Hello, students: Welcome to the program or welcome back! We wish you all a wonderful spring semester. We have several announcements and housekeeping items for you in these initial weeks. Please be sure to read this message carefully.

Important Dates:

January 10    Last day to drop with a full refund of fees

January 16    MLK Day (Academic Holiday)

January 18    Last day to add a class

January 18    Last day to withdraw and receive an 80% refund

January 31    Graduation paperwork due

February 8    Last day to withdraw with a 50% refund

March 6        Midterm of Spring Semester

March 13-18   Spring Break

March 21      Portfolios due for graduating students

March 27      Priority Registration for Fall and Summer 2017 begins (runs through April 18)

March 31      Last day to withdraw (urgent, non-academic reasons)

April 28        Last day of class

May 7          Commencement

Reminder about Course Shells, Textbooks, and Syllabuses

Just a reminder that to access your courses, you’ll want to login to Canvas using your linkblue username and password at uk.instructure.com. Course shells generally open the first day of class or just before. If you have access issues after January 12th, please let Student Affairs (uklis.student.affairs [at] gmail.com (uklis.student.affairs [at] gmail.com)

) know. Syllabuses may be found here, and textbook info is available via UK’s bookstore. If you are still unsure about something for your class after consulting these resources, please contact the instructor.

1. Listserv

If you have not already signed up for the program listserv, please do so as soon as possible. We post job announcements, scholarships, calls for applications for opportunities like Alternative Spring Break, graduation paperwork announcements, and other important program information on the listserv.

If you have not subscribed, you may miss this information. To join:

1. Send a one-time email message to UK's listserv administrator at: listserv [at] lsv.uky.edu

   . Be sure to send this message from the email address where you want to receive and post messages to the school's list.

2. Leave the subject line blank.

3. On a single line in the body of your message type the following information:

SUBSCRIBE SLIS First Last.

(Be sure to enter your first and last name.)

2. Graduation

If you are planning to graduate this semester, you must submit your paperwork no later than January 31st. If you have not received any announcements about graduation, which went out over the listserv, contact Ashley DeWitt (ashdewitt [at] uky.edu

) for more information.

Portfolios are due by 4:30 PM on March 21. You can access the current portfolio guidelines here.

3. Student Handbook

If you have questions about program policies or coursework, please consult the Student Handbook, which is available on the website.

4. Time-Off/Leave of Absence

If you have ever taken classes but need to take time off the program for 1 or more semesters, you must request a formal leave of absence before that semester begins.

Students who do not enroll in classes and are not approved for a leave of absence prior to the beginning of the semester they want to sit out will have to reapply to the program to resume coursework.

5. Office Suite Trainings and Degree Requirements

Students who joined the program in Spring 2014 or later need to complete the required Office Suite trainings by the time they have finished 18 hours (6 classes) of coursework. You can find information about the required trainings on the SIS website on the Degree Requirements page. The trainings are available through the eT&D website.

Students who enrolled in Spring 2014 or later should also be sure to follow these degree requirements for graduation.

Students who enrolled and took classes in the program prior to Spring 2014 will follow the previous degree requirements. Contact Heather Burke (uklis.student.affairs [at] gmail.com (uklis.student.affairs [at] gmail.com)

) if you have questions about your degree requirements.

School Librarian students must follow the course of study for their program, which may be found here. If you are a school librarian track student and have not yet completed your Advanced Level Educator Packet, please do so as soon as possible to make official your enrollment in the certification program.

6. Advising in Canvas

It is always a good idea to keep in touch with your advisor throughout your time in the program. If you aren’t sure which faculty member is your advisor, please check Canvas. You should be in or have received an invitation to join your adviser’s shell there. Contact Student Affairs (uklis.student.affairs [at] gmail.com (uklis.student.affairs [at] gmail.com)

) if you need assistance.

7. Questions

If you have questions or would like more information, contact Ashley DeWitt (ashdewitt [at] uky.edu

) or Heather Burke (uklis.student.affairs [at] gmail.com (uklis.student.affairs [at] gmail.com)

).  Also, please be sure that you are receiving e-mail from these addresses and from the listserv. You may need to modify the settings on your spam folders to ensure you receive all messages from the program.

We hope you have a great semester!

UK SIS