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Happy 2010 to our USD families! We’re looking forward to welcoming your students back to campus for the spring semester and offer a special welcome to new freshman and transfer student families. This newsletter will continue to be sent to you each month during the academic year, and you may also receive other special messages from us in between these newsletters.  If you misplace this message, you can always find copies of past newsletters at www.sandiego.edu/parents.

For parents of first year students, you may be amazed that your student’s first year is already half over.  Meanwhile, parents of students about to graduate are marveling at how fast the years have gone!  We encourage all of you to be proud of your student’s accomplishments, regardless of how many semesters they have under their belts at this point.  The USD experience makes us all one community–and that sense of community is taking a prominent place in the buzz around campus these days.

Please remember our office is here to assist you.  You can contact us by phone at (619) 260-4808, by email to parents@sandiego.edu and you can visit us at www.sandiego.edu/parents.  We look forward to seeing some of you at our Grandparents Weekend that will take place February 26-27, 2010. Best wishes to you and your student for a successful spring 2010!

Grandparents Weekend 2010

Bartell Hotels is sponsoring a giveaway for a two-night stay at the Dana on Mission Bay during the Grandparents Weekend Breakfast.  Each family who attends the breakfast will receive one raffle ticket for the prize drawing.  The winning family must be present at the breakfast’s conclusion to receive the prize.  Bartell Hotels offers USD families special rates for all of their San Diego properties, and a percentage of the total room cost is donated to the university.  For more information about Bartell Hotels, go to the Bartell Hotels USD Partnership website www.bartellhotels.com/usdpartnership or call (800) 345-9995.

Invitations for this year have already been sent directly to the grandparents in our database.  If you or your student has already submitted this information, you do not need to re-submit. If you would like your family’s grandparents to be included in future events and mailings, please send an e-mail with their names and mailing addresses along with the name of the USD student to parents@sandiego.edu.  For this year, please refer family members to the Grandparents Weekend website http://www.sandiego.edu/grandparents.  Be sure that your family members RSVP for Grandparents Weekend by February 12, 2010.

Message from Student Affairs

Dear Torero Parents,

I hope your holiday season was filled with great joy and many blessings.  We are excited to have our student community back on campus.  As the spring semester begins, I am reminded of the significant impact of parents and how greatly we depend on this partnership.  As our mutual commitment to supporting your students’ academic and personal growth continues, I would like to encourage you to engage in dialogue with your student about his or her current academic status and level of active involvement in the USD community.

When students intentionally reflect on their previous academic experience, they are able to identify what behaviors allowed for success and those which inhibited success.  As a parent, your guidance and support can help students maintain achievement and make needed changes.  If your student is struggling and needs additional support, the Center for Student Success can help your student with referrals to various USD resources designed to support academic success (http://www.sandiego.edu/usdcss/; phone: 619-260-5995).                  

Being an active participant and member of a caring, nurturing community is an essential component for personal growth and integrated learning.  Additionally, students who participate in the many USD sponsored groups, organizations and events are often more knowledgeable about the many campus resources available to support them in their academic, social and spiritual development.  Our Student Leadership and Involvement Center (SLIC) can serve as a one stop student center for those looking to actively engage in the university.  Your son or daughter can visit the SLIC or stop by the Involvement Desk located in the Student Life Pavilion to speak with an Involvement Consultant who will help guide this process (http://www.sandiego.edu/studentactivities/: phone: 619-260-7909).

Finally, please encourage your student to attend USD’s All Faith Service on January 28, 2010, at 12:15 p.m. in the Shiley Theater.  This interfaith gathering of the 2010 spring semester is a wonderful opportunity to come together in unity to celebrate the diverse gifts and traditions of our community.  Phone: 619-260-4656).

An inclusive and caring environment is foundational to the academic and social success of our students.  Engaged students are vital to our community.  Please encourage your student to take full advantage of many USD resources and service opportunities available in 2010.  

In Torero Spirit,
Carmen M. Vazquez
Vice President, Student Affairs

Financial Aid

Important Deadlines for Financial Aid for 2010-11 are fast approaching

Undergraduate Deadline: March 2, 2010
Apply online at www.fafsa.ed.gov

Questions regarding financial aid (scholarships, loans, grants), applications, deadlines or Financial Aid Awards?  Call the One Stop Student Center at (619) 260-2700 or go to www.sandiego.edu/financial_aid .

Student Alumni Association

The Student Alumni Association (SAA) is a student organization focused on connecting students with USD alumni, and providing opportunities to network with successful alumni, build USD tradition and Torero pride, and receive training in networking and professionalism. Students can join online at http://www.sandiego.edu/futurealumni.

Plan Ahead for Commencement 2010

Parents of students participating in Commencement weekend (May 22-23, 2010) may want to begin visiting http://www.sandiego.edu/commencement for information that will be updated throughout the coming months.  If you have not done so already, please read the letter to undergraduate students from the Provost, as it includes information you may be interested in as well.  Parents and families will receive an information packet in the mail from our office in February.  We will be sending this information to the permanent address on record for your student at the Registrar.  It is important that your student keeps accurate address information on file with the Registrar. 

Encourage your student to attend Grad Fest 2010, March 3 and 4, in the USD Bookstore for one-stop Commencement information and shopping.  Go to www.usdbookstore.com for information on ordering caps and gowns, class rings, announcements and many more Commencement-related items.

Congratulations to students and families in anticipation of this important accomplishment!

New Travel Discounts for USD Community

The University of San Diego recently selected some new preferred travel providers and we are pleased to offer our corporate discounts not only to employees and students, but to their families as well. 

All University of San Diego employees, families, alumni and friends are welcome to use USD’s preferred vendors for their travel needs.  There are various discounts available through these relationships – vacation deals, car rental discounts, hotel specials and airport shuttle discounts.  Here are the details:

Car Rental: 

Avis, Budget, Enterprise and National have been selected as USD’s preferred car rental vendors.  USD employees, families, alumni, friends and others doing business with the University of San Diego are eligible to use our corporate account numbers and rates with any of these vendors.  Coupons for free weekend days, free upgrades and other great deals are available by visiting the direct web links listed below.

Negotiated rates will entitle all renters to either the lowest available web fare in the location requested or our discounted corporate rate (whichever is lower).  To utilize USD’s rates you should use the following corporate ID numbers or visit the web addresses provided.

Avis  (AWD) B572300  

Budget  (BCD) R197000

Enterprise:  XZ32312

National:  (CD) XZ32312

Hotels:

Bartell Hotels
The University of San Diego benefits from a unique corporate partnership with Bartell Hotels. USD employees, families, alumni and friends are eligible to receive special discounted rates on hotel reservations at any one of the seven Bartell Hotels. Also, when you select a Bartell Hotel for you, out of town guests or a special conference program, Bartell Hotels will donate 10% back from the total room cost to the university in support of student scholarships. All properties offer meeting and banquet facilities. In addition, all USD guests are treated to a daily continental breakfast, a welcome beverage and a guaranteed suite upgrade for an additional nominal fee. To take advantage of the special rates, while helping to provide much needed scholarship support to USD students, please call toll free 800-345-9995 or visit www.bartellhotels.com/usdpartnership.

Airport Shuttle:

SuperShuttle
All University of San Diego employees, students, families, alumni and others doing business with USD are eligible to use our SuperShuttle corporate 10% discount on any roundtrip reservations made and paid online.  SuperShuttle operates as Cloud 9 from the San Diego airport and also provides airport shuttle services in 32 other US airport markets.  To use the USD 10% discount simply enter corporate code 9GBL9 in the Group/Discount Code box located on the first page of www.supershuttle.com while making reservations.  You may also make reservations using our code by visiting the following web page: http://www.supershuttle.com/default.aspx?GC=9GLB9

Vacation Deals:

USD’s preferred corporate travel vendor is Global Point Travel Solutions located in San Diego, CA.  Global Point’s leisure travel business, Carefree Vacations offers special deals on cruises, vacation packages and other travel options.  To view what types of specials are currently being offered to USD employees, students and their families simply visit http://www.carefreevacations.com/eov/usd/

Upcoming Parent, Family and Alumni Events

The USD Alumni Association invites parents and family members to attend these upcoming events. Please click the name of the event for more information including registration details. Connect with the USD community in your hometown area!

Wine Tasting and Pairing in Woodinville
Saturday, January 30 at 7 p.m.
Seattle, WA

Networking Night in Irvine
Thursday, February 25 at 6 p.m.
Irvine, CA

New York Networking at SPiN
Thursday, March 4 at 7 p.m.
New York City, NY

Wine Tasting and Networking Mixer in Little Italy
Thursday, March 11 at 6 p.m.
San Diego, CA

Torero Update

While campus is relatively quiet during the semester break, the Torero athletes are as busy as ever! Men’s and women’s basketball teams have just begun West Coast Conference play, with many games televised and also streamed live at www.usdtoreros.com. The Swimming and Diving team has had success at recent competitions, including capturing five of sixteen events against the Titans of UCSD. Competition on the tennis courts is underway, Men’s Golf tournaments tee off in coming weeks and Baseball and Softball seasons welcome first pitches in February. Spring is a great time to catch Torero Fever! Catch a competition on campus or in your area. See schedules and other team updates at www.usdtoreros.com. Go Toreros!

Looking ahead - Important Dates

January 28 – USD All Faith Service
February 26-27 – Grandparents Weekend
March 8 – 12 – Spring Break, no classes
April 1 – 5 – Easter Break, no classes
May 14 – 20 – Final exams
May 22 – 23 – Commencement Weekend 
June 1 – First day of first Summer Session
August 13 – Registration/Fee payment deadline for Fall 2010
August 20 – Last day of last Summer Session
September 1 – First day of Fall Semester 2010
September 6 – Labor Day (no classes; offices closed)