Spring 2014

IN THIS ISSUELetter From the Parent Office Off Campus Student Services

Important Information: Housing and Residential Life Northeastern Pops

Northeastern Green InitiativeStudent Spotlight: Heads Up for Charity

Stay Connected

Letter From the Parent Office

Dear Parents and Families:

It has been an exciting academic year at Northeastern. We just broke ground on our new state-of-the-art interdisciplinary science and engineering complex, part of the university’s ongoing effort to expand its capacity to engage in path-breaking research across disciplines. The new facility will provide 220,000 square feet of research and educational space for multiple disciplines, and is scheduled for completion in Fall 2016.

In the meantime, we are looking forward to some warm weather after a long, cold Boston winter. The spring semester is full of festivities on campus, including Commencement. I would like to take a moment to congratulate all students who will be graduating on May 2 - as well as their families who have been, no doubt, instrumental in their success here at Northeastern. We are so proud of our students and all they have accomplished. If you will be attending Commencement this year, please visit northeastern.edu/commencement/ for more details.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful summer. Please remember to keep in touch if you have any questions and don’t forget to visit our website at northeastern.edu/parents. You can also visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/ParentFamilyProgramsAtNortheasternUniversity.

Sincerely,

Susan BrownAssociate DirectorParent Programs and Services

Off Campus Student Services

Parent Matters

OFF CAMPUS STUDENT SERVICESIs your student planning to live off campus next September? Off Campus Student Services is available to help during the apartment search. Below are some things to think about as you and your student go through the process of finding off-campus housing:

• Students eager to move off campus to enjoy a more “independent” college experience, may not recognize the additional responsibilities entailed. Student tenants must be prepared to pay their monthly rent on time, in addition to utilities such as electricity, cable/internet, and heat.

• The university expects all students to be respectful of our city neighbors by residing peacefully in the local neighborhoods surrounding campus. Students should develop a good relationship with their landlord from the beginning; if problems arise during the tenancy, it’s helpful to be in good standing with the property owner.

• In Boston, it’s typical for a student to be required to secure a co-signer before signing a lease. This means family members are often required to sign the lease along with the student, to ensure financial backing for the landlord. Make sure that you and your student read and understand the lease in its entirety.

• Please note that only four types of fees are legal at the time of signing a lease: first month’s rent, last month’s rent, security deposit (no more than one month’s rent) and realtor’s fee (no more than one month’s rent).

• In the City of Boston, the landlord is responsible for complying with certain Rental Delivery Unit Standards, which can be found at cityofboston.gov. Be sure to watch out for fine print or addendums to the lease that might state otherwise. Keep in mind that Boston also has an ordinance that no more than four undergraduate students can reside together, regardless of a unit’s size.

Off Campus Student Services

• If your student or one of their roommates plans to sublet at some point during the year, written permission must first be obtained from the landlord. After a sub-lessee is found, the original tenants are still responsible for ensuring the rent is paid and all terms of the lease are upheld.

• To help off-campus students stay connected to campus, our student Community Ambassadors create programming and maintain communication between the off-campus community and campus.

For more information or questions, you can contact Off Campus Student Services at 617.373.8480 or offcampus@neu.edu, or visit us in 226 Curry Student Center.

SAVE THE DATE: Parent and Family Weekend 2014 The date for Parent and Family Weekend has been set! Mark your calendar for Friday, October 24 through Sunday, October 26, 2014. During Parent and Family Weekend you will have the opportunity to learn more about campus resources available to both you and your student and have the chance to explore campus and the city. A full schedule of events will be mailed in early September. Please remember that hotels in Boston fill quickly, so be sure to make your reservations early. We look forward to seeing you in October!

Parent Matters

Important Information: Housing and Residential Life

Parent Matters

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM: HOUSING AND RESIDENTIAL LIFEWe are committed to keeping both our students and their parents fully informed. With this goal in mind, we would like to share the following key housing information for Spring 2014.

Move-Out for Students in Classes: 24 hours after your student’s last final or by 7:00 p.m. on April 25.Move-Out for Students on Co-op: by 9:00 p.m. on April 25.Move-Out for Graduating Seniors: by 11:00 a.m. on May 3.

MOVE-OUT PROCEDUREStudents must complete the following prior to being checked out of their bed space by a member of the Housing & Residential Life staff.

• Remove all belongings • Throw away all trash/food • Clean their bed space

Once everything has been removed from the room, the student must check out of the space with a member of Housing & Residential Life on the date previously coordinated with the Residence Director.

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

Northeastern Pops

NORTHEASTERN POPS Northeastern is thrilled to announce that plans for Northeastern POPS 2014 are underway! On Thursday, May 1, 2014, three-time Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum band, Train will join the world-renowned Boston Pops, conducted by Keith Lockhart, at Matthews Arena. Train’s list of chart-topping singles include Drive By, Drops of Jupiter, Meet Virginia, and the worldwide smash hit, Hey, Soul Sister.

The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. on the evening before Commencement and is sure to be a thrilling night for alumni, graduating seniors, family and friends of Northeastern. The Pops will kick off the evening with a selection of gorgeous classics and re-arranged melodies before Train joins them on stage after a short intermission.

TICKET INFORMATION Floor A: $150Floor B: $125Lower Bowl A: $100Lower Bowl B: $85Balcony A: $75Balcony B: $65

All tickets are non-refundable.

Tickets are limited and sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Floor seats, both A and B, are seated at tables of six. Balcony B seats are bench seating and do not have seat backs.

$5 of your total registration fee will benefit The Northeastern Fund.

» Get your tickets online now

Parent Matters

Northeastern Green Initiative

NORTHEASTERN RANKED AMERICA’S GREENEST UNIVERSITYNortheastern University’s long-standing commitment to sustainability has once again garnered global acclaim: in rankings released in early January, Northeastern placed third among 301 schools from 61 countries in the University of Indonesia’s fourth annual GreenMetric Ranking of World Universities. Northeastern placed first among all American universities in the rankings.

The international list ranks higher education institutions based on campus sustainability and environmentally friendly university management. The results derive from self-reported data in six weighted categories: energy and climate change; setting and infrastructure; waste management; transportation; education; and water usage.

Northeastern has ranked among the list’s top four universities since the inaugural rankings in 2010, when Northeastern placed fourth among 95 higher education institutions. Since then, the number of participating universities has increased threefold. Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun shared the news on Twitter, tweeting,

Northeastern’s latest achievement aligns with its ongoing commitment to becoming a greener institution. In 2007, the university became a founding member of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, a nationwide initiative to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions among institutions of higher learning. Three years later, Northeastern officially adopted a climate action strategy called “Sustainable Action Plan: Roadmap towards Carbon Neutrality.” The university is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative University Network and recently signed the Green Chemistry Commitment—a promise to graduate chemistry majors with knowledge in the theory and practice of developing environmentally responsible chemicals.

“Green. Green. Green. Northeastern is black, red, and green”

Parent Matters

In the latest recognition

of its green efforts,

Northeastern was ranked

third among 301 universities

worldwide in the University

of Indonesia’s GreenMetric

Ranking of World Universities

2013. Photo by Brooks

Canaday

A version of this story

was originally published

by Northeastern News

Northeastern Green Initiative

Northeastern’s dedication to environmental sustainability is also reflected in its teaching and research. Sustainability is one of the university’s primary academic thrusts, a programmatic pillar of its robust research program. Faculty members leverage the efficacy of use- inspired interdisciplinary research to discover solutions to global challenges ranging from extreme weather and water scarcity to energy efficiency and urban coastal sustainability. Students, for their part, strive to tackle these challenges through innovative course work, interdisciplinary research projects, and high- impact experiential learning opportunities.

Several student groups aim to practice and promote sustainability at both the campus and community levels. The Husky Environmental Action Team (HEAT), for example, is working toward campus- wide environmental sustainability and carbon neutrality in conjunction with the university’s administration.

HEAT’s executive director, Mara Scallon, COS’16, praised Northeastern’s commitment to sustainability. “Over the last few years, Northeastern has done a lot of tremendous work to improve sustainability on campus and I’m happy to see they’re working with us to continue our efforts,” she said. “I hope the university [takes its success] as a challenge to raise the bar and increase its standards.”

The university’s campus- wide sustainability initiatives touch the lives of students, faculty, and staff each and every day. Two of the seven 3- Star Certified Restaurants in Massachusetts are located on campus—the International Village Dining Hall’s Peet’s Coffee and Jamba Juice. Northeastern is also the nation’s first college or university to earn both the 3- Star Certified Green Restaurant distinction and LEED Gold Status.

Since joining the Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2007, the university has saved approximately 10 million kilowatt hours of electricity. One of the latest energy- saving projects is taking place at the Egan Research Center, where technological upgrades will lead to annual energy savings of approximately 1 million kilowatt hours of electricity and reduce water consumption by more than 2 million gallons per year.

Parent Matters

Northeastern Green Initiative

In 2012, the university recycled more than 300 tons of paper and corrugated cardboard, 260 tons of landscape compost, 100 tons of bottles and cans, 51 tons of computers and electronics, and 12 tons of cooking oil; the “Compost Here” program turned food waste into nearly 600 tons of compost. Over the last year, the university has installed more than 150 filtered water stations in buildings across campus, helping to eliminate waste from hundreds of thousands of disposable plastic bottles.

Parent Matters

Student Spotlight: Heads Up for Charity

Third-year psychology major Ariella Sharf has created a company called Heads Up for Charity, which has raised awareness for several causes around the world by combining fashion and generosity. In January, she was presented with the Student Government Association’s I AM A HUSKY Award, which recognizes one student per month who has excelled academically and professionally and has made an impact on campus and in the community.

Sharf always dreamed of starting her own business, but she had no idea what it would be; she simply felt that it was in her future. One night, while sitting in her room, she decided to pass the time by making a bracelet out of a spare penny. “The next morning,” she says, “I woke up and the brand name came to me: Heads Up For Charity. I had no business plan, no nothing, just a bracelet and a name.”

Sharf decided that she wanted to create and expand a successful retail company while using philanthropy to change society. The company’s mission statement expresses this idea: “We want to raise people’s ‘Heads Up’ to what is going on in the world and encourage them to give back in a fashionable way. It is simply fashion for a cause.”

Currently finishing her third year at Northeastern, Sharf explains that her main goal for herself was “to be successful, but love what I do.” Northeastern has helped her achieve that goal even before graduating by “provid[ing] me with the skills I needed to be able to run my own business.” Despite changing majors several times during her time here, “Northeastern has been very supportive and helped me feel comfortable in knowing it was okay to follow my own path and not to stick to a strict regimen. I was given the flexibility to really find my calling in school, which led me to find my calling in life.”

A version of this story was originally published by Northeastern News.

Heads Up for CharitySTUDENT SPOTLIGHT:

Parent Matters

Stay Connected

OFFICE OF PARENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES The Office 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 BOARD Visit our Parent Message board to post questions for other parents and join in the discussion. Get started at northeasternparents.proboards.com.

PARENT PORTAL Stay 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 FACEBOOK Facebook.com/ParentFamilyProgramsAtNortheasternUniversity

BLOGS There are a number of regularly updated blogs which are great resources for you to stay connected. You can stay up to date by following the blogs of The Office for Student Affairs, and numerous students, including many who are blogging while on co-op. Explore these blogs by visiting northeastern.edu/admissions.

CONTACT US The Office 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) parents@neu.edu (email)

Parent Matters