Libraries, Gyms, and Taking Classes
Sara Ingmire
gotten some great questions about access partners have to University
of Michigan facilities and services. I wanted to post my reply to one
such email because I think it has a lot of information that many of
you would find helpful. Just let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great week!
Sara
**************************
Hi, Emily!
First of all, congratulations on your decision to come to Ross! I
know that your two years in Ann Arbor will be great. I remember being
so anxious at this time last year, getting ready to move to a new
place. However, I am happy to report that my first year went by so
much faster than I ever would have imagined, and I can't wait for more
fun this year. Hopefully I can answer your questions and help ease
your mind a little bit as you get closer to your big move.
One of your questions was about partner access to U of M facilities.
For the libraries, I think you can enjoy sitting there, but you don't
have any capabilities to check out materials on your own - you would
need your student to do that. For the fitness center, you can
purchase an access pass so that you can use the facilities if you are
a staff member at the University or if you happen to be an alumnae.
(For eligibility requirements, go to http://www.recsports.umich.edu/members/eligibility.html.)
There are a lot of other fitness facilities in Ann Arbor. A few that
I know are popular with partners include the YMCA and Gold's Gym. (I
personally am a member at Gold's, so I can answer any questions you
have there.)
Okay, for your question about auditing courses, my answer is very
complicated. Basically, it depends. Within Ross, you will have
little or no chance to take any classes. The school does not accept
non-degree students. Classes are very full, and they fill up with
MBAs, undergrad business students, other grad students, and then other
undergrads. Many classes have wait lists. You may be able to sit in
on a class for your own fulfillment, but you would have to contact the
professor at the beginning of the term to get permission and see if
there are seats.
Outside of Ross, you may be able to take classes. If you just want to
sit in, I know partners who have contacted professors at the beginning
of the term and been allowed to sit in without a problem; one
particular person I am thinking of sat in on a course in the English
department. It also appears that you can apply to be an Unclassified,
Non-Degree Student within the Rackham School (the graduate school for
the entire university). Information on this program and the
application can be found at http://www.rackham.umich.edu/Admis/pdfforms/ncfdapp.pdf.
Reading through it, I believe you can fill out the application each
semester and take a class or two. It says that if you take more than
three classes (I think per term), then you need to talk to someone in
the department. Also, you may only be able to do this for two
semesters. I think you would really have to contact the school you
are interested in. Just so you have a point of reference, there is
a .pdf file of open classes, which I assume is updated on a regular
basis. You can find it at http://www.umich.edu/~regoff/timesched/pdf/FA2007_open.pdf.
For continuing education, there are other opportunities in the area as
well. Eastern Michigan University is in Ypsilanti, which is the town
just east of Ann Arbor. Their tuition rates seem to be very
reasonable. You can find their website at http://www.emich.edu.
Concordia University also has a campus in Ann Arbor; their website is
http://www.cuaa.edu.
I am sorry my answers are all so complicated, but I hope it helps! I
am copying Heather Byrne, on staff in the Office of Student Life at
Ross, so that she can add anything that I may have missed. Also, I
don't know if you are already a member, but there is a Google group
for incoming partners. You can join at http://groups.google.com/group/2009rosspartners.
Once you are a member, you can read through lots of previous posts
with information that should be helpful as you prepare for your
transition to Ann Arbor.
If you have any other questions at all, please don't hesitate to let
me know! Good luck with everything!
Sincerely,
Sara Ingmire
Ross Partners Co-Director
Sara Ingmire
Heather Byrne in the Office of Student Life at Ross also pointed out
that there is the Washtenaw Community College in town that has lots of
credit and non-credit classes that aren't very expensive, everything
from Yoga to Creative Writing.
Sara
On Jul 10, 1:30 am, Sara Ingmire <saraingm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi, everybody! I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July holiday. I have
> gotten some great questions about access partners have to University
> of Michigan facilities and services. I wanted to post my reply to one
> such email because I think it has a lot of information that many of
> you would find helpful. Just let me know if you have any questions.
> Have a great week!
>
> Sara
>
> **************************
> Hi, Emily!
>
> First of all, congratulations on your decision to come to Ross! I
> know that your two years in Ann Arbor will be great. I remember being
> so anxious at this time last year, getting ready to move to a new
> place. However, I am happy to report that my first year went by so
> much faster than I ever would have imagined, and I can't wait for more
> fun this year. Hopefully I can answer your questions and help ease
> your mind a little bit as you get closer to your big move.
>
> One of your questions was about partner access to U of M facilities.
> For the libraries, I think you can enjoy sitting there, but you don't
> have any capabilities to check out materials on your own - you would
> need your student to do that. For the fitness center, you can
> purchase an access pass so that you can use the facilities if you are
> a staff member at the University or if you happen to be an alumnae.
> (For eligibility requirements, go tohttp://www.recsports.umich.edu/members/eligibility.html.)
> There are a lot of other fitness facilities in Ann Arbor. A few that
> I know are popular with partners include the YMCA and Gold's Gym. (I
> personally am a member at Gold's, so I can answer any questions you
> have there.)
>
> Okay, for your question about auditing courses, my answer is very
> complicated. Basically, it depends. Within Ross, you will have
> little or no chance to take any classes. The school does not accept
> non-degree students. Classes are very full, and they fill up with
> MBAs, undergrad business students, other grad students, and then other
> undergrads. Many classes have wait lists. You may be able to sit in
> on a class for your own fulfillment, but you would have to contact the
> professor at the beginning of the term to get permission and see if
> there are seats.
>
> Outside of Ross, you may be able to take classes. If you just want to
> sit in, I know partners who have contacted professors at the beginning
> of the term and been allowed to sit in without a problem; one
> particular person I am thinking of sat in on a course in the English
> department. It also appears that you can apply to be an Unclassified,
> Non-Degree Student within the Rackham School (the graduate school for
> the entire university). Information on this program and the
> application can be found athttp://www.rackham.umich.edu/Admis/pdfforms/ncfdapp.pdf.
> Reading through it, I believe you can fill out the application each
> semester and take a class or two. It says that if you take more than
> three classes (I think per term), then you need to talk to someone in
> the department. Also, you may only be able to do this for two
> semesters. I think you would really have to contact the school you
> are interested in. Just so you have a point of reference, there is
> a .pdf file of open classes, which I assume is updated on a regular
> basis. You can find it athttp://www.umich.edu/~regoff/timesched/pdf/FA2007_open.pdf.
>
> For continuing education, there are other opportunities in the area as
> well. Eastern Michigan University is in Ypsilanti, which is the town
> just east of Ann Arbor. Their tuition rates seem to be very
> reasonable. You can find their website athttp://www.emich.edu.
> Concordia University also has a campus in Ann Arbor; their website ishttp://www.cuaa.edu.
>
> I am sorry my answers are all so complicated, but I hope it helps! I
> am copying Heather Byrne, on staff in the Office of Student Life at
> Ross, so that she can add anything that I may have missed. Also, I
> don't know if you are already a member, but there is a Google group
> for incoming partners. You can join athttp://groups.google.com/group/2009rosspartners.
Karishma Singh
"Words are miraculous things. They describe, captivate, provoke, vivify, encompass, pervade, inspire, preserve, and comfort. So much more than that, in fact, so as to leave me at a loss of .. words."
M. Whitaker
Julie
Thanks,
Julie