As students adjust to the rigors of NCSSM it is also important for them to make time to have fun, relax, and enjoy all parts of the Science and Math experience. To that end, it is important that you and they know about the NCSSM Student Activities Board and all the amazing opportunities that it offers students. 

SAB is made up of student and employee volunteers from across campus. Under the supervision of Kori Willoughby, the Student Activities Coordinator, SAB meets every other Thursday throughout the year to plan activities and events for the student body. Meetings are open to all students.

Some popular SAB events, outside of major campus-wide events like Welcome Week, the Halloween Dance & Costume Contest, Winter Semi-Formal Dance, Prom, and End-of-Year Celebrations, include:

• Friday Fun Day activities like grocery bingo and giant Twister

• Thursday Night Trivia in the Courtyard

• Weekend Movie Nights outdoors and in the Lecture Hall

• Food Runs, Loops, and Sunday study breaks

• Block Parties on Hill Street

You can find out more about SAB and see upcoming events on their website.

As October draws to a close, faculty across campus will be completing grading assignments so that we can release second progress reports for your students on November 8th. To view your student’s progress report you will need to log into Blackbaud and select the “progress” tab. Then click where it says “report cards” to open all the progress reports for this year. Select either “Semester 1 - Durham” or “Semester 1 - Durham (no comments),” depending on whether you want to view grades and teacher feedback, or just grades.

If you have concerns about your student’s performance, please let me know. I always meet with students who have multiple Cs or a D to help develop a plan for improvement, but will be happy to meet with anyone if there are concerns. It is also important that your student reach out to their individual teachers, guidance counselor, and the Center for Advising and Academic Success for advice on how to improve. This is also a good time for students to evaluate whether they should be attending tutorials more often.

Just a quick reminder that the Residence Halls will be closing once before our next update:

• Closed Friday, September 27th at 5:00pm. Opens Sunday, October 6th at noon.

Students will complete an electronic Extended Sign-Out Form during hall meeting. On this form they indicate where they are going for the break, who they are traveling with, and how they are getting to their destination. If students have specific questions about checkout procedures for Extended Weekends, they should speak to me.

As September draws to a close, faculty across campus will be completing grading assignments to release progress reports for students on September 20. To view student progress reports, families will need to log into Blackbaud and select the “progress” tab. Families will then click “report cards” to open all the progress reports for the year and select either “Semester 1 - Durham” or “Semester 1 - Durham (no comments),” depending on whether they want to view grades and teacher feedback, or just grades.

If families have concerns about their student’s performance, then please reach out to their student’s CC. CCs always meet with students who have multiple Cs or a D to help develop a plan for improvement, but will be happy to meet with anyone if there are concerns. It is also important that students reach out to their individual teachers, counselor, and the Center for Advising and Academic Success for advice on how to improve. This is also a good time for students to evaluate whether they should be attending tutorials more often.

Just a quick reminder that the Residence Halls will be closing twice during September.

• Closed Friday, August 30th at 5:00pm.  Opens Monday, September 2nd at noon.

• Closed Friday, September 27th at 5:00pm.  Opens Sunday, October 6th at noon.

Students will complete an electronic Extended Sign-Out Form during hall meeting.  On this form they indicate where they are going for the break, who they are traveling with, and how they are getting to their destination.  If students have specific questions about checkout procedures for Extended Weekends, they should reach out to their CC.

Now that we have made it to the first extended weekend, students should be getting into the swing of things with classes and life at NCSSM. Around this time students will also notice their workload increasing. It is imperative for them to develop strong time management skills and learn to seek out help as they begin to face these new challenges. If needed, students can reach out to their CC and/or any of the following resources:

• Center for Advising and Academic Success (CAAS): CAAS serves all residential and online students during their time here at NCSSM. The purpose and function of the Center is to provide individual, ongoing, and real-time academic support and guidance for all students. Some of the CAAS services include:

  • providing guidance and advice for students on course choices and placement

  • providing academic consultation for students

  • developing and managing academic support plans 

  • communicating directly with student support teams

  • communicating/collaborating with Counseling on academic support

  • providing administrative support for Enrollment Services/Registrar

• Tutorials: Most classes and departments offer formal tutorials for students. These tutorial sessions are led by both faculty and student TAs. Tutorial sessions or resources can be found on each department’s website:

  • Engineering and Computer Science

  • Fine Arts

  • Mathematics

  • Science

    • Science Department Academic Assistance

• Residential Education Courses: All juniors take RE102; in this course they learn about academic success strategies. The skills they develop and the resources provided by their instructor will be helpful to revisit as their workload increases.

CCs are available 24 hours a day to assist your students. The Bryan CC desk is staffed each day from 7:30am to 1:00am. All other CC building offices are staffed beginning at 6:30pm each day. Outside of these hours there will always be 2 CCs on call while students are on campus. The contact numbers for the on-call CCs are posted at each CC desk and can be viewed here. If your student has an emergency they are encouraged to reach out to the on duty CCs. 

NCSSM also has Campus Safety Officers available 24 hours. They can be contacted at 919-416-2911.

Student Health, often referred to as the Clinic, is located on the first floor of the Hunt Residence Hall. The Clinic is staffed by a nurse, medical assistant, and a family nurse practitioner. Our medical director oversees the Clinic’s daily operation and is present in the Clinic one day a week. The Clinic is staffed and equipped to manage most acute and chronic illnesses that occur while students reside at NCSSM. Common over-the-counter medications, bandages, splints, and crutches are dispensed at no additional charge to students. Prescriptions, if required, can be picked up from a local pharmacy. Some problems may require additional care, in which case students are referred to area professionals. Families will be notified if this referral is necessary. 

Students are prohibited from keeping certain types of prescription medications in their rooms (e.g., narcotics, psychotropics, stimulants). These medications must be retained and distributed by the Clinic. Students may keep over-the-counter medications in their rooms for their personal use (e.g., pain relievers, cold medications, stomach remedies, herbal remedies, vitamins, etc.).

The clinic is open Monday - Friday from 8:00am to 4:00pm. After hours and on the weekends students can reach out to CCs on duty for help; the CCs will contact a 24 hour telephone nursing service called UNC Nurse Connect (formerly Healthlink) to seek advice on how to aid your student.

Students may schedule telehealth appointments and in-person appointments, as well as medication drop-off/pick-up appointments. The Clinic is not open to drop-in appointments as it has been in the past.

As students prepare for the first extended weekend it is important to understand that we use a special sign out for these weekends away from NCSSM:

• Halls close at 5pm on Friday, August 30th and reopen at noon on Monday, September 2nd.

• Students will sign a virtual Extended Sheet during hall meeting. On this form they indicate where they are going for the break, who they are traveling with, and how they are getting to their location. 

• If a student is not departing early, is not returning to campus late, is not taking a train or Greyhound bus home, and their final destination is home or they are being picked-up by a parent/guardian, they do not need to submit a pass on Orah (our signout system).

• If a student is departing before the day the Extended Weekend begins or returning to campus late they will need to have a parent/guardian sign them out at Bryan desk or submit an overnight pass on Orah and sign out at Bryan desk with whomever is picking them up. 

• If a student's final destination is not home and they are not being picked up by a parent/guardian, or if they are taking the train or Greyhound bus, they will need to submit an overnight pass on Orah and sign out at the Bryan desk.