!  You may post/search for sublet/apartments, roommates, and also note of places to avoid or places recommended.   This is the preferred method of finding housing instead of communicating through the large email groups!  How do you get to this site?  Use this link: http://ctools.umich.edu  You should have a section called "SNRE Student Housing Bulletin".  Let me know if you have problems with the link, and I can give you alternative instructions. International students: we're creating further resources with help from our current international students.  More on this later.  
 
-Incoming Student Website. Our Incoming Student website is now live..but we're having trouble linking the path to the homepage. The direct link: http://www.snre.umich.edu/oap/incoming_students These emails will also be archived there, and also post links to other pieces important for incoming students to know.
 
-Orientation Aug 27-29 - Save the date for our Orientation.  Details to come later - we expect all incoming students to join us for Orientation at the UM Biological Station in Pellston, MI.