Happy first week of classes! Welcome to all of our new first-year, transfer, and campus change students, and welcome back to everyone else!
For those of you who are new to my advising roster, I will send out announcement emails like this about once every other week during the semester. This message contains several items that are relevant for all students along with several resources that may be relevant for you and/or a friend – please be sure to read it all the way through and save it in your email for later reference.
In future emails, the Table of Contents will help you to sort through which items are relevant to you and which ones you can skip over.
I hope you all have had a great summer and are looking forward to a new semester!
Table of Contents
- Class and Schedule Information:
- Email Communication
- Viewing and Interpreting your Class Schedule
- Accessing Courses through Carmen
- Textbooks
- Help with Finances:
- Office of Student Financial Aid (SFA)
- Office of the University Bursar (OUB)
- Technology Loans
- ScholarshipUniverse Scholarship Matching Tool
- Monda Student Resource Center (MSRC)
- Help with Classes:
- Study Spaces, Computer Labs, and Digital Unions
- IT Resources for Students
- Tutoring Help with Math, Physics, and More!
- Important University Offices and Resources
- ASC Career Success
- Counseling and Consultation Service (CCS)
- Student Life: Disability Services (SLDS)
- Student Advocacy Center
- Student Wellness Center (SWC)
- Monda Student Resource Center (MSRC)
Class and Schedule Information
Email Communication
Remember that due to FERPA privacy laws, we cannot provide specific information about your academic record to a non-OSU email address. You are expected to use your @buckeyemail.osu.edu email address when communicating with OSU faculty and staff. If you’d like to use your OSU email account but have experienced problems using or setting up your university email, you can contact the IT Service Desk at 614-688-4357 or 8help@osu.edu for assistance.
Additionally forwarding to non-OSU emails was discontinued on December 31, 2024 – you must log in to BuckeyeMail (https://buckeyemail.osu.edu) directly to access your email.
I strongly recommend that you make a habit out of checking your email on a regular basis, as it is the primary mode of communication from all official university channels. My advice is to set aside 30-60 minutes every weekday to sit down (preferably at a computer and not on your phone) and check and respond to emails. Please also note that some professors may prefer to communicate via the mail system in Carmen, while others will not.
Viewing and Interpreting your Class Schedule
You can check your class schedule by going to https://buckeyelink.osu.edu > Enrollment and Registration > My Class Schedule
Then, click the “Weekly Calendar View” button at the top of the schedule to see a view in terms of weeks and times of the day. In-person and hybrid courses will be shown on the schedule with listed times and locations; synchronous online courses will be shown on the schedule with the listed times and a location of “Online”; and asynchronous online courses are all listed in the “Meeting Information Not Available” section at the bottom of the page. You can also check this information on the OSU App if you have it downloaded and are signed in.
Keep in mind that each component of a course (lab, lecture, recitation, etc.), if it has multiple, can have a different delivery mode. So, for example, some of the Math 1151 and 1152 courses have an asynchronous online lecture component and an in-person recitation component, while others are in-person for both components.
There are several days where you will not have classes. The full academic calendar can be found here on the Registrar’s website: https://registrar.osu.edu/academic-calendar/
- September 1 (Monday) – Labor Day – no classes, offices closed
- October 16-17 (Thursday-Friday) – Autumn Break – no classes, offices open
- November 11 (Tuesday) – Veterans Day – no classes, offices closed
- November 26-28 (Wednesday-Friday) – Thanksgiving Break – no classes, offices open on Wednesday; closed on Thursday/Friday
- December 11 (Thursday) – Reading Day (falls between the final day of classes on Wednesday, December 10 and the first day of final exams on Friday, December 12) – no classes, offices open
Accessing Courses through Carmen
Some professors have not activated their Carmen courses yet (https://carmen.osu.edu), and likely will not do so until the first day that their class meets. This is 100% normal – please be patient and wait for your courses to be published. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your instructor directly. I do not have any additional information on when courses will be published from any instructors. If you have a technical issue that the instructor does not know how to resolve, then contact Carmen Support at carmen@osu.edu. Please note that if you add or drop a course, Carmen will update overnight, so you will not see any course changes until the next day.
Please note that if you change your schedule in Buckeye Link, it will take overnight for Carmen to re-sync, both to add a new course/section into view to and remove the old course/section from view.
Textbooks
The official OSU Bookstore is the Barnes and Noble on N. High Street. You can look up required and recommended materials for classes on their website here: https://ohiostate.bncollege.com/course-material/course-finder
Helpful information about acquiring textbook and course materials can be found on the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) website: https://usg.osu.edu/resources/textbook-buying-tips
Help with Finances
- Office of Student Financial Aid (SFA)
- Contact information can be found here: https://sfa.osu.edu/contact-us
- Office of the University Bursar (OUB)
- Information on paying your tuition bill can be found here: https://busfin.osu.edu/bursar
- Tuition costs can be found on the Registrar’s website here: https://registrar.osu.edu/student-hub/tuition-and-fees/
- Technology Loans
- Technology device loans of an iPad Air or Microsoft Surface Go are available for students with demonstrated financial need. Information on requesting or renewing a technology loan can be found here: https://it.osu.edu/offerings/student-technology-loan-program
- Scholarship Universe Scholarship Matching Tool
- ScholarshipUniverse is a scholarship-matching tool that that simplifies the process of finding and applying for university and external scholarships. Students and applicants log in with their Ohio State username and password (created after admission application) to build, update or confirm their profile. For more information, see here: https://osu.scholarshipuniverse.com
- Monda Student Resource Center (MSRC)
- The Monda Student Resource Center (https://msrc.osu.edu/) just opened in Spring 2025 on the first floor of the Younkin Success Center, combining several existing OSU resources, including the Buckeye Food Alliance (food pantry open to all OSU students) and the Reid Family Career Closet (free new and gently used clothing for job interviews, internships, case competitions, and networking events), along with compiling resources for things like off-campus housing, emergency financial assistance, community resources, and support for students who are also parents.
Help with Classes
- Study Spaces, Computer Labs, and Digital Unions
- Public computer labs and open study spaces are available in various places around campus. Details can be found here: https://learningspaces.osu.edu/study-spaces
- Digital Union locations offer various services for OSU students, such as free 3D printing, laser cutting, state-of-the-art video and audio studios, meeting spaces, access to the Adobe Creative Suite and more. All resources and assistance are free, with the exception of paper printing and poster printing, which are managed by Uniprint. Details can be found here: https://learningspaces.osu.edu/digital-unions
- IT Resources for Students
- A summary of all programs, platforms, and IT support resources provided to OSU students can be found here: https://it.osu.edu/students
- Tutoring help with Math, Physics, and More! Help is always available for Math, Physics, and Astro classes during the school year:
- Math and Statistics Learning Center (MSLC) Drop-ins (Math 2173 and below): https://mslc.osu.edu/tutoring/drop-tutoring
- Math and Statistics Learning Center (MSLC) Appointment Tutoring (Math 3345 and below): https://mslc.osu.edu/tutoring/appointment-tutoring
- Physics Tutoring (always available for Physics 12xx classes, sometimes available for higher-level classes): https://physics.osu.edu/student-resources-0/physics-tutoring
- The free Physics Tutor Room is located in 2097 Smith Lab
- The Writing Center (can also help with personal statements!): https://cstw.osu.edu/make-writing-center-appointment
- The Dennis Learning Center can help with study skills, note-taking, test taking strategies, and general organization and time management help: https://dennislearningcenter.osu.edu/free-appointments/
Important University Offices and Resources:
- ASC Career Success: https://asccareersuccess.osu.edu
- Career Services center open to all College of Arts and Sciences students, with a wide variety of resources from career events to resume and cover letter reviews to a large library of guides and tip sheets
- Counseling and Consultation Service (CCS): https://ccs.osu.edu/services/talk-to-a-counselor
- CCS is OSU’s counseling center, and it provides a wide range of additional mental health resources
- Student Life: Disability Services (SLDS): https://slds.osu.edu/how-to-register/registration-process
- Register with SLDS to ensure you receive accommodations for disabilities, both temporary and not
- Student Advocacy Center: https://advocacy.osu.edu/
- Contact Student Advocacy if you experience any sort of personal emergency during the semester
- Student Wellness Center (SWC): https://swc.osu.edu/
- SWC provides a wide range of resources, including coaching for finances, nutrition, and general wellness
- Monda Student Resource Center (MSRC): https://msrc.osu.edu/
- The Monda Student Resource Center combines several existing OSU resources, including the Buckeye Food Alliance (food pantry open to all OSU students) and the Reid Family Career Closet (free new and gently used clothing for job interviews, internships, case competitions, and networking events), along with compiling resources for things like off-campus housing, emergency financial assistance, community resources, and support for students who are also parents.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or are experiencing any issues. I hope you all have a great semester!