Falcon Family Connections Newsletter
Don't miss the next edition! Stay connected by ensuring you are on our email list. Family members can sign up at families.bgsu.edu

The Essentials

The Importance of the BG1 Card

The BG1 Card is the official Bowling Green State University identification card and students are required to obtain one. The BG1 Card provides access to events, campus facilitates like residence halls and on- and off-campus restaurants. This card can also be linked to a student's PNC bank account.

Student mail services

If you would like to send something to your student while they are living on-campus, you can find their on-campus address and additional details about how mail is processed on-campus on the Postal Services website. It is also important that students understand where they can pick up their mail on-campus.

FERPA Article Photos

Accessing your Student's Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. While FERPA provides parents with certain rights with respect to their children’s education records, once a student reaches the age of 18 or attends a post-secondary institution (at any age), those rights transfer exclusively to the student.


Housing and Dining

Housing resources for families

The Office of Residence Life promotes an engaging, safe and inclusive environment through student-centered programs, innovative services and cost-effective facilities. Living on campus is an exciting part of the college experience and gives students the opportunity to build life-long friendships and supports supports their academic success.

Dining & meal plan resources for families

All students living on campus are required to purchase a meal plan, and they can choose their meal plan size when signing up for housing. Commuting students can also purchase a meal plan. Learn more about the dining options available and the difference between swipes and Falcon Dollars.

Top Housing & Dining Resources

Falcon Outfitters logo

Falcon Outfitters

Falcon Outfitters is more than a great place to purchase the latest BGSU gear and swag! Falcon Outfitters also offers:

  • Fingerprinting services for volunteer work, student teaching and working with children
  • Customized services for products like tees, giveaway items for fundraising and swag to promote your organization through Falcons by Design
  • Ziggabyte technology store is located within Falcon Outfitters and the place where students can buy computer bundles and receive educational pricing
  • Package pickup center is located at the back of the store and where students can pick up their mail and send packages

Academics

Support for first-generation students & their families

At BGSU, students are considered first-generation if their parent(s) have not earned a Bachelor’s Degree.

Nearly 30 percent of new students that step foot on campus are the first in their family to attend college and we are committed to welcoming families that might be overwhelmed or otherwise intimidated by the prospect of seeing their loved one head off to college.

Accommodations for students with disabilities

The Office of Accessibility Services provides opportunities for full integration into the BGSU community and families should encourage their student to register with the office as quickly as possible. To apply for accessibility services, students must submit documentation of their disability for review by accessibility services staff.

Education abroad at BGSU

The decision to participate in an education abroad experience is often the most transforming and inspiring aspect of a student's academic career.

If your student is considering studying abroad, the earlier you start the process, the better.

registration-web

Course Registration

There are two course registration processes and the process a student follows is based on whether or not they are a new student (includes transfer students) or a returning student. If your student was a CCP student at BGSU before their first semester after high school graduation, they may follow the returning student registration process. 


Financials

Know who to talk to about financials

If you have a question about fees, charges, financial aid, scholarships or any other financial topic, it’s important to know which office you should contact. 

There are two offices on our campus that handle “financials” (Bursar and Student Financial Aid) and there are key differences between the two.

Student account billing

Student bills are available exclusively online through MyBGSU and students must grant parents and guardians access to view and make payments. Learn what your student needs to do to grant you access and more on the student account billing web page hosted by the Office of the Bursar.

Student Bill Due Dates

  • Fall | Aug. 1
  • Spring | Jan. 1
  • Summer | May 1
PNC Bank Logo

PNC Bank is BGSU's banking partner and is located in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Opening an account with PNC provides students with Virtual Wallet Student®, a convenient branch located on campus, 5 ATMs across main campus, ID linking with the BG1 Card and a customized PNC Bank Visa® Debit Card. Learn more at pnc.com/bgsu


Health and Well-being

Health and wellness resources for your student

Your student’s health is a top priority and it’s important for students to have a personal health and wellness plan while they are attending classes and living on-campus. We encourage students and families to become familiar with the many resources available to them.

BGSU Counseling Center

The Counseling Center strives to promote the psychological well-being of students from diverse backgrounds; to foster their development, learning, and academic success; and to provide appropriate intervention when students are experiencing mental health concerns.

Student insurance requirements at BGSU

Students are required to be covered by health insurance while attending BGSU. If a student is already covered by adequate health insurance and does not want to be auto-enrolled into the BGSU United HealthCare Plan, they must WAIVE the coverage before the deadline each academic year.


Safety

AlertBG

For almost 15 years, BGSU has been utilizing a system called “AlertBG” to reach students and the campus community in the event of an emergency. AlertBG is only used in emergencies or severe weather closures, such as a tornado warning or a gas leak, and the BGSU Police Department sends the messages. 

Emergency resources for students and their family

The Office of Emergency Management has put together a centralized resource list of all the important emergency and safety resources available to the BGSU community.


Life Design & Career Planning

Life Design at BGSU is grounded in design thinking principles, helping students explore the big questions of what they want to do and who they want to become.

Empower your student to design their life

In the Geoffrey H. Radbill Center for College and Life Design, students work with Life Design coaches throughout their college journey to design not only their college experience, but also to gain tools and skills to design a meaningful life.  At BGSU, your student will earn more than a degree. They will graduate both career- and life-ready.  

Ensuring students achieve career success

The Michael and Sara Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections supports student success as they prepare for careers after graduation. Through providing resources for internships and co-op experiences, workshops, professional development, employer and alumni engagement, and other emerging needs- they are here to ensure your student achieves career success. 

Student employment services

At BGSU we are committed to the professional growth and development of its student employees. More than 3,200 students work on campus at BGSU each year and for many of them, campus employment provides opportunities for development and practice of BGSU's core values.

BGSU Vocabulary

The BG1 Card - The BG1 Card is the official identification card for BGSU students, faculty and staff.  A BG1 Card is more than just an ID card. It provides access to meal plans, events, and campus facilities. Also, if a student is a PNC Bank customer, it can be linked to their bank account to serve as an ATM card. Lastly by adding funds to their BG1 Bucks account, a students' card can then be used for printing, on-campus vending, and also at multiple off campus locations.

Falcon Dollars vs. Meal Swipes - Falcon Dollars and/or Retail Dollars refer to the retail portion of the Custom and Retail Meal Plans. These dollars can be used in any Dining retail location to pay a la carte. These dollars may also be used to pay door price for entrance into the all-you-care-to-eat facilities. Falcon Dollars may not be used off campus or at the BGSU Bookstore. A swipe is when a student with a Traditional/AYCE or Custom meal plan presents an ID to enter an all-you-care-to-eat facility. The swipe constitutes the use of one "meal". Students with a residential plan may use their meal swipes to acquire an "Equivalency Meal" in the Market @ CP, Market @ Offenhauer, or the Market @ Kreischer.

Academic Year - Consecutive fall, winter, spring and summer semesters. For example: AY 21-22 refers to the interval from Fall 2021 to Summer 2022.

Fiscal Year - Funding year that includes July 1 through June 30. For example: FY 2022 refers to the fiscal year from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022.

Course Level - Level of a course based on the catalog number. Lower division = courses numbered 0000 to 2999, Upper division = courses numbered 3000 to 4999, Graduate = courses numbered 5000 and above.

Credit - A unit representing one credit hour (1 credit = 1 credit hour) of successfully completed work. It is applied toward the total number of credits needed for completing the requirements of a degree or certificate.

Credit hour - A unit of measure representing an hour (50 minutes) or equivalent of instruction over a 14- or 15-week period in a semester. It is applied toward the total number of hours needed for completing the requirements of a degree or certificate.

FAFSA | FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the form used by the U.S. Department of Education and almost all colleges and universities to determine eligibility for federal, state, and college-sponsored financial aid. The form is available online at www.fafsa.gov after Oct. 1 of the year before a student plans to attend and is filled out annually. Priority is given to those students who apply before January 15. To fill out the form a student will first need to create a Federal Student Aid Identification (FSA ID), which is made up of a username and password. For students determined by the application to be dependent, at least one parent will also need a FSA ID. Be sure to list Bowling Green State University as a school to receive your information. The BGSU and BGSU Firelands school code is 003018.

Financial Aid - Grants, loans, assistantships, scholarships, fellowships, tuition waivers, tuition discounts, veteran's benefits, employer aid (tuition reimbursement) and other monies (other than from relatives/friends) provided to students to meet expenses.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Student - 1 Undergraduate FTE = 15 credit hours; 1 Graduate FTE = 15 credit hours.

Part-Time Student - Undergraduates: Students registered for fewer than 12 credit hours at the census date; Graduate Students: Students registered for fewer than 9 credit hours at the census date.

General education courses - Courses designed to introduce students to the fundamental knowledge, skills and values essential to the study of academic disciplines.

Access BGSU | Access BGSU is a feature available to BGSU students and provides students with the ability to share important data such as grades, billing/payment information, financial aid awards, holds, and to do's with a designated proxy (parent, guardian, spouse, etc.). a student can choose what others can view through the enrollment link found on their MyBGSU Student Center. Log in to MyBGSU Account > Student Center > Share My Information > Delegate Access To A New Contact > Read Terms and Conditions > I Accept. • Students may grant access to financial aid information, billing information, and grades, along with “TO DO LIST” and “HOLDS.” 

Student Support Referral - Parent and Family Connections has established the Student Referral Form to identify students who need additional support. Please complete the following form to initiate the referral process. We will contact referred students within one to two business days and will take action on all forms received.

Form submissions are not monitored outside of normal business hours. If you have an immediate concern about the health and safety of a student, please contact the Campus Police at 419-372-2346.

Holds (on students account) - Holds are updated every 24 hours in Navigate. If a student has already addressed the reason for the hold and it is not yet cleared, check back tomorrow to see if it’s successfully been resolved in the app. If the issue persists, contact advising@bgsu.edu.

Hold for Mandatory Advising - For the first three semesters a student attends BGSU they are required to meet with an advisor prior to scheduling their classes. We enforce this requirement by placing a hold on their account until the meeting is complete. If this requirement is not met prior to the students' assigned class registration day, the system will block them. Once an advising appointment is completed, the advisor will remove the hold from the students' account so they can register for classes.

Hold for Financial Issue - Accounts unpaid as of the payment due date may incur service fees and/or late payment fees. According to University collection policies, unpaid/past due balances may result in a hold being placed on a students' account. These holds may restrict registration privileges, receipt of academic transcripts, and/or receipt of diploma. Residential students with unpaid balances may incur meal plan deactivation and Ped access deactivation. It is the student’s responsibility to check his/her account balance regularly. It is also the student’s responsibility to make satisfactory payment arrangements on any unpaid account.

Handshake - The career services team utilizes Handshake - a modern platform for connecting students and alumni with on-campus and off-campus employers. Handshake offers many great features including the ability to post your resume to connect with employers, apply for part-time and full-time positions, register your co-op 50 experience, sign-up to attend career-related events and more!

Need help with other BGSU lingo? Or help with anything else? Email us at:families@bgsu.edu.

Updated: 03/14/2024 10:42AM