Message for Commuters

Dear Future Bearcat,

Congratulations on your decision to attend Saint Vincent College! I am glad to welcome you and anxious to meet you in August. As we plan for the arrival of all new students to SVC, we give special attention to people like you who choose to be a non-residential student. As a commuter student, you are afforded the benefits of living in an off-campus environment. These benefits can prove to be rewarding in various ways. For instance, you will find you have more privacy and greater freedom than most students who live on-campus. Often, living off-campus is a more affordable option and allows you more financial freedom. These benefits, however, can quickly become detriments if you are not aware of the special challenges a commuter student may encounter.

Among the unique problems you may face are courses that are available only at times that may be inconvenient for you. In addition, schedule conflicts may cause you to miss speeches, study sessions, research opportunities, and other learning experiences that enrich academic life. Furthermore, as a commuting student, you are often part of a group called “suitcase students.” With no residence hall room or office to serve as a base, you often find that materials you need are at home, in your car, or at your job. Finally, traveling back and forth limits your contact with both your family and people on campus.This can lead to a feeling of alienation at home and limited assimilation into the College.

How, then, do you overcome these challenges? Well, there are multiple ways for you to become a successful college student who maximizes the academic and extracurricular opportunities on campus. The Orientation Committee and Freshmen Seminar Faculty serve as the “connective tissue” that connects you with the campus community. However, to be a successful college student requires you to be proactive and vigilant. You should recognize that success as a student is directly related to being organized and participating in life outside of the classroom. Take a few minutes to review the sections of this website that discuss organization and participation.

The opportunities available to you are endless. You control your own destiny and we are committed to ensuring you have help along the way. Call me at anytime for assistance at 724-537-4564 and remember… shoot for the moon because if you miss, you’ll still be amongst the stars.

See you soon,

Dean Alice Kaylor
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs

The Importance of Being Organized

As you begin your life as a college student, no greater barrier stands in your way than disorganization. As a commuter, you will need to be efficient and maximize your time on campus. To do so, you should design for yourself a time-management plan that allows for sufficient studying and socializing. To assist you in this endeavor, Saint Vincent offers multiple environments where you can make best use of pre-class, inter-class, and post-class time. Prep Hall, the Alfred Hall Study Center and the Saint Vincent Library offer a quieter, academic environment conducive to personal study. Prep Hall is home to the Barista Café where you can study while sipping on a cappuccino. The Alfred Hall Study Center and the Saint Vincent Library offer computer workstations for your use. The Student Union is home to The Shack, the campus snack bar, where you can “grab” a table and take advantage of the social climate. These are just a few locations you can use to take more advantage of your time. In fact, these locations were designed with you in mind, so feel welcome!

Lockers are provided free of charge near the Post Office to allow you some storage space on campus. These are available on a first-come-first-served basis and can be acquired by registering at the Office of Student Affairs in Alfred Hall. Users must provide their own lock.

Computer labs are located in the Alfred Hall Study Center and the Library. Certain departments maintain computer labs for students in the major such as Life Sciences and Communications.

In-house phones and call boxes are available in Placid Hall, Carey Center, parking areas, and at the entrance to all residence halls free-of-charge for your campus use.

Participating in College Life

Maximizing your college experience means you must consciously attempt to make yourself a part of Saint Vincent. Nobody knows your talents and interests better than you. To assist you, we offer a number of outlets to meet your social and academic needs. I encourage you to participate in some or all of the following:

The Saint Vincent College Virtual Campus. We are excited to offer you this interactive arena to begin connecting with your classmates---SVC's Class of 2008! I'm sure you are anxious and excited to begin College and we want your transition to be smooth sailing. To this end, you are able to contact your classmates and SVC's Orientation Committee through this webpage. Post a memo, take our survey of the week, or check out our calendar and "get-in-the-know" about Saint Vincent College months before you arrive. Using your new Saint Vincent email address, you will receive an electronic invitation to join.

Over 40 clubs and organizations are available to you on campus. The equestrian club, politics, fencing, fine arts, commuter club, health and fitness, skiing, and the outdoors are just a few of the many opportunities available to you. In fact, we provide assistance to you in developing your own club if we don’t already have what you’re looking for!

Student Government serves as the voice of all students on campus, including commuters. In fact, there is a commuter representative position on student government who specifically works to address the needs of the commuter population. The SGA Office is open Monday through Thursday, 12:00 – 5:00. Stop in and make yourself known to your representatives.

Read, read, read! You should try to read the Saint Vincent publications to be aware of all events and activities on and off campus The Weekly Bulletin is published by the SVC Public Relations Department and provides a wealth of information on newsworthy events. The Review is the student newspaper that provides an outlook on college life exclusively from the students’ perspective.

Meal Plan

Commuter Meal Plan: The Commuter Club, working in concert with the Student Affairs Division and Dining Service has developed a meal plan exclusively for our commuter students. This meal plan includes any 5 meals served in one week, plus $50 in Flex Dollars for the semester. This meal plan runs Sunday to Saturday. This plan may be used in the Community Center Dining Room or you may use your meal equivalence in the Shack for lunch, brunch, or dinner only. When dining at one dining facility during a meal period, another meal cannot be used during that same meal period at any other location, including meal equivalence. Flex dollars may be used in the Shack, the Barista Cafe, and in the Community Center Dining Room to buy snacks, drinks, or a meal for a friend. Students who are interested in this option must be a commuter for the meal plan to be awarded. Meal Plan Flex dollars expire at the end of each semester.

Express Dollars: Along with one of the meals listed above a resident can add express dollars. Commuters, however, may add express dollars without having a meal plan. Express dollars has a minimum buy-in of $50.00 with a 5% bonus built in. (Example: $100.00 = $105.00 Food Service Dollars) Express Dollars may be added at any time in $25.00 increments. (See Dining Service) Express dollars will expire at the end of each academic year.