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If you are not currently enrolled

in the NEOMFA Program but are interested please

 click here to learn how to become a NEOMFA student.

For Current NEOMFA Students

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Be sure to also regularly check the Upcoming Events page, Courses page, and Faculty page for more useful information. If you have other questions that are not addressed here, please contact the webteam so we can find the answers you need and post them.

What is my "gateway" University?

Your gateway university is where you enrolled and were accepted into the program.  It is your "home" university, either CSU, KSU, UAkron, or YSU.

What classes should I take?

Talk to the campus coordinator or your graduate advisor at your home University for advice on your personal program choices.  Be sure you know what required courses you still need to fill, and what the current course offerings are.

We strongly suggest that you first get all your workshop classes and craft & theory classes out of the way first as these have limited offerings and limited enrollments.  Literature and other electives will be easy to fit in later, as there are more sections of these, so save them for your last year.  Thesis hours should be done in your last two semesters.

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How do I enroll for classes at my home university? 

Each University has a representative to the consortium or an English department graduate advisor who can give you advice on particular procedures for enrollment usually online.  After consulting with your MFA advisor, and consulting the current list of courses for the MFA program, go online at your home university to enroll in the classes.   Follow these links for online registration for your university:

  • CSU (login to Campusnet)
  • KSU (through office of the Registrar)
  • UAkron (login to Zipline)
  • YSU (through online class schedule)

If you get a message saying that enrollment in a particular course is "controlled" (limited to students in the MFA program, or to those who have taken a prerequisite course) you may have to be enrolled manually by English department staff--see the front desk at your home English department for help. 

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How do I enroll for classes at one of the other consortium universities?

There are several steps to cross-registration:

  1. First decide what classes you want (see the current list of courses for the MFA program).
  2. Contact the professor for that course (see faculty page for contact info)  to let them know you are signing up for their course (cross-registered students will not show up on their rosters. 
  3. Get a Cross Registration Form from your home department (see sample form from UAkron here).  Or use our generic form (be sure to check appropriate boxes for the correct schools!)
  4. Fill it out, sign it, and give it to your own academic advisor who will send it on for the other appropriate signatures at your home university and then at the host university (where the class will be taught).
  5. Once the form has been returned to your home department by the host university, your own department will add the course to your schedule.  It may show up as a particular (but different from our website) course number assigned by your university or as an "independent reading" with a tag denoting the course title.
  6. Keep checking your own online schedule.  If the course does not show up on your schedule after a few weeks check with your department graduate advisor or MFA representative (do give it time, the form must go from your department to your graduate school, to the host university and back to your department). 

(Note:  It is important that the procedure follows this particular order.  The form must to first be signed by the student's home department Advisor, Department Chair, and Graduate Dean.  The signatures attest to the fact that the student is in good academic standing and has permission to take the course.  Then the host university gets it.  Only then is permission secured at the host institution.  But if you haven't contacted the department at the host university there may not be space in the course for you!  Once the host university signs off on it, the grad school at the host institution faxes it back to the home institution, who manually signs the student up for the course. The home and host English departments will send the forms back and forth, the student should not be the one attempting to collect the signatures!)

 REMEMBER: Your departments procedures may be lightly different from other gateway school departments; consult your gateway departments Graduate Advisor and Campus Coordinator for accurate procedures!

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Are there any scholarships available?

Check the Opportunities pages for information on scholarships, awards, and grant monies available.  If you receive an award or prize, let us know and we will add your name to our brag list!

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What should I do to get a parking pass for the classes I'm taking?

First get a parking pass from your home  (gateway!) university.  You can do this online by visiting the Parking services for your University here:    CSU      KSU     UAkron      YSU*

Once you have the basic parking tag to hang from your mirror, ask at your parking services office for a "YACK" sticker (a small silver piece of tape that is printed with the names of all four schools).  Simply having that on you home school parking tag gives you the right to park at any of the four schools in the appropriate student lots. 

*Note: If you are taking classes at YSU there is an additional step.  You need to visit the YSU parking office and request a card for the dashboard of your car.  They will also give you an access card to swipe to open the parking gates at their gated lots. 

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Where is my class and where can I park on the other campuses?  

If you are taking classes at a University you don't know, it is a good idea to visit the campus BEFORE your class starts.  That way you can find the nearest parking lot to the building you will be in, and be able to judge your driving distances.  Be sure to look at maps of the Campus and of the route you will take ahead of time.

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I had all the right tags and I got a ticket anyway!  What should I do?

Are you sure you parked in an appropriate lot?  Recheck the maps!  If you were parked in a valid location and your tags were in order, don't panic.  Mistakes do happen.  Go visit the Parking Services office at the University that gave you the ticket.  Show them your YACK sticker and parking pass and they will give you the appropriate forms to fill out to get the ticket rescinded.   Some students have had success in simply mailing the ticket back with a Xerox of the parking pass and a letter of explanation.  You can also phone the appropriate Parking Service Office to ask what course of action you should take.  Here are the numbers for all four Parking Services offices:

  • CSU:   216-678-2023

  • KSU:   330-672-4432

  • UA:     330-972-7213

  • YSU:   330-941-3546

Be sure to identify yourself as a NEOMFA student, and mention that you have both a valid parking pass from your home school as well as a YACK sticker!

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What is the NEOMFA student email list?  How do I sign up for the list?

There is a email list for all NEOMFA students.  It is a good way to share info about events, classes, and even parties.  You must sign up for the list; you will never be automatically placed on the list.  To sign up, follow the directions here: http://lists.ysu.edu/mailman/listinfo.cgi/neomfa-students or contact Dr. Mary Biddinger at UAkron and request that she add you to the list. 

Some things you should know:

When you send an email to this list you will be able to speak to any NEOMFA student at any of the four universities, but only if they, too,  have signed up for the list.  Encourage the other  students you meet in the program to sign up and keep in touch.

Be aware this is a public forum--your emails will go to every student and some faculty in the NEOMFA program.  Abusive language or behavior on a University list will not be tolerated.

If you want to read past posts to the list check out the Archives.

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What do I have to do for my thesis?

The guidelines for NEOMFA theses can be found here: http://www.ysu.edu/neomfa/Thesis.pdf.  Before beginning work on your thesis or signing up for thesis hours, please discuss your plans with your campus coordinator.  Ask your Campus Coordinator for the appropriate Thesis Committee and Defense forms.

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Where can I find information on how to publish my work?  

Check out the NEOMFA useful links page.  And if you find what you need elsewhere, please send us the link to add into the list here!

And don't forget to submit your work to our own four campus literary journals:  Whiskey Island, Luna Negra, The Akros Review, and Penguin Review!

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Copyright NEOMFA 2005.  Last update January 2009.

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