At this time of year, students are focused on meeting the challenges of their fall classes while also planning ahead for spring course registration. In addition to working with academic advisors, every student can access Student Planning resources in Eagle Service to help map out degree requirements. This is a good to time to check in with your student about their current grades and their strategies to finish the semester strong. Encourage them to stop by their professor’s office hours or contact their Teaching Assistant (TA) and take advantage of academic support services - early and often!

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, we want to express our gratitude for all the ways you support your student. Whether your Eagle flies back to your nest to celebrate, or joins us for food and fellowship on campus, we wish you and yours a wonderful and joyous Thanksgiving!

11/21: Tuesday classes cancelled, Friday classes meet instead

11/22 - 11/26: Thanksgiving holiday; no classes, halls remain open, dining services modified, university offices closed Thursday and Friday

12/11 - 12/16: Fall final examinations, consult with your student before arranging travel

12/17: Fall Commencement Ceremony for August and December graduates

12/17: Residence Halls close

1/15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; no classes, university offices closed

1/16: Spring classes begin

It’s hard to believe that the fall semester is already coming to a close! Whether your Eagle is coming home for Thanksgiving or not until winter break, you're probably eager to see them soon. Along with all the laundry, your student will also be bringing home new ideas, new social networks, and even some new habits and behaviors. Join Dr. Andrea Malkin Brenner to learn more about what you might expect during this transition for you and your students. Dr. Brenner is a college transition educator and author who speaks frequently with high school students and parents on the challenges related to college transitions. She draws on her 25 years of experience as a college professor, as the creator and former director of American University's first-year experience program, and our University College program.

​We invite you to submit questions with your registration or email to [email protected].

We enjoyed getting to know our new families and reconnecting with our returning ones again during Family Weekend. Check out the highlights in our awesome recap video! We've also posted our recordings of the President's Welcome and our dynamic Reimagining the American Dream panel discussion. If you were able to join us, we hope you enjoyed time with your Eagle and all that DC has to offer. 

Save the date for Family Weekend 2024: September 27-29. We're starting to plan now and we want to hear from you! Please take just a few minutes to complete our survey. 

We want to share an important update about our harm reduction strategies and how the community can access life-saving drugs and be trained to help decrease fatal overdoses. Our approach remains based on a commitment to the health and safety of our community, specifically by providing harm reduction measures in a variety of ways.

Last Sunday, most Americans turned back their clocks to mark the end of this year’s daylight saving time. Despite the extra hour of sleep each fall, a YouGov poll earlier this year found that 62 percent of respondents would suspend the century-old practice, and recent efforts in Congress have aimed to do just that. College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) professorial lecturer Brenda Chow discusses the impact of time changes on our health.

About 1 in 12 AU undergrads is a first-generation college student. Meet two members of AU’s First-Gen Student Union, which is cohosting with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion a week of programming to honor the experiences and contributions of Eagles who are the first in their family to go to college.

Tyeshia Boone has spent the last 12 weeks shadowing AU’s HR staffers as part of a fellowship with Hiring Our Heroes, a US Chamber of Commerce Foundation program that helps veterans navigate the transition from military service to civilian careers.

In related news: AU will host a Veterans Day ceremony at 1 p.m. on Friday, November 10, on the WCL quad to honor the members of our community who have worn the uniform or are military adjacent.

American University’s Department of Health Studies understands the challenges facing consumers as they look for healthy and reasonably priced food. For six months, AU’s Food Matters team has been working in Safeway supermarkets in Washington, DC’s Ward 7 to help educate shoppers about making affordable and nutritional choices for themselves and their families.