CSUS English Department

What I Have Learned Thus Far:

Helpful Tips for Older Students Entering

the Graduate Program in English at CSUS

Returning to school as an older, reentry student has been an experience. Things have certainly changed since my undergraduate days in the late 80’s and early 90’s. All the kids on campus have cell phones now—and use them constantly. Backpacks can either go on your back or be pulled behind you like rolling luggage. And the Internet is used for everything. Gone are the days of arena registration, where I would go to the campus gym to find out which (if any) of the classes I registered for I received. Then I would stand in an arena of department booths with my catalog and list of program requirements and try to reconstruct my schedule.

In the 21^st century, you register for your classes online, and you find out immediately whether you succeeded in getting into the class you registered for. You also pay your fees online, do some of your coursework, get your grades, and correspond with professors and students.

Now that I’ve survived the application process, applying for financial aid, registering for classes, and (almost) my first semester, here are a few tips that may be helpful to other older students entering the graduate program in English.

READING AND WRITING RESOURCES AND TECHNOLOGY

Speaking of the Internet, you will need to have both a knowledge of and regular access to the World Wide Web. High-speed Internet access, such as DSL, is imperative. In addition to applying for admission, paying fees, registering for courses, etc. (which I will discuss later), you will also use the Internet to complete coursework.

In my English 120A (Advanced Composition) class, for example, each student was required to select an essay that he/she felt represented “good” writing and distribute copies of that essay to the class. The class was then required to comment individually on the effectiveness of the essay in terms of tone, voice, organization, etc. on a discussion board on CSUS’s WebCT.

The following instructions for accessing WebCT are taken from a handout distributed by my English 120A instructor, Dr. Dan Melzer:

Step 1

Go to http://online.csus.edu and click on the “Login my WebCT” button.

Step 2

Enter your WebCT ID (your Sac Link username) and password (your Sac Link password).

Step 3

Click on the name of your course, which is listed under the name of the semester (e.g., Fall 2005).

Step 4

From here, you can access various elements of the course, depending on how much your instructor utilizes WebCT. In my English 120A course, for example, we could access the syllabus, course calendar, assignments, and the discussion board by clicking on the appropriate icons.

To access a discussion board, for instance, click on the discussions icon and then click on the link to the topic thread. From there, click on “compose message.”

Enter a subject in the subject line and a response in the box.   You can write your response in Word and copy it into the box if you’d like. If you need to attach a file, click on “browse” to find the file in your computer and click on “attach file” after you’ve selected a file. When you’ve finished your message, click on the “post” button. (NOTE: I would recommend clicking on the HTML editor button when entering a response. When previewing my responses prior to posting, I discovered that some of my formatting—such as hard returns, underlining, italics, and bolding—was lost if I didn’t use the HTML editor first.)

Your message should appear under the thread. If you want to check to make sure it’s there, you need to refresh the page.

Helpful Resources

Following are books and Internet resources that have helped me this semester.

Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide by Lois Tyson: As a graduate student, you will be required to take English 200A, Methods and Materials of Literary Research. A large part of this course is devoted to literary approaches, such as psychoanalytic, feminist, Marxist, etc. In addition, if you are planning to pursue a Ph.D., you are advised to take a contemporary theory course as well.

Tyson’s text has really helped me in my ongoing quest to understand literary approaches. When I read the following excerpt in Tyson’s introduction, I knew I’d found a kindred soul:

When I first read Jacques Derrida’s “Structure, Sign and Play”—possibly the most widely reprinted introduction to his theory of deconstruction—I was sitting in my ’64 Chevy, stuck in a parking lot during a violent thunderstorm. I was just beginning to learn about critical theory, and my reaction was a burst of tears, not because I was moved by the essay or by the sublime nature of the thunderstorm but because I couldn’t understand what I’d just read (10).

Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing by Claire Kehrwald Cook: This is an excellent resource for editing your own writing and includes a very helpful section on grammar.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Sixth Edition by Joseph Gibaldi: I don’t think any English major can be without this!

The OWL at Purdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/oldindex.html: This is a wonderful online resource for questions about punctuation, grammar, documentation of sources, conducting research, etc. In addition, if you can’t find the answer to your particular question on the website, you can email the OWL tutors using the following online form: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writinglab/email/owlmail.

ABOUT THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH AT CSUS

For more information about the English graduate program at Sac State, please visit http://www.csus.edu/engl/grad.htm.

GENERAL INFORMATION AND TIPS

English-L List Proc

The English-L list proc is a network of faculty, staff, and students in the CSUS English Department. It is an invaluable resource. Jennifer Manthey, who runs the list proc, sends out a weekly announcement with information about everything from course updates (such as when another section of an English course opens up during Casper registration); scholarships; and job opportunities, including internship and teaching opportunities.

As stated on the CSUS English Department website:

To Subscribe, send an e-mail message in plain text (not HTML or Rich Text) to:

LISTPROC@CSUS.EDU

With the two line message:

SUBSCRIBE ENGLISH-L firstname lastname

END

If you have any questions or difficulties, contact the English department office at english@csus.edu.

You can also use the list proc to send out your own messages. When registering for classes this fall, for example, I sent out a message stating that I was a first-semester grad student who was returning to school after a 13-year absence and needed some advice about registering for classes. I received over 20 responses from students, and the information was invaluable.

WHEN SENDING MESSAGES TO ENGLISH-L

1.    Address your email to English-L@csus.edu.

2.    Begin messages DEAR ENGLISH-L to help subscribers recognize that this is a listproc message.

3.    Include your email address in the body of the message, and remind subscribers to send replies directly to you. This will cut down on replies being sent to the whole list.

4.    Make sure your email is appropriate for ALL SUBSCRIBERS, which includes English Department FACULTY, STAFF, and STUDENTS. (i.e., refrain from saying negative things about people in the Department.)

5.    Do not ask questions of the list that are more appropriate for an English Department staff or faculty member (i.e. Professor contact information, specific advising questions, etc.). Instead, call the department (278-6586) or email me at jmanthey@csus.edu. We can either answer your question, or put you in contact with someone who can.

WHEN RECEIVING/REPLYING TO ENGLISH-L MESSAGES

1.    Look carefully at your messages. English-L messages look a lot like other messages (that is why numbers 2 and 3 in the above list are so helpful). When an English-L message is opened, the FROM will say: Owner-ENGLISH-L @ CSUS.EDU on behalf of Sender’s Name [Sender’s Email].

2.    Once you open an email message, take a moment to look at the “from” BEFORE HITTING REPLY. If you hit reply to an English-L message, your reply will be sent to ALL subscribers.

3.    DO NOT HIT REPLY if your message is appropriate only for one person. Instead, START A NEW EMAIL, and address it using the sender’s email in the “from.” Or, use the email address included in the body of the message (if applicable).

4.    Don’t spread bad advice!!! Make sure that the information you are giving is correct before replying to someone’s message.

5.    Don’t send in unnecessary messages (i.e. Thanks!; That was great!; I totally agree!)

6.    REMEMBER: English-L is primarily INFORMATIONAL. It is meant to disseminate important information more than to carry on conversations. A discussion-based list is simply not feasible for a list of this size. Any email conversations that result from English-L messages should be conducted off-list.

As the listowner, I review all English-L messages and decide whether to accept or discard them. On a regular basis, I discard the following types of messages:

1.       Messages meant for just one person

2.       Messages containing negative remarks about students, faculty, or staff

3.       Messages containing faulty information

4.       Unnecessary Messages

English-L provides an extremely important service to the department. Following these guidelines takes only a little bit of effort. But that little bit of effort will really pay off!!! It will help guarantee that subscribers stay subscribed, AND it will make my life a lot easier.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Financial Aid

Financial Aid Distribution

I am using a Federal Student Loan to finance my education this time around. When you apply for a student loan, you apply for a full year (fall and spring); however, the Financial Aid Office determines when your loan is dispersed. In the fall, you are able to register for classes without paying for your registration fees in advance. This is beneficial, because you typically have to register for classes before you receive your financial aid. However, in the spring, you are required to pay before you register. In my case, I had to make two installments on my fees (and pay for my parking permit) a month-and-a-half before receiving my financial aid check. This is something to keep in mind when budgeting for the year.

For information about applying for a student loan, visit the CSUS Financial Aid Office website at https://webapps1.csus.edu/faid_general/process.asp.

Unit Requirement

To qualify for a student loan, I am required to take 6 units a semester. I work full-time and go to school at night, which I admit is much tougher than I anticipated. If you are in the graduate program, I would recommend pairing a graduate level course with an undergraduate level course (you have 9 units of undergraduate level electives) when you can.

OneCard

The Sacramento State OneCard is invaluable. You can purchase one for $9 at the Sacramento State OneCard center. As stated on the CSUS website, the OneCard center “is located on the south side of Brighton Hall, facing the Library Quad. Our entrance is outside, on the south side of the building. The phone number is 916-278-7878 and the email address is OneCard@csus.edu.”

The OneCard serves as your library card at the CSUS library. In addition, as noted on the CSUS website, the OneCard can also be used in the following ways:

Sacramento Regional Transit

With your student OneCard and the current semester sticker applied to the back, you can ride Sacramento Regional Transit buses and Light Rail anywhere, anytime, for free! [Note: You can obtain a transportation sticker at the OneCard center. It is applied directly to the back of your OneCard.]

Debit Account

When you sign up for a OneCard, you are automatically eligible to deposit funds into your personal debit account. You can then use your OneCard to purchase discounted photocopies from more than 50 campus photocopy machines, purchase cold, refreshing beverages from Pepsi vending machines, and buy food from most campus vendors.

[Note: Machines are located in the CSUS library that allow you to “load” cash onto your OneCard. You can then swipe your OneCard through machines located on the library photocopiers to make copies. The amount of each copy is automatically deducted from the balance on your OneCard. Copies made using your OneCard are $.06/copy; copies made using currency are $.10/copy. Believe me, it adds up!]

PrintSmart Account

Your OneCard also has a PrintSmart account that allows you limited number of free printing in Sacramento State computer labs only. After you run out of free prints all you need to do is deposit to your OneCard capitol cash debit account and you are able to print at anytime. This account is a separate account from your debit account and does not roll over to the next semester.

Parking

Parking permits can be purchased when you pay your registration fees or through the University Transportation and Parking Services office. A semester permit (as of Spring 2006) is $108.

The semester permit is a plastic placard that hangs on your rear view mirror. Remember to hang the permit so that the printed side is facing your front windshield. I received a citation this semester because my permit was facing the other direction (a $24 citation).

Reentry Services

As stated on the CSUS website, the Reentry Services office “provides counseling to help you make effective educational choices based on accurate information and to find the most efficient way to move through the system.” Services provided include:

Educational Counseling

Adult Orientation

Special Admission

Reentry Scholarships

Sixty Plus Program

For more information, visit the Reentry Services Office’s website at http://webapps1.csus.edu/admr/content/admission/reentry/default.asp.

SacLink Account

As stated on the CSUS website, “SacLink is the California State University, Sacramento universal authentication, e-mail, and Internet access mechanism available to all students, faculty, and staff. It is your computing and networking electronic ID.”

Your SacLink account also allows you access to My Sac State (https://my.csus.edu), where you can, as the University states in its registration materials:

-         pay registration fees and register for your classes

-         buy books online

-         change your address

-         clear financial holds or check account balance

-         check your financial aid status

-         check your grades or your current schedule

-         search for open courses by ID, subject, day & time, faculty, or even GE category.

Information about setting up a SacLink account is available at http://www.csus.edu/saclink/settingUp.stm.


	What I Have Learned Thus Far: Helpful Tips for Older Students Entering the Graduate Program in English at CSUS Returning to school as an older, reentry student has been an experience. Things have certainly changed since my undergraduate days in the late 80’s and early 90’s. All the kids on campus have cell phones now—and use them constantly. Backpacks can either go on your back or be pulled behind you like rolling luggage. And the Internet is used for everything. Gone are the days of arena registration, where I would go to the campus gym to find out which (if any) of the classes I registered for I received. Then I would stand in an arena of department booths with my catalog and list of program requirements and try to reconstruct my schedule. In the 21^st century, you register for your classes online, and you find out immediately whether you succeeded in getting into the class you registered for. You also pay your fees online, do some of your coursework, get your grades, and correspond with professors and students. Now that I’ve survived the application process, applying for financial aid, registering for classes, and (almost) my first semester, here are a few tips that may be helpful to other older students entering the graduate program in English. READING AND WRITING RESOURCES AND TECHNOLOGY Speaking of the Internet, you will need to have both a knowledge of and regular access to the World Wide Web. High-speed Internet access, such as DSL, is imperative. In addition to applying for admission, paying fees, registering for courses, etc. (which I will discuss later), you will also use the Internet to complete coursework. In my English 120A (Advanced Composition) class, for example, each student was required to select an essay that he/she felt represented “good” writing and distribute copies of that essay to the class. The class was then required to comment individually on the effectiveness of the essay in terms of tone, voice, organization, etc. on a discussion board on CSUS’s WebCT. The following instructions for accessing WebCT are taken from a handout distributed by my English 120A instructor, Dr. Dan Melzer: Step 1 Go to http://online.csus.edu and click on the “Login my WebCT” button. Step 2 Enter your WebCT ID (your Sac Link username) and password (your Sac Link password). Step 3 Click on the name of your course, which is listed under the name of the semester (e.g., Fall 2005). Step 4 From here, you can access various elements of the course, depending on how much your instructor utilizes WebCT. In my English 120A course, for example, we could access the syllabus, course calendar, assignments, and the discussion board by clicking on the appropriate icons. To access a discussion board, for instance, click on the discussions icon and then click on the link to the topic thread. From there, click on “compose message.” Enter a subject in the subject line and a response in the box. You can write your response in Word and copy it into the box if you’d like. If you need to attach a file, click on “browse” to find the file in your computer and click on “attach file” after you’ve selected a file. When you’ve finished your message, click on the “post” button. (NOTE: I would recommend clicking on the HTML editor button when entering a response. When previewing my responses prior to posting, I discovered that some of my formatting—such as hard returns, underlining, italics, and bolding—was lost if I didn’t use the HTML editor first.) Your message should appear under the thread. If you want to check to make sure it’s there, you need to refresh the page. Helpful Resources Following are books and Internet resources that have helped me this semester. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide by Lois Tyson: As a graduate student, you will be required to take English 200A, Methods and Materials of Literary Research. A large part of this course is devoted to literary approaches, such as psychoanalytic, feminist, Marxist, etc. In addition, if you are planning to pursue a Ph.D., you are advised to take a contemporary theory course as well. Tyson’s text has really helped me in my ongoing quest to understand literary approaches. When I read the following excerpt in Tyson’s introduction, I knew I’d found a kindred soul: When I first read Jacques Derrida’s “Structure, Sign and Play”—possibly the most widely reprinted introduction to his theory of deconstruction—I was sitting in my ’64 Chevy, stuck in a parking lot during a violent thunderstorm. I was just beginning to learn about critical theory, and my reaction was a burst of tears, not because I was moved by the essay or by the sublime nature of the thunderstorm but because I couldn’t understand what I’d just read (10). Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing by Claire Kehrwald Cook: This is an excellent resource for editing your own writing and includes a very helpful section on grammar. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Sixth Edition by Joseph Gibaldi: I don’t think any English major can be without this! The OWL at Purdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/oldindex.html: This is a wonderful online resource for questions about punctuation, grammar, documentation of sources, conducting research, etc. In addition, if you can’t find the answer to your particular question on the website, you can email the OWL tutors using the following online form: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writinglab/email/owlmail. ABOUT THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH AT CSUS For more information about the English graduate program at Sac State, please visit http://www.csus.edu/engl/grad.htm. GENERAL INFORMATION AND TIPS English-L List Proc The English-L list proc is a network of faculty, staff, and students in the CSUS English Department. It is an invaluable resource. Jennifer Manthey, who runs the list proc, sends out a weekly announcement with information about everything from course updates (such as when another section of an English course opens up during Casper registration); scholarships; and job opportunities, including internship and teaching opportunities. As stated on the CSUS English Department website: To Subscribe, send an e-mail message in plain text (not HTML or Rich Text) to: LISTPROC@CSUS.EDU With the two line message: SUBSCRIBE ENGLISH-L firstname lastname END If you have any questions or difficulties, contact the English department office at english@csus.edu. You can also use the list proc to send out your own messages. When registering for classes this fall, for example, I sent out a message stating that I was a first-semester grad student who was returning to school after a 13-year absence and needed some advice about registering for classes. I received over 20 responses from students, and the information was invaluable. WHEN SENDING MESSAGES TO ENGLISH-L 1. Address your email to English-L@csus.edu. 2. Begin messages DEAR ENGLISH-L to help subscribers recognize that this is a listproc message. 3. Include your email address in the body of the message, and remind subscribers to send replies directly to you. This will cut down on replies being sent to the whole list. 4. Make sure your email is appropriate for ALL SUBSCRIBERS, which includes English Department FACULTY, STAFF, and STUDENTS. (i.e., refrain from saying negative things about people in the Department.) 5. Do not ask questions of the list that are more appropriate for an English Department staff or faculty member (i.e. Professor contact information, specific advising questions, etc.). Instead, call the department (278-6586) or email me at jmanthey@csus.edu. We can either answer your question, or put you in contact with someone who can. WHEN RECEIVING/REPLYING TO ENGLISH-L MESSAGES 1. Look carefully at your messages. English-L messages look a lot like other messages (that is why numbers 2 and 3 in the above list are so helpful). When an English-L message is opened, the FROM will say: Owner-ENGLISH-L @ CSUS.EDU on behalf of Sender’s Name [Sender’s Email]. 2. Once you open an email message, take a moment to look at the “from” BEFORE HITTING REPLY. If you hit reply to an English-L message, your reply will be sent to ALL subscribers. 3. DO NOT HIT REPLY if your message is appropriate only for one person. Instead, START A NEW EMAIL, and address it using the sender’s email in the “from.” Or, use the email address included in the body of the message (if applicable). 4. Don’t spread bad advice!!! Make sure that the information you are giving is correct before replying to someone’s message. 5. Don’t send in unnecessary messages (i.e. Thanks!; That was great!; I totally agree!) 6. REMEMBER: English-L is primarily INFORMATIONAL. It is meant to disseminate important information more than to carry on conversations. A discussion-based list is simply not feasible for a list of this size. Any email conversations that result from English-L messages should be conducted off-list. As the listowner, I review all English-L messages and decide whether to accept or discard them. On a regular basis, I discard the following types of messages: 1. Messages meant for just one person 2. Messages containing negative remarks about students, faculty, or staff 3. Messages containing faulty information 4. Unnecessary Messages English-L provides an extremely important service to the department. Following these guidelines takes only a little bit of effort. But that little bit of effort will really pay off!!! It will help guarantee that subscribers stay subscribed, AND it will make my life a lot easier. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. Financial Aid Financial Aid Distribution I am using a Federal Student Loan to finance my education this time around. When you apply for a student loan, you apply for a full year (fall and spring); however, the Financial Aid Office determines when your loan is dispersed. In the fall, you are able to register for classes without paying for your registration fees in advance. This is beneficial, because you typically have to register for classes before you receive your financial aid. However, in the spring, you are required to pay before you register. In my case, I had to make two installments on my fees (and pay for my parking permit) a month-and-a-half before receiving my financial aid check. This is something to keep in mind when budgeting for the year. For information about applying for a student loan, visit the CSUS Financial Aid Office website at https://webapps1.csus.edu/faid_general/process.asp. Unit Requirement To qualify for a student loan, I am required to take 6 units a semester. I work full-time and go to school at night, which I admit is much tougher than I anticipated. If you are in the graduate program, I would recommend pairing a graduate level course with an undergraduate level course (you have 9 units of undergraduate level electives) when you can. OneCard The Sacramento State OneCard is invaluable. You can purchase one for $9 at the Sacramento State OneCard center. As stated on the CSUS website, the OneCard center “is located on the south side of Brighton Hall, facing the Library Quad. Our entrance is outside, on the south side of the building. The phone number is 916-278-7878 and the email address is OneCard@csus.edu.” The OneCard serves as your library card at the CSUS library. In addition, as noted on the CSUS website, the OneCard can also be used in the following ways: Sacramento Regional Transit With your student OneCard and the current semester sticker applied to the back, you can ride Sacramento Regional Transit buses and Light Rail anywhere, anytime, for free! [Note: You can obtain a transportation sticker at the OneCard center. It is applied directly to the back of your OneCard.] Debit Account When you sign up for a OneCard, you are automatically eligible to deposit funds into your personal debit account. You can then use your OneCard to purchase discounted photocopies from more than 50 campus photocopy machines, purchase cold, refreshing beverages from Pepsi vending machines, and buy food from most campus vendors. [Note: Machines are located in the CSUS library that allow you to “load” cash onto your OneCard. You can then swipe your OneCard through machines located on the library photocopiers to make copies. The amount of each copy is automatically deducted from the balance on your OneCard. Copies made using your OneCard are $.06/copy; copies made using currency are $.10/copy. Believe me, it adds up!] PrintSmart Account Your OneCard also has a PrintSmart account that allows you limited number of free printing in Sacramento State computer labs only. After you run out of free prints all you need to do is deposit to your OneCard capitol cash debit account and you are able to print at anytime. This account is a separate account from your debit account and does not roll over to the next semester. Parking Parking permits can be purchased when you pay your registration fees or through the University Transportation and Parking Services office. A semester permit (as of Spring 2006) is $108. The semester permit is a plastic placard that hangs on your rear view mirror. Remember to hang the permit so that the printed side is facing your front windshield. I received a citation this semester because my permit was facing the other direction (a $24 citation). Reentry Services As stated on the CSUS website, the Reentry Services office “provides counseling to help you make effective educational choices based on accurate information and to find the most efficient way to move through the system.” Services provided include: Educational Counseling Adult Orientation Special Admission Reentry Scholarships Sixty Plus Program For more information, visit the Reentry Services Office’s website at http://webapps1.csus.edu/admr/content/admission/reentry/default.asp. SacLink Account As stated on the CSUS website, “SacLink is the California State University, Sacramento universal authentication, e-mail, and Internet access mechanism available to all students, faculty, and staff. It is your computing and networking electronic ID.” Your SacLink account also allows you access to My Sac State (https://my.csus.edu), where you can, as the University states in its registration materials: - pay registration fees and register for your classes - buy books online - change your address - clear financial holds or check account balance - check your financial aid status - check your grades or your current schedule - search for open courses by ID, subject, day & time, faculty, or even GE category. Information about setting up a SacLink account is available at http://www.csus.edu/saclink/settingUp.stm.
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