Frequently asked questions

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 was passed in order to protect student records from being shared with those who do not have a legitimate reason to access them. The Act provides students specific rights and applies to all institutions that are the recipients of federal funding.

More information about FERPA can be found in the Student Handbook.

Bills are mailed out in early July for the fall semester and are due by mid-August. Bills for the spring semester are mailed out in early December and are due by mid-January. Specific due dates are printed on the bill. Students can also access their billing record in COIN (Corsairs Online INformation), accessible through the myUMassD web portal.

Past due balances prevent students from registering for classes and/or changing their classes during the Add/Drop period.

Bills are sent to the student at his or her designated permanent address. Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), bills cannot be sent to the parent.

All undergraduate students with 9 or more credits are charged a health insurance fee. The fee may be waived if the student presents evidence of adequate health insurance coverage. More information is available at Health Services.

Financial Aid information is protected under FERPA and can only be accessed by the student. Students may review their financial aid information using COIN, accessible through the myUMassD web portal.

Please visit the Financial Aid web site for more information.

The university's General Catalog is the official resource for all university policies. Because UMass Dartmouth is a university with many colleges and many majors, the General Catalog is the most comprehensive resource at the student's disposal to review the specific academic requirements of a college and a major. Start with the section "Academic Regulations and Procedures" and then review the specific requirements for a college and major within the catalog.

A student who has not yet declared a major ("undeclared") may meet with an advisor.

A student with a declared major has two options. First, the student can access his or her COIN account:

• Navigate to COIN, available under Quick Launch at myUMassD
• Click COIN Student Self-Service link
• Enter your User ID and Password
• Click Sign In
• Click the Academics link
• Under "Academic Record," click View My Advisors

The second option is to contact the academic department secretary of the student's major. A list of academic departments may be accessed at the Online Directory.

The Academic Resource Center provides academic assistance. Tutors at the center help students with writing papers, understanding course material, preparing for exams, and improving study skills. At no cost, the center offers peer tutoring, study groups and study partners, workshops on academic issues, and individualized assessments.

The Academic Resource Center has a central office number to ask for a referral to an academic area center: 508-999-8709. If the student knows which course or subject he or she needs a tutor for, the best option is to call the appropriate tutoring center directly. A student may call the following centers:

• Science and Engineering Center at 508-999-8718 for Nursing, Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Medical Laboratory Science, and Physics courses
• Math and Business Center at 508-999-8716 for quantitative courses for business, science and other major required math courses
• Academic Resource Center at 508-999-8710 for freshman English tutoring or help with writing papers for any Humanities or Social Science course. Some ESL services are coordinated through this office; however, they are somewhat informal

Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), grades are released only to the student. FERPA also restricts the release of financial information. The university does not issue progress reports prior to the release of semester grades. It is each student's responsibility to keep track of his or her own progress by following the grading criteria set forth in each course's syllabus, which is issued during the first class meeting.

It is the student's responsibility to use the COIN (Corsairs Online INformation) system to access grades. Your student will receive information about his or her student ID and a pin number to access his or her COIN account upon matriculation. COIN is also the tool students use to register for classes, add/drop classes, review financial aid award information, and so on.

COIN access for parents and other student designees

Personal mail should be addressed to students as follows:

"Jane Student"
Residence Hall/Apartment Name
Residence Box Number
(Do not address mail to a P.O. Box Number)
UMass Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road
North Dartmouth, MA 02747

It is important to take safety measures with regard to student mailboxes. It is advised that cash should never be mailed to students. When closing a mailbox, the student should spin the dial so that his or her combination is not easily identified. Lost or tampered mail should be reported to the Housing & Residential Education (OHRL).

Student mailboxes are located in the lobby of each residential building. Students receive a personal mailbox number and combination or key when they move in. Mail Services personnel generally place incoming mail in mailboxes, Monday through Friday, by 4 p.m.

If a student receives a package that is too large for the mailbox, a package slip is placed in his or her mailbox, or he or she is notified via phone message on the room phone voice mail, or he or she is notified via email. Packages may be picked up at UMass Pass, located in the Campus Center.

Arrangements for outgoing package pick-up or express mail may be made with on-campus Mail Services, located in the basement of the Visual and Performing Arts Building.

During all summer orientation sessions for first year students, we offer a concurrent two-day Family Orientation with information sessions, tours and social events designed specifically for parents.

Please visit the Orientation page for more information.

While an exciting prospect for any student, the idea of selecting housing for the next academic year can also be a cause of anxiety for some. Where they will live is such a central part of how they view the year to come. The Office of Housing and Residential Life (OHRL) works hard to make this process as well-known and easily navigated as possible. With that said, each student must bear responsibility for his or her part of the room selection process, which means paying attention to University communications and adhering to deadlines. In this way, the experience assists in students' co-curricular education, better preparing them for life after college.

Each student pre-registers for room selection by submitting a non-refundable housing deposit in March. This deposit ensures their participation in the room selection process. Shortly thereafter, via their UMass Dartmouth email account, all pre-registered students receive a lottery number and a designated time to log on to the online process and select a room. Every student can select a room beginning at the time listed in their email, and any time thereafter, through the end date of the process. Rooms will be selected by students in order of class status, and then by random lottery number.

Our room selection process occurs online over five days in April. First, students living in designated areas that allow for same room retention may elect to sign-in and retain their same room. (This is not permitted in all areas; rooms in the first year halls, for example, cannot be retained.) On day two, anyone retaining a room may "pull in" friends to live in that room with them. Days three to five involve the majority of students selecting rooms throughout the campus.

Communication about this process is, of course, a priority. In December, the Bursar's bill contains a reminder to families that the Room Selection process for spring is approaching, and provides a summary of important dates to be aware of. In February, campus-wide emails are sent to remind students about Room Selection and how to pre-register and make their deposits. Also, in February, letters about room selection are sent to each student's home address and flyers are posted in all residence halls. In March, the Campus Center and Student Cafeteria locations bear publicity about the room selection process. Students should actively seek out this information, and they will find it.

The OHRL web site is a significant source of information about room selection. There is also a page on the OHRL site for parents. Any questions about the room selection process should be directed to the OHRL at 508-999-8140.

Needing support or assistance at some point over the course of four years is not unusual. There are many people for your son or daughter to reach out to if they are in need.

Each floor is staffed by a Resident Assistant (RA), a sophomore, junior, senior undergraduate or graduate student who receives special training on building a community, helping folks get adjusted, and how to be a good resource to their peers. RAs can offer a wealth of information, but also know when a matter needs more attention than they alone can give. In these instances, they can refer their residents to the appropriate professionals for further support and assistance. The RAs are supervised by a full-time, professional Resident Director (RD). RDs supervise all residence halls, and each of them serve on a duty rotation that provides access to an RD 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Beyond our RDs, our professional Residential Life staff also serve as part of an on-call rotation to provide additional guidance and support as needed. Finally, outside of the OHRL team, we often work with University Police, the Counseling Center, and Health Services as needed.

In conclusion, there is no shortage of people for your son or daughter to reach out to. If they feel uncomfortable approaching the RA on their floor, they can always approach any RA, or go directly to their RD for assistance. As a parent, your encouragement of your son or daughter to seek out these resources and advocate for themselves can also be helpful.

Yes, they can bring cars to campus; all students with cars must obtain a parking decal.

For a complete listing of all campus events, visit the Online Calendar. 

To keep up-to-date on planned holidays, add/drop periods and other dates related to academics, students may check the Academic Calendar. Students can also review the Final Exams Schedule online.

Yes. The UMass Dartmouth Parents Association is a supportive team of parents, university staff and students with a common goal of ensuring the best educational opportunities for all students here at UMass Dartmouth.

The goal of the Parents Association is to involve parents in university activities and to provide an ongoing means of communication between UMass Dartmouth and its parent constituency. Parents are encouraged to attend Parent Association meetings and other UMass Dartmouth activities during the academic year.

Please visit the  web site for more information.

Our donors play an important part in helping our students achieve their dreams. Your support provides opportunities to fund new programs and initiatives and to expand existing ones. Please visit giving.umassd.edu to make a gift to UMass Dartmouth.