Especially for New Families

As a family member of a new Northland College student, we know that you probably have lots of questions.  Sending your son/daughter off to college can be both exciting and challenging.  To help ease the transition, we have created the New Student News.  While this publication is aimed at new students, it also has lots of great information for families as well.  Check it out!

New Student News

E-mail

If you have access to e-mail through your computer at work or at home you can keep in contact with your “Northlander.” Our email system is powered by Microsoft Exchange Server on the back end and Microsoft Outlook on the client end. Students can access it from all over campus on Windows-based computers. A typical e-mail address for students at Northland is the last name, first initial and 01, unless there is more than one student with that letter combination. An example address for new Northland student “Ryan Potts”: pottsr01@northland.edu., if there were a Randy Potts attending the next year, his address would be pottsr02@northland.edu.

This is a great way to keep in touch, as students like to check their E-mail frequently. Another plus is that for the students at least, no charges exist to use this service.

Snail mail

Students still appreciate this kind of mail, especially when it comes as a “care” package. Every student has a mailbox on campus that they should visit regularly. The Northland Post Office is located on the first floor of the Ponzio Campus Center. Besides the U.S. mail, students will receive campus communications, memos, report cards, school newspapers, etc. We will assign a mailbox to each student upon their arrival. Mail is out by 2 p.m. each day and the last delivery pickup is at 11 a.m. Your student’s address on campus is very simple:

Student’s Name
Northland College
1411 Ellis Ave. RM ____ (this is your mailbox number)
Ashland, WI 54806

This is all you need but please be sure to address student mail exactly as shown above.

Telephone and voice mail

The campus phone system serves both campus offices and students’ rooms. Each on-campus phone has a four-digit number. Those students living on-campus will receive their number with their housing assignment confirmation. To reach your student using their number, just think of it as the last four digits of a regular telephone number. By dialing 715-682-their number you can reach their room directly. Even if your “Northlander” is at class or out studying you can still leave him or her a voice mail message. Encourage your student to set up her/his voice mail and room greeting, as soon as he or she arrives on campus. These are two separate functions and it is important to set up both of them. The Room Greeting is what you hear when your student it out of the room when you call and the message needs to include the voice mail numbers for each student living in the room. The voice mail greeting is what you hear before leaving a message in your student’s personal voice mail box. This works much like an answering machine; you call your student’s room and hear the Room Greeting, which gives you a four digit number to press for your student’s voice mail box.

Every room has a directory that will enable them to find local numbers. The campus phone system will permit campus residents to direct-dial local and 911 calls from their rooms. Long distance calls can only be placed by using a calling card. The rates for these calls are comparable to current AT&T rates. We will distribute detailed information at residence hall check-in. Students cannot bill calls to their rooms and cannot accept collect calls.

A variety of ways exist to stay in touch. Your student may soon be too far away to drive up for regular visits, but you can always find a way to connect with them.

Cellular Phone Options

The Ashland area currently has three businesses offering cellular service from two providers. Alltel is available at Omer Nelson Electric, 715-682-4100. Cellular One is available at Lakeshore Appliance, 715-682-3411 and Mobile Connection, 715-685-2500. Feel free to contact them with questions prior to your arrival in Ashland.