Welcome to the March 2024 edition of the Parents and Families newsletter!

Registration

Registration for Fall 2024 is from April 16–18. Students are assigned a day to register based on their anticipated year of graduation. 

• Classes of 2024 and 2025 register on Tuesday, April 16.
• Class of 2026 registers on Wednesday, April 17.
• Class of 2027 registers on Thursday, April 18.

Students will be notified when the Registration System is open, and they will be able to plan possible schedules, submit prerequisite override requests, and easily remove holds on their registration well before their assigned day.

The week before Registration is officially dubbed “Quiet Week for Advising.” During Quiet Week, Faculty Advisors set aside time to meet with each of their advisees. This required check-in is an opportunity for students to talk through their wish list of courses and review their progress toward a degree. Students can also find guidance and support in the Academic Success Center or use the chat function within the Student Information System (SIS) to speak with someone in the Registrar’s Office. Encourage your student to take advantage of these resources.

Spring Finals Schedule for making travel plans

As you begin to make travel arrangements with your student at the end of this academic year, please keep the following key dates in mind:

• Tuesday, May 14: Last Day of Classes
• Thursday, May 16–Tuesday, May 21: Final Exams
• Saturday, May 25: Baccalaureate/Commencement

Ole Families: We’re celebrating our sophomore students as they declare their major!

Parents of St. Olaf sophomores, there are some important deadlines and exciting decisions approaching for your student.

The date to declare a major is March 15, 2024. This is an exciting time for your student to make a decision about their path at St. Olaf. Some students may feel pressure to declare more than one major. You can reassure them that most students graduate with only one major at St. Olaf. Declaring a major takes only a few minutes and can be completed in the Student Information System (SIS) “forms and links” section.

If your student is struggling with what to major in, they can reach out to their academic advisor or the Piper Center for Vocation and Career to discuss their decision. 

Once students declare their major, they also need to change to an advisor in their major before the end of the spring semester. The form to change advisors is also in SIS under “forms and links.”

In order to celebrate this important milestone, we’re having a celebration for our sophomores! ALL sophomores are invited to attend the Major Declaration Celebration that will be held on Thursday, March 7 during Community Time (11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.) in the Buntrock Commons Ballrooms.

President Rundell Singer, Academic departments and faculty members will be at the celebration, and students can pick up their “I Declared” sign. There will also be a Class of 2026 T-shirt for each student. We will have a photo booth, too, and Ole the Lion will be on hand to take pictures with students!

Students will be able to sign their class banner and visit with representatives from the Library, Alumni and Parent Relations, Smith Center for Global Engagement, the Piper Center for Vocation and Career, and the Academic Success Center. Finally, this will count as an activity on the Sophomore Bucket List — one more step to receiving their Bucket List bucket hat!

Please encourage your student to join us for this celebration!

Mental Health Systems and Advocacy on Campus 

Written by Wellness and Mental Health Coordinator Laura Turek

The mental health of college students has been a topic of focus in the media in recent years. Since the pandemic, people aged 18–24 are increasingly showing signs of anxiety and depression. St. Olaf is responding by implementing a Mental Health Awareness and Training grant from SAMHSA.

The St. Olaf Wellness Center is eager to support students this spring semester — and every semester. This academic year alone, we have trained 210 students in Mental Health First Aid through 25 training opportunities. An additional 1,945 students attended a presentation or workshop about mental health, stress management, or substance use facilitated by their peers. Staff and faculty have been learning alongside students about early warning signs for mental health challenges, best practices for responding to students with suicidal ideation, and practicing scenarios for accessing resources on and off campus. 

As a parent, it can be helpful to learn about the many options on campus to help students increase well-being and proactively practice self-care. Please review the stress management options on campus each week in case you want to encourage your student to any of these activities:

Stress Management Options

Tending personal mental health and well-being is essential. Here are some options for students to manage stress as the term goes on:

• Chapel Services are available daily at 10:10 a.m. in Boe Chapel 
• Visit the Flaten Gallery — open 7 days per week
• Mindfulness Mondays — Mondays 5–6 p.m. in Tomson 210
• Natural Lands — Tuesdays walks 4–5 p.m.
• Meditation — Tuesdays 4–4:30 p.m. in the Boe Chapel Undercroft
• Community Nights — Wednesdays 6–7 p.m. in the Wellness Center 
• Paw Program — Thursdays 4–5 p.m. in the Pause 
• Friday Flowers — show gratitude to a friend on campus 

March Mental Health Awareness and Training Options

Below are several opportunities to learn about mental health, early warning signs of mental health challenges, resources to use or refer peers to and training opportunities for crisis situations. We want students to feel prepared on campus and aware of where they can find help: 

• Mental Health First Aid (certificate session with local instructor)
  • Saturday, March 9 | 9 a.m.–4 p.m. | Buntrock Commons 142 | Sign Up
• Mental Health 101: Green Bandana Project: helping friends on campus with mental health concerns
  • Tuesday, March 12 | 6–7 p.m. | Holland Hall 502
• Mental Health — Secondary Trauma Prevention and Intervention*
  • Thursday, March 14 | 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Holland Hall 501
• Suicide Prevention Training — QPR in person (certificate session with instructor from NAMI MN)
  • Friday, March 15 | 3–4:30 p.m. | Buntrock Commons 142 | Sign Up
• Mental Health 101: Green Bandana Project: helping friends on campus with mental health concerns
  • Saturday, March 16 | 12–1 p.m. | TBA
• Mental Health 101: Green Bandana Project: helping friends on campus with mental health concerns
  • Sunday, March 17 | 2–3 p.m. | TBA
• Men’s Mental Health Awareness
  • Tuesday, March 19 | 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Holland Hall 501  

*This presentation will provide education and resources about secondary trauma, specifically for healthcare workers or those who plan to go into healthcare professions. All are welcome, but we encourage nursing, pre-health, and social work students to join us as well as EMTs and Community Service Officers.

Questions? Contact Laura Turek.

Additional Mental Health Resources

The Wellness Center has resources for families on supporting your student’s mental health from afar:

• Supporting Mental Health from a Distance
• Mental Health Resources on the St. Olaf Wellness Center site
• Straightforward Steps to Support Transition to Adulthood 

If your student needs additional support, remind them of the many people here on the Hill who are here to support and guide them. RAs, faculty members, the Counseling Center, Campus Ministry, their class dean are all ready and willing to speak with them and help them through times of challenging feelings.

Other easy to access options for support are Peer Support one on one conversations with certified Peer Educators in the Wellness Center and Talk Now through TimelyCare App where a licensed counselor is available for a virtual visit within 4–5 minutes.