Parent Matters2013FALL

WELCOME

IN THIS ISSUENews from Student Financial Services 3

A Touch of Home 4

Housing and Residential Life 4

NU Reinvents the Snell Library 5

Student Spotlight 6

Stay Connected 7

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Parent Matters

Dear Parents and Families:Welcome to the 2013-2014 academic year! I would like to personally welcome our newest parents and families, as well as all our returning parents. It was a pleasure meeting so many of you at Parent and Family Weekend this year, and we hope you enjoyed your visit to campus!

Fall is a very busy time on campus, with students preparing for midterms, clubs and organizations getting into full swing, and Homecoming right around the corner. While the weather is getting colder, our hockey season is just heating up and Husky fans everywhere are looking forward to a successful season.

Whether your student is taking classes in Boston or on co-op in Shanghai, here at Northeastern our goal is to keep you connected. Please use this Parent Matters newsletter as your resource. The Office of Parent Programs and Services is committed to helping you participate in your student’s experience at Northeastern. Don’t forget to visit us at our website northeastern.edu/parents and please feel free to contact my office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Susan BrownAssociate DirectorParent Programs and Services

Parent Matters

{YOUR STUDENT’S PAYMENT OPTIONS:Looking for a quick and easy way to pay your student’s bill? Try an e-check! Other payment options may include an international funds transfer, monthly payment plan, a wire transfer, or a check. To learn more about payment options, please visit northeastern.edu/financialaid/studentaccounts/payment.html.

LOOK AT YOUR STUDENT’S ACCOUNT:There are two ways to view your child’s account information: 1. E-bill: you will be sent a reminder to view your e-bill each month regardless of the amount owed. The e-bill is only updated once per month, and it reflects information on the account that is current to the date the e-bill was generated.

2. “Student Account, E-Bill and Payment Information” link on myNEU portal: Here you will find the most up-to-date account information. The student account is updated daily and will include all current charges and credits.

FOR N.U.in FAMILIES ONLY:Your spring 2014 e-bill will include a Northeastern University’s Student Health Plan (NUSHP) fee. Should your child have comparable health coverage, the student will be able to waive NUSHP on myNEU portal. For more details on the Massachusetts Law, NUSHP coverage, deadlines, and costs, please visit northeastern.edu/nushp or email nushp@neu.edu.

STAY CONNECTED:Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/NortheasternSFSFollow our Blog: nusfsblog.com

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Parent Matters

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM: HOUSING AND RESIDENTIAL LIFEResidence halls in the first year area close on Friday, December 13, 2013 at 7pm. Students are permitted to leave their belongings in the residence halls over the semester break, unless they are not returning to their space for spring semester. If a student has a late final on Friday, December 13, 2013 or has extenuating circumstances, he/she must contact the Residence Director to arrange for an alternate check-out time.

We encourage you to visit our website for more information: northeastern.edu/housing Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/NortheasternUniversityHousing Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/NUHousing

SURPRISE YOUR STUDENT! The O!ce of Parent Programs and Services, in conjunction with Wollaston’s, the campus grocery store, o"ers specialty cakes for all occasions. Your student will be notified that a special package awaits him or her at a campus location. It will be your student’s responsibility to pick up the order once he or she has been notified. To place an order, visit northeastern.edu/parents/order_a_cake1.html. We must receive your order one week prior to the time you want it to be ready for pick-up. You may also pre-order; we will keep a record of your request and place the order in a timely manner.

A TOUCH

OF HOME

Parent Matters

NORTHEASTERN REINVENTS SNELL LIBRARYAs students returned to campus this fall, they were welcomed by Snell Library’s new first floor, a transformation of approximately 34,000 square feet of space. The summer renovations introduced more than 150 Mac and PC workstations, a secure swipe-in station at the entrance, a variety of comfortable and functional furniture, over 20 group study rooms, and a new academic instruction center featuring classrooms with audio/visual infrastructure to support group learning and immersive teaching. Additionally, visitors to the library will now find a centralized reading space, a unified service desk for research, circulation, and technology assistance, and group space for videoconferencing and lecture capture.

Planning for the renovations utilized feedback from the students and faculty on campus in response to the successful launch of the Digital Media Commons, on the library’s second floor, just last year. The Digital Media Commons, a media lab and digital creativity center, gives students and faculty specialized access to data-analysis capabilities and high-end software ideal for game design, geospatial mapping, animation, audio and video editing.

The library’s reinvention provides Northeastern students with the best tools and resources to enrich their academic experience and explore innovative solutions to real-world problems. Snell Library, as a core academic resource on campus, attracts 1.9 million visits a year, is open 24/7, and serves students and faculty from every discipline, both on campus and online. The library’s first two floors are designed for collaborative, group study while the third and fourth floors maintain a traditional, quiet library environment conducive to independent study.

The library now begins an expansion of the Digital Media Commons to build a 3-D printing center, new audio/video recording studios, and a faculty support and digital scholarship center — the result of a partnership between Snell Library, Information Technology Services, and the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning through Research. More on this coming soon!

To learn more about Snell Library visit library.northeastern.edu.

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Parent Matters

STUDENT’S AUTONOMOUS BOAT ‘SCOUTS’ THE ATLANTICWhen a friend with an ambitious goal to send an autonomous boat from Rhode Island to Spain approached David Pimentel, he jumped on the opportunity. “He needed someone to help program the idea he had, which has to send a boat across the Atlantic,” explained Pimentel. “Right away, I was very interested in doing it.”

Pimentel, a fourth-year computer science major, was tasked with coding the 13- foot long autonomous robotic boat, nicknamed Scout, to follow a specific set of latitude- longitude points. The opportunity to code during co-op placements for PayPal and the mobile company RunKeeper gave Pimentel the experience necessary to take on such a lofty task. The boat is depending entirely on these pre-programmed commands as well as information about its environment collected through sensors to navigate the Atlantic.

After some trial and error, Scout was successfully launched at 1 a.m. on Aug. 24 from Sakonnet Point in Little Compton, R.I., with a crowd of spectators and project supporters in attendance.

“We had a couple of initial launches fail due to di"erent reasons, but now this trip is going better than I expected,” Pimentel said.

The team’s other six members were responsible for creating the web application used to track the boat, programming communications software, form construction, and component fabrication, among other aspects. The boat’s battery is powered by solar panels, similar to how a motorcycle battery operates. Since Scout only moves as a modest one mile per hour, on average, Pimentel and his team anticipate the trip will take another six to 12 weeks.

“We would like to prove that this is possible, and something that can be used in a research setting,” he said. “The ability to send a boat out to a certain point in the ocean to collect data, without needing to send a team, would be both cost and time e"ective.”

Outside of the potential research implications of a successful trip, the team has already believed to have beaten the world record for the farthest distance traveled by an autonomous boat. The previous record for the length of time spent on the water by an autonomous boat attempting a transatlantic trip was set in 2010 by a vessel that traveled only 61 miles o" the coast of Ireland. Scout has already passed this previous marker by nearly 30-fold.

“This has been a really exciting project to be a part of,” Pimentel said. “We’ve proven that it’s possible, and if we can, we’re going to do it again.”

VIEW THIS ARTICLE at News @ Northeastern. To read more student and faculty stories, please visit northeastern.edu/news

Photo credit: News@Northeastern Facebook.com/ScoutTransatlantic

This article was written by Jordana Torres, CAMD ’12. She held a co-op position in Northeastern’s O!ce of Marketing and Communications in 2011 and has recently returned as the department’s first Communications Coordinator.

Parent Matters

OFFICE OF PARENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICESThe O!ce of Parent and Family Programs has a number of ways for you to stay connected to the University, in addition to contacting us with any questions or issues your student may be having. We encourage parents and family members to take an informed, supportive role in their student’s educational success.

PARENTS’ CORNER MESSAGE BOARDVisit our Parent Message board to post questions for other parents and join in the discussion. Get started at northeasternparents.proboards.com.

PARENT PORTALStay up-to-date on University news and announcements, important upcoming events, and happenings specific to your student’s college. Access to student account information such as their academic transcript and Husky Card balance is available. You may also review and pay tuition bills through the Parent Portal. If you have not yet created a Parent Portal, we encourage you to do so. Learn how to create your account by visiting northeastern.edu/parents/pdfs/login.pdf.

VISIT US ON FACEBOOKFacebook.com/ParentFamilyProgramsAtNortheasternUniversity

BLOGSThere are a number of blogs that are updated regularly which are great resources for you to stay connected. You can stay up to date by following the blogs of The O!ce for Student A"airs, and numerous students, including many who are blogging while on co-op. Explore these blogs by visiting northeastern.edu/admissions.

CONTACT USThe O!ce of Parent Programs and Services is committed to helping you participate in your student’s experience at Northeastern. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have. You may reach us in any of the following ways:

Office of Parent Programs and Services 101 Ell Hall Northeastern University 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 617.373.3868 (voice) / 800.696.6516 (voice) 617.373.8899 (fax) / parents@neu.edu (email)