If you’re a distance student who has been admitted to a distance degree program, you are eligible for scholarships offered through the Division of Continuing Education (DCE). The application deadline for Summer 2014 and Fall 2014 scholarships is April 1, 2014.
New scholarships have been added for distance students enrolled in the College of Agriculture, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business Administration, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and the College of Technology and Aviation. In addition, a new scholarship is also available for students enrolled in Human Nutrition.
Scholarships range in value from $600 to $1,500. Visit our Financial Assistance and Scholarships website to learn more about the scholarships that are available, eligibility, how to apply and additional financial assistance opportunities.
Kansas State University’s Division of Continuing Education has awarded $26,400 in scholarships to distance education students across the country for the spring 2014 term. This is the largest amount of scholarship funding the division has awarded for a single semester.
Dave Stewart, associate dean of continuing education, said the division fundraising team worked to increase the amount and availability of scholarship funding.
“We were able to provide increased support directly from our own budget, as well as provide links to other scholarship sources for distance students,” Stewart said. “In the future we will be exploring other opportunities to increase and expand our support to establish an endowed scholarship fund.”
The Division of Continuing Education’s DCE Scholarship for Distance Students offers $900 to undergraduate students and $1,200 to graduate students, and the Maurine Allison O’Bannon Memorial Scholarship provides $1,000 awards. Both scholarships are available to Kansas State University students pursuing a degree program through distance education.
“Scholarship support is very important to distance and nontraditional students who have many other financial obligations in their lives,” said Stewart. “This support often makes the difference in being able to continue with their education or having to drop out.”
The division’s spring 2014 scholarship recipients include:
Ashley MacKinnon, senior in dietetics, Fort Riley, DCE Scholarship; Alex Arnold, junior in animal sciences and industry, Fort Scott, DCE Scholarship; Ariel Dowdle, senior in interdisciplinary social science, Lawrence, O’Bannon Scholarship.
From Manhattan: Michelle Graham, junior in general business, O’Bannon Scholarship; Winnie Knapp, master’s student in personal financial planning, DCE Scholarship; and Angela Lara, junior in general business, O’Bannon Scholarship.
Erin Mosiman, senior in general business, Newton, DCE Scholarship; Rebecca Sombatchareun, senior in family studies and human services, Pleasanton, O’Bannon Scholarship; Kyle Bures, master’s student in academic advising, Princeton, DCE Scholarship; and Derek Judd, senior in general human ecology, Wichita, O’Bannon Scholarship.
From out of state:
Patrick Lowery, master’s student in merchandising, Orlando, Fla., DCE Scholarship; Anne Combs, master’s student in adult and continuing education, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., DCE Scholarship; Robin Durain, senior in dietetics, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, O’Bannon Scholarship; Erin Schultz, senior in dietetics, Dearborn, Mich., DCE Scholarship; Kathleen O’Leary, master’s student in academic advising, Hamilton, Mont., DCE Scholarship; Karyn Raney, master’s student in academic advising, Schenectady, N.Y., DCE Scholarship; Diana Lovendino, master’s student in academic advising, Midwest City, Okla., DCE Scholarship; Johnny Hedgepath, master’s student in academic advising, Bluff City, Tenn., DCE Scholarship; Cornell Sneed, master’s student in academic advising, Johnson City, Tenn., DCE Scholarship; Spenser Simpson, master’s student in academic advising, Provo, Utah, DCE Scholarship; Abderrahmane Elandaloussi, master’s student in electrical engineering, Pullman, Wash., DCE Scholarship; and Ryan Kernan, master’s student in academic advising, Tacoma, Wash., DCE Scholarship.
The deadline to apply for summer and fall scholarships is April 1, 2014. Application guidelines and further information on these scholarships and others can be found on the Financial Aid and Scholarships webpage.
If you’re a distance student who has been admitted to a distance degree program, you are eligible for scholarships offered through the Division of Continuing Education (DCE). The application deadline for Spring 2014 scholarships is November 2, 2013.
Make sure you put your best foot forward when filling out scholarship applications. Below are tips to help you shine.
Follow the directions: In the race to get an application in on time, students sometimes make mistakes. By following all of the directions provided, you can give yourself an advantage. Also, make sure you provide all of the information requested.
Provide examples: When writing your essay, make sure each statement has evidence to support it. Instead of simply writing that you have leadership skills, illustrate your point by following your statement with an anecdote.
Help your supporters: Provide the people writing letters of recommendation for you with a list of your accomplishments. It will make their job much easier and may also improve the quality of your recommendations.
Proofread: Before you submit your application, review it carefully for grammar and punctuation. Ask someone to read your application as well. He or she may catch something you missed!
Visit our Financial Assistance and Scholarships website to learn more about the scholarships that are available, eligibility, how to apply and additional financial assistance opportunities.
If you have questions about DCE’s scholarships, please contact Maleah Lundeen at maleah@k-state.edu.
Want to know more about our new Division of Continuing Education advisor, Ashley Sloan? Read on to see what her supervisor and fellow academic advisor, Rachel Schafer, has to say about the newest member of DCE’s advising staff.
Ashley Sloan
Ashley grew up in Great Bend, Kan., with her parents, June and Robbie, and older brother, Bobby. She will soon marry her fiancé, Cody. She loves to listen to all types of music, from jazz to country, while making dinner every night after work. It is a stress reliever for her and something that she enjoys.
Ashley bleeds purple. She received her undergraduate degree in sociology from Kansas State University and will complete her master’s in academic advising in May. She loves the faculty and staff at K-State, as well as the city of Manhattan, which is why she and Cody have chosen to make this their home. She loves all the trees, the certain “buzz” Manhattan has and the Wildcat Pride that is evident all around.
Besides her wonderful supervisor, she likes the perks of having her own office and being able to park right next to the DCE building. These really are rare across campus! Her favorite thing about working at DCE—besides helping students and the job itself—are the smiles she gets when walking through our maze of a building. Each person at DCE has been welcoming to her, and for her, that speaks volumes.
When asked what her advice would be to her students, Ashley had the following tips:
1. Talk to your advisor often.
2. My biggest piece of advice for my Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program students who work full time, are raising a family or both, is to start off with fewer courses to get the hang of distance learning. That way you’ll know what you can handle on top of other daily demands, without diving in too deep and becoming discouraged with the idea of returning to school to complete your degree.
3. To my younger students, do not take “time” for granted. Start doing some soul-searching early on. If you’re unsure what you want to do as a freshman or sophomore, yes, you have time to figure it out, but be active in your future plans. Read up on careers you might be interested in, then talk with your parents, an advisor or another mentor to ask questions about what those careers might entail and what educational path will help you get there.
Ashley is the advisor for Interdisciplinary Social Science and General Human Ecology distance students. She is a great part of our team here at DCE!
The start of fall term is a great time to get acquainted with Kansas State University—and now there’s a new way to experience campus even if you can’t travel to Manhattan for a visit.
The Division of Continuing Education’s Virtual Open House helps connect you to campus so you can:
Explore K-State up close with a photo tour and Google Street View.
Check out videos of distance education instructors, advisors and more.
Learn about services you can access as a distance student.
Experience the K-State culture, tradition and sense of place.
Follow “K-State Distance” through social media or chat with us live.
If you’re able to visit Manhattan, you can schedule a campus visit through K-State’s Office of Admissions. Be sure to stop by the Division of Continuing Education in the College Court building if you’re in town.
It is time again to celebrate the start of another semester at Kansas State University! Many of you are checking K-State Online for your course information, cleaning up your email and getting organized this week. Welcome back. While we may not see each other in person regularly, Student and Faculty Services (SFS) here at the Division of Continuing Education (DCE) values our communication with each of you, and we enjoy the start of the semester for the opportunity to reconnect with many of you again.
Left to right: Maleah Lundeen, Student Services Coordinator, Lydell Cox, Administrative Specialist, Jason Maseberg-Tomlinson, Director of Student and Faculty Services, and Laura Widenor, Faculty Services Coordinator.
Summer 2013 has brought some changes to the university and to SFS. I would like to talk about those changes and bring you all up to speed on what has happened and what to expect this semester.
Shortly, we will launch our revised website for student services. Our website will not only be updated and rearranged, we also have added an instant messaging feature so you can chat with us directly from the website via your computer, tablet or phone. Never has there been so many ways to connect with DCE. We have also updated our Examination Proctor Agreement, and we hope this improves our service to you.
Locally, we have extended our office space. For those of you taking exams in Manhattan, we have added a study table. If you come early for your exam, you can sit and study as you wait. Please make yourself comfortable in our office. While we have added some overflow testing areas to accommodate more test takers, we still ask that you schedule your exams as early as possible. We are seeing more students than ever take exams here at DCE. If you have not used our local proctoring service for online class exams, give us a call. We provide free proctoring in Manhattan for K-State distance courses.
As you head into the semester, you will also notice two other resource changes at K-State. Soon we will be updating our email system from Zimbra to Office 365. This transition will take place over the next few months, and we look forward to the new tools Office 365 has to offer students. You can learn more at here. Secondly, you may have already noticed that our K-State Bookstore has changed management and is now the “K-State Campus Store.” For those of you ordering books from Varney’s, you will notice that they too are still supporting book sales.
We look forward to a great semester. We will be celebrating all of our online learners in November with National Distance Learning Week. Look for chances to win drawings and other contests through Twitter, Facebook, email and this blog. We are also wrapping up the university’s celebration of K-State’s 150th anniversary with the 2013 Homecoming. It has been a great year for K-State. We can’t forget football and men’s and women’s basketball. These teams are all doing well, and it is great to hear about all of your watch parties and gatherings around the world.
Good luck to you all this semester and keep in touch if you need anything. SFS is here to serve you.
One of the most important people you’ll come in contact with as a distance student is your academic adviser. Your adviser is a wonderful source of information when you have questions on topics such as:
One of the most popular questions students ask their adviser is, “What classes should I be taking?” However, the answer to that question can require additional planning that most on-campus students don’t have to worry about. Many distance students are juggling family life that includes young children, a full-time job, volunteer activities and more—all in addition to working on their degree track. This is where an adviser can provide guidance.
Your adviser can help you determine the number of classes you can take within a semester based on the amount of time you have available and time requirements of the classes. They can also provide time management and study tips so you can maximize the hours you do have.
“It’s really important to set a schedule,” said Rachel Schafer, an adviser for General Business and Interdisciplinary Social Science. “Make sure you schedule out the time in your day or in your evening when you’re going to work on your classes. Be in contact with your adviser and your instructors if something comes up. If there’s a family emergency, then we need to know that so we can help.”
When asked what advice she would give to distance students, Beth Stuewe, an adviser for Family Studies and Human Services, said she would encourage her students to be interactive in their classes and spend time talking with their instructors. “Don’t just be a student in the class,” she said. “Be a participant.”
For more information about your role as an advisee, you can visit the Academic Advising website. You can contact your adviser via phone or email, and some advisers even use Skype, FaceTime, chat, social media and text.
Kansas State University is now offering a free online financial planning tool for students and alumni called SALT. The program is available through a partnership between K-State’s Powercat Financial Counseling (PFC) program and American Student Assistance, with the help of the Lattner Family Foundation.
“SALTmoney.org is available free of charge to help K-State students and alumni learn how to borrow less, borrow wisely, repay loans and become financially savvy,” said Jodi Kaus, director of PFC.
With SALT, users can:
learn about budgeting and financial planning
track all of their student loans in one place
compare payment plans for loans
use budgeting tools and calculators
search for jobs, internships and scholarships
“SALT will build upon the successful foundation K-State has created with PFC, by taking our financial education offerings to the next level,” Kaus said. “SALT will help ensure our alumni can successfully retire their student loan debt, gain the greatest return on their investment and boost their money skills for life.”
Hale Library | 785-532-3014 | library@k-state.edu | www.lib.k-state.edu
K-State Libraries’ goal is to help distance learners succeed in their studies. They have many resources to help you, and all of their services for local K-Staters are available to you as a distance learner.
“Everything we have is available to help students wherever they are,” said Jason Coleman, Undergraduate and Community Services Librarian. “We don’t want distance to be an obstacle for them.”
Left to Right: Undergraduate and Community Services Librarian Jason Coleman, Faculty and Graduate Services Librarian Laura Bonella, and Instructional Design Librarian Joelle Pitts
K-State’s librarians are available for distance students through online chat, telephone, text, and email. They are there to answer your questions, and can also provide in-depth research consultations. If you need help but don’t want to contact a librarian, there is also a free course on K-State Online titled “Research Help at K-State Libraries” that is available to all students.
K-State Libraries provides a multitude of online resources on their website, including research databases, full-text online journals (e-journals), e-books, and subject and course guides. If you live outside of Manhattan, you can choose to receive items in the mail, such as books, maps, journals, videos, and music CDs. If you can’t find the item you’re looking for through K-State Libraries, you can place an interlibrary loan request and K-State Libraries will contact other libraries and ask them to provide the item for you.
As a K-State student, you can also create a RefWorks account for free. RefWorks allows you to easily keep track of resources used during research and will automatically generate references cited lists. Students can also share individual folders within their accounts to help facilitate team work.
To learn more, please visit the Distance Learning webpage and don’t hesitate to Ask a Librarian if you have trouble finding the information you need for your studies or research.
