Hello!                                                                                         March 16, 2009

California State University, Monterey Bay is happy to welcome you to campus as an NSE student. We hope to make this a productive and fun semester or year for you and the first step of making that happen is to be familiar with what you can expect.  There will belots of e-paperwork to do in the next first months.  Some it will seem a bit taxing but if you keep up with it, you should be fine.  We don’t do things differently than most other campuses but many of the steps are just different enough that you might occasionally feel like a fish out of water. If you, just contact us, and we’ll help you through the process. Please hold on to this information and make a copy of it for your parents or others who will be helping you.  There’s a lot of info here but we think if you take the time to read it, and refer to it later, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches.

• First, make sure you complete you PAF with your home campus NSE coordinator.  We need it immediately. PLEASE ADD YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ON THE TOP OF THE PAF.  We cannot process your enrollment without it. Please make sure to include any and every email address that you read now and during the summer on the PAF.  That’s how we’ll be communicating with you.

Here are some dates to keep in mind:

• By the end of April, you will receive a Student Identification Number via email.  Keep this number safe and secure.
• After you have received your Student ID, you will be able to apply for on-campus housing. Please do so the moment you receive your ID as housing is tight.  You can review your option at csumb.edu/housing.  We recommend North Quad suites for all NSE students. (See below for more info.)
• Beginning March 23^rd, you will be able to view the schedule of classes for fall 2009 online at http://schedule.csumb.edu/classes . Please meet with your home advisor(s) and work out the “ideal” schedule and your “backup” schedule.  You will register after the seniors and juniors so please have alternatives if your first choices are full.
• Pay for your housing and meal plan no later than the end of June and sooner is better.  It will save you from receiving a bunch of emails asking why you haven’t paid. At this writing they were considering requiring payment for housing before you could register.  The meal plan is less pressing but do pay housing as soon as possible. (See Financial Aid, below for info about financial aid deferments.)
• After April 20^th, you will receive an email from us giving you the date you will be able to register for classes online using your Student ID. You register online.  Read more about that below.
• August 21^st you will be able to move-in to on-campus housing. 
• August 21^st, from 5pm to 7pm, you will attend the mandatory NSE meeting on-campus.
• August 24^th, courses begin

Now, let’s elaborate…

• Student Identification Number.  Once you receive this number in April it is very important that you DO NOT throw it away.  You will need this number to register for classes and to apply for on-campus housing.  More information regarding registration and on-campus housing is below.

• http://my.csumb.edu  The first time you log-in to PeopleSoft (our online registration system), your password will be your birth date (MMDDYYYY).  The system will then ask you to create a new password and tell you that your current password is expired.  You MUST then change your password or you’ll be locked out of the system when you log-off.  Please follow the directions that the system will provide and choose a password with both letters and numbers.  Just to help you remember, you can write your ID and password below:

• Student ID: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 
• New Password: _______________________

• If you need to change any info about yourself, http://cms.csumb.edu/site/x19805.xml  provides a number of online resources to help you navigate through PeopleSoft.

• Providing Immunization/Vaccination records.  It is required by must universities that all students who reside on-campus provide proof of their immunization and acknowledge the information about the Meningococcal vaccine. 
• Acknowledging Meningococcal information.  You must fax or mail a copy of the Vaccination form, found at this website: http://housing.csumb.org/site/x18311.xml to our Health Center. Click on “Vaccination Form” near the bottom of the webpage.  Print it out. Make sure to select “No” under “First-time Freshman.”  *Note, this only acknowledges that you have been given information. You are not required to be vaccinated, though it is recommended.  Once you sign it, please fax this form to (831) 582-3976 or mail it to the address given at the top of the Vaccination Form. 
• Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) and Hepatitis B (Hep B).  Please fax or mail a copy of proof of your immunization record to our Health Center.  This is required unless you have religious or other objections to having the immunizations.  To find more information on our immunization requirements, please go to http://health.csumb.edu/site/x13608.xml. Please fax the proof of immunization or the form about your objections to receiving the immunizations to the CSUMB Health Center: Fax - (831) 582-3976
• Address:  Campus Health Center, 100 Campus Center, Building 80
• Seaside, CA 93955-8001

• On-campus housing - http://housing.csumb.org/site/x17662.xml 

On-campus housing is required by our NSE regulations, and is most convenient since our campus is located several miles from most private apartment complexes and town centers.  To apply, go to http://housing.csumb.org/site/x18558.xml.  Read the instructions on this page before clicking into the application.  You are not allowed to apply until you pay a $250 security deposit; this deposit can be paid online, by check or by credit card.  If you pay online via the PeopleSoft system, follow the instructions in the first bullet point about student identification numbers if you have not yet attempted to access your PeopleSoft account.

We offer a variety of on-campus housing developments in order to accommodate our students’ age and scholastic term. 

• The Residence Halls are situated in the heart of the main campus.  These Halls are generally reserved for freshman, exclusively.  You have to have fewer than 30 semester units to live here.  The Res Halls are within walking distance of classrooms, the brand new library, the Dining Commons, computer facilities, the Media Learning Complex, the Campus Health Center, the Otter Sports Center, and all administrative offices.  A meal plan is required.  These three-story residence halls offer a very few single occupancy rooms, and many double occupancy and triple/quadruple occupancy rooms.  The per semester rates for 2009/2010 are:

• The North Quad Suites are three four-story buildings are just across the street from the Main Quad.  We recommend this option for NSE students.  Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible to live in the Suites.  Each one includes a kitchenette, one or two bathrooms, and a small study lounge/lining area.  Students can choose to live in a two-bedroom one-bath, or a four-bedroom two-bath configuration. (North Quad apartments are not available to NSE students although you are welcome to put your name on the waiting list.) A meal plan is required for anyone living on campus.  The per semester rates for North Quad Suites are:

• At this writing, the East Campus apartments are only available to students 24+ years of age or who have accumulated over 90 units. This may change to 21 years and 60 units. It also may stay at the higher requirement so check the website. These are two story apartments, providing a choice of top floor or bottom floor.  Each unit is a two-bedroom one-bath arrangement.  They are not located on the main campus but about three miles from campus; however, there is a shuttle service provided by the university to take students to and from campus.  There is no required meal plan for residents of East Campus.  The monthly rent is:  (this amount can be divided by up to four people, though it is much more common to share the two bedrooms between just 3 people. One of the rooms is a bit small.)

• Meal Plans are required for all students who live on-campus (in the Residence Halls, or in North Quad).  Meal Plans are a prepaid block for the semester to make eating on-campus easier and more convenient.  There are three meal plan options.  Specifics can be found about the meal plans online at http://housing.csumb.org/site/x19366.xml. Please note that you will not receive any money back for unused meal blocks.  You can always pay for meals with cash, credit, or add money to your current meal plan if it runs out. We encourage you to buy the lowest amount but it’s up to you.  The simple list of meal plans and prices are below:

To select/pay for a meal plan, log on to your PeopleSoft account, go to “Student Center” in the left hand menu, and select “make a payment.”  Meal plans are under Room and Board on the right hand column. 

*Note. If you have a balance for tuition and fees, please ignore it and do not make a payment for that balance.  Notify us of this balance, and we will have it removed.  As an NSE student, you do not pay tuition and fees to CSUMB.  You only pay for housing and a meal plan.

• Registering for courses -  When considering a schedule of courses for registration, please keep in mind that classes fill up quickly.  We advise you to prepare two suitable course schedules, each with a total of at least 12 units.  (You must be registered for at least 12 units each semester in order to participate in the NSE program.  When looking at classes, please make sure that the times of class meetings do not overlap. 

Some classes require pre-requisites.  You can check a class’s requirements by going online to the course schedule (http://schedule.csumb.edu/classes/), selecting the subject (such as HCOM), and clicking on the link for that particular class.  Pre-requisites are listed under “Co requisites, Pre requisites, & Restrictions” as well as under “Course Description.”  If a class that you are attempting to register for requires a pre-requisite that you have already met, and PeopleSoft is not allowing registration please email me with the title and course number of the class you want to take and the complete title and catalog description of that completed pre-requisite.  Ex. The Oceans, a very popular class with NSE students, requires basic math.  Email me that you want to take The Oceans and you’ve had Math 115, Basic Statistics.)

We will contact the department and ask for a permission number.  The department will then contact you by email with your assigned permission number. When registering for that class, you will enter this permission number in a small box in the upper right hand corner.  Then proceed through the steps of registration.  If your permission number does not work, or reads “expired” please contact the department by email and include a copy of their previous email to you.

You’ll notice early in the registration process that we have different names for classes and subject than other campuses. For example, if you are looking for a history class, look in both SBS and HCOM.  If you want a Psych course, look in Psych, possibly CHHS and definitely SBS. Political Science is in Global Studies as well as HCOM.  Computer anything is under CST. If you want foreign language, look under World Languages and Culture (Please note: ASMT stands for Assessment and is a test, not a class.)

NSE students tend to enjoy taking area specific classes such as The Oceans, Monterey Bay Case Studies, SCUBA, Surfing, and Backpacking.  If you don’t get into surfing or backpacking, have no fear.  Our wonderful outdoor recreation department offers various surfing lessons and backpacking excursions throughout the year at a very low cost.

• Financial Aid.  If you receive financial aid from your home campus and it is going to be applied to your housing and meal plan fees at CSUMB, you must have your home university’s financial aid office send a financial aid deferment letter to our financial aid office before you arrive.  This letter must contain the amount of financial aid you will receive.  (If you have any questions please contact your campus financial aid advisor or at CSUMB contact Ashlie Weisbly by email at Ashlie_Weisbly@csumb.edu.)

Fax or mail the letter to:

• Fax number: (831) 582-3782
• Financial Aid Office
• 100 Campus Center, Building 47
• Seaside, CA 93955-8001

• Arriving in Monterey.  Please plan to arrive on-campus before 5pm on August 21^st.  There will be a Mandatory Orientation for all NSE students that family members and friends are welcome to attend.  The Orientation starts at 5pm and ends at 7pm.  Afterwards we’ll drive students to the local Target store to pick up any forgotten items. 

Once you have decided upon your mode of transportation and time of arrival, please inform our office.  You can reach us by email at Holly_White@csumb.edu or by phone at (831) 582-4735.  We must have your arrival plans by August 13, 2009. 

If you are flying into Monterey, we suggest the Monterey Peninsula airport (MRY).  It is only 20-minutes from campus, and if you arrive between 7:30am - 8:30pm, we may be able to pick you up at the airport and drive you to campus.  This is the ONLY airport that we pick up from, and prior notice of your arrival is mandatory.

http://www.montereyairbus.com/pickupinfo.html  If you choose to fly into a neighboring city, we suggest using the Monterey Airbus to get to the Monterey Bay.  The Monterey Airbus is a shuttle system between the San Jose airport and the San Francisco airport and downtown Monterey.  (It does not pickup from Oakland or LAX.)  The Monterey Airbus would drop you off at the Monterey Transit Plaza, where one of our staff may be able to pick you up and bring you to campus if your arrival time is between 7:30am and 8:30pm. August 21^st.

• If you a need of a taxi to campus, there are many options available. The cost is around $45. Yellow Cab (831) 646-1234, Central Coast Taxi (831) 626-3333 and
• Monterey Yellow Cab (831) 375-5155
• On your day of travel if you experience unexpected situations, such as flight delays, please let us know. Leave a message at (831) 402-5702. 

• Early Arrival - If you choose to arrive in Monterey before the move-in date of CSUMB, you will not be able to checkin to your on-campus housing.  We suggest that you contact the Monterey International Hostel.  You can reach them through their website: http://montereyhostel.com/ or by phone at (831) 649-0375.  They are ideally located near the heart of Monterey, they provide comfortable rooms, and charge a very reasonable fee. They fill up fast so call or email them soon. We can usually provide you with a ride from the Hostel to campus for move-in/orientation if you give us prior notice.

• Shipping - Please keep in mind that your residence hall rooms are rather small, and you will likely be sharing a room with other students.  Also, many items are available at local retail stores such as Target, REI, Kohls, etc.  However, if you are planning on shipping belongings or care-packages, follow these directions.  Do not send packages to your dorm address.  Our mailroom does not deliver packages to any on-campus housing building.

• Send packages to our office address at:

Attn: Holly White

(Your Name)

CSUMB International Programs Office

100 Campus Center, Bldg 58

Seaside, CA 93955-8001

• You must put “Attn: Holly White” on your package because the mailroom will not send your package if my name is not present. We will contact you when your package arrives.  Make sure that you are able to carry your package unassisted.
• Also, please be patient. It is a large campus and things take time to arrive. If you MUST have an item the night you arrive, either plan to buy it here or bring it with you.

 If you would like to find out more about California State University of Monterey Bay or view photos of the university, we invite you to visit the websites below:

http://csumb.edu/                                http://international.csumb.edu/

We look forward to hearing from you and hope you’ll enjoy CSU Monterey Bay!

Sincerely,

Holly White

CSU Monterey Bay

International Programs, manager

(831) 582-4735

(831) 582-5167

Holly_white@csumb.edu