“I have tried but I just can’t get along with my roommate.” “I need this math class for my major, but I am not sure I am going to be able to pass.” “My ID card doesn’t work in the cafeteria, what should I do?”

Hopefully, you won’t hear these type of comments from your student in the coming weeks. But, if you do, the information will help you to know how to guide your student to find the assistance on campus he or she needs.

Tusculum encourages parents to listen to their students’ concerns and then advise them in who they should contact on campus in resolving their issues, whether it be resolving a conflict with a roommate, finding academic tutoring or getting help with a computer problem. Encourage your student to try to resolve the issue on his or her own, an important step in developing independence, offering them suggestions of whom to contact on campus.

Below is a listing of various topics and whom should be contacted about those topics:

– Academic advising. For questions regarding declaring majors or changing majors, please contact the director of academic advising in Room 121 of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building. The director of academic advising can also answer questions about academic requirements. Advisers are assigned as a student enters Tusculum. Students who are undecided as majors are assigned to general advisers until they decide which major to pursue, when they are assigned an adviser in that discipline.

– Accessibility for students with disabilities. Students who may need accommodations for disabilities, should contact the Academic Resource Center counselors on the first floor of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building.

– Arts and Lectures requirement – the director of academic advising. Please see academic advising above.

– Athletics. Any issues with the College’s varsity sports should be address to the athletic director in Rankin Hall. Any issues with an intramural sport should be brought to the attention of the Office of Student Affairs in Niswonger Commons.

– Automobile registration. All students should have the cars they are driving on campus registered. Contact the Director of Campus Safety on the main level of the Niswonger Commons about car registration or parking questions.

– Bills and payments issues, including deferred payments. Please contact the Business Office on the first floor of McCormick Hall.

– Campus activities and club and organization information. For campus activities, please call the student life coordinator for campus activities, whose office is in the Pioneer Gym. Club and organization questions should be directed to the associate sean of students on the main level of the Niswonger Commons.

– Computer services. For computer issues, students should contact the Computer Help Desk, located on the top level of the Niswonger Commons.

– Financial aid. For assistance with financial aid, please contact the director of financial aid in Virginia Hall on the second floor.

– Food services. For questions about dining options or concerns, please contact the campus dining manager in the Niswonger Commons cafeteria.

– Grade appeals. Tusculum has a process, outlined in the College catalog, for making grading appeals. The first person to contact is the instructor for the course.

– Hometown news. If you have questions about getting news about your student in the local newspaper, please call the Office of College Communication at 423.636.7304. The office sends releases about academic honors and other student achievement and activities to hometown newspapers.

– ID cards. If a student loses a card or the magnetic strip on the back stops working, please contact the student life administrative assistant in the Office of Student Affairs on the main level of the Niswonger Commons.

– International student services. Please contact the director of academic advising.

– Instructor/quality of instruction issues. The academic chair over that program should be contacted. Call the campus operator for contact information regarding the appropriate chair.

– Parking citation appeal. Appeals for parking tickets should be made to the dean of students in the Office of Student Affairs. The Motor Vehicle Operations Guide provides information about this process and can be found online under the “documents” menu on the Student Affairs webpage.

– Paychecks. While students pick up paychecks for work study in the Business Office, any issues regarding them need to be directed to the director of financial aid in Virginia Hall.

– Roommate, residence hall issues. The Office of Student Affairs should be contacted for any issues regarding roommates, room assignments, switching rooms, etc.

– Transfer credit. Any questions or issues with transfer credit should be addressed by the Registrar’s Office on the ground level of Virginia Hall.

For issues not listed here, please contact the dean of students. A listing of issues and personnel and contact information can be found in the Student Handbook, which is provided online on the Student Affairs page.

Students and their families participate in some friendly competition during a cornhole tournament during a recent Family Weekend.

Mark your calendars and make plans to attend Family Weekend 2016 on September 23 and 24on the Tusculum College campus.

Tusculum welcomes parents, grandparents, siblings and other family members for a weekend of activities that allow students and their families to have fun together as well give families a better understanding of life on campus.

The schedule of activities is being finalized and will be announced soon. Continue to watch the website for details. Past year’s activities have included opportunities for families to attend class, tour new additions to campus such as the wetlands and arboretum, participate in some friendly competition with each other and attend an athletic event as a family.

Sept. 23 and 24 will be a busy time on campus. In addition to Family Weekend, there will be a  campus-wide “Zombie Tag” competition, prospective students will be visiting as part of an open house event and the Pioneer football and volleyball teams will have home contests.

Summer continues to bring more accolades for Tusculum student-athletes for their performance in the classroom.

The Tusculum Men’s and Women’s tennis teams have earned recognition from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as All-Academic Teams, and four members of the men’s golf team have been named to the 2015-2016 NCAA Division II Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar Men’s Golf Team.

Tennis team honors

The Tusculum is one of only 49 NCAA Division II colleges and universities to have both its men’s and women’s teams earn ITA All-Academic Team honors. The ITA All-Academic Team Award is presented to any ITA program that has above a 3.2 cumulative grade point average for the academic year.   This is the 10^th straight year the Pioneer men’s tennis team has earned the ITA All-Academic team award. It is the fifth straight year that the women’s tennis team has received the distinction.

All eight of the men’s tennis team earned the ITA Scholar Athlete distinction: Toby de Klerk, Tashique Kader, Eduardo Muñoz, Fabian Paier, Leon Seiz, David Siegle, Tim Stierle and Jonas Winkelmann. ITA Scholar Athletes are student-athletes who are a varsity letter-winner, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher for the current academic year and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters.

Men’s tennis boasted an impressive 3.825 team GPA for this academic year, and the team members’ 3.646 cumulative GPA is the best of Tusculum’s 16 sponsored sports.

The women’s tennis team had seven of its members earn ITA Scholar Athlete distinction including Sarah Baker, Jule Brass, Franziska Funke, Adrienne Kaye, Erin Mills, Amanda Sumner and Emily Waters. The Pioneers recorded a 3.622 team GPA, the second-best of Tusculum’s sponsored sports.  The women’s tennis team has earned the ITA award 10 times in the last 13 years.

Tusculum’s fifth consecutive ITA All-Academic Team Award and 10th time in the last 13 years.

Men’s Golf honors

Seniors Nick Forsberg and Brad Hawkins return to the 015-2016 NCAA Division II Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar Men’s Golf Team for a second straight season, while juniors Taylor Smith and Preston Tucker make their inaugural appearances.

Ninety-one (91) Division II golfers in the country have been recognized by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) for the distinction. To be eligible, an individual must be a junior or senior academically, compete in at least three full years at the collegiate level, participate in 70 percent of his team’s competitive rounds and have a stroke average under 78.0 and maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2. Honorees must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.

Tusculum’s four honorees are the most in the South Atlantic Conference, which boasted 13 representatives.

Hawkins, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, has a 3.61 cumulative grade point average and was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team earlier this summer.  The sport management major has been selected to the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, Dean’s List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List.

Forsberg, a native of Staples, Minnesota, also garnered Academic All-America® recognition last month.  He graduated from Tusculum in May with a 3.75 GPA and majored in sport management.  He is a member of the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, Dean’s List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List.  He has been named the SAC Men’s Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year in each of the last two seasons.

Smith, a native of Gray, Tennessee, has a 3.30 GPA and is majoring in business administration.  He is a member of the SAC Commissioner’s Honor and the Tusculum Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

Tucker rounds out the Tusculum honorees on the GCAA All-America Scholar Team.  The Knoxville, Tennessee product has a 3.90 GPA while majoring in business administration.  He is a member of the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Dean’s List, President’s List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

With a $100,000 goal, Tusculum College kicked off the 2016-17 Pioneer Club campaign with a breakfast held at the Greeneville campus on Thursday, Aug. 4.

“We are appreciative of all you do to support Tusculum athletics, your efforts in the community and your attendance at games means a lot to our student-athletes,” Tusculum Athletic Director Doug Jones told the campaign leaders and volunteers at the breakfast. “That support through the Pioneer Club is important for us to provide the best experience we can for our student-athletes.”

This year’s Pioneer Club campaign will be led by five team captains, Angelo Botta, Nick Hirschy, Justin Jeffers, Steve Goad and Dr. Craig Shepherd,  and Jones. These captains will lead groups of volunteers who be working in the community to raise awareness and support for Tusculum athletics over the coming year.

Team captains for the 2016-17 Pioneer Club campaign are preparing for the annual effort to provide resources for the Tusculum College athletic programs. From left are team captains Angelo Botta and Justin Jeffers, Tusculum Athletic Director Doug Jones and team captains Steve Goad and Nick Hirschy. Not pictured is team captain Dr. Craig Shepherd.

The Pioneer Club is the college’s vehicle to provide athletic scholarships and program support to all athletic programs. The program began in 1991, and year after year, has been built on a solid foundation of support from alumni and friends of Tusculum College.

Athletics at Tusculum College are a big part of campus life; nearly 50 percent of the students are student-athletes.  Jones said that several projects have been identified that will be supported through the Pioneer Club campaign, including the improvement of the College’s capability to live stream athletic events over the Internet. Live streaming has become increasingly important as parents want to be able to watch their student-athletes compete even if they are not able to attend the game, he explained.

Larry Coughlin, who has served as the Pioneer Club Campaign chairman for the past eight years, was honored for his leadership in the annual effort during the breakfast. Coughlin, who will be continuing his involvement in the Pioneer Club as a campaign volunteer, has been actively involved with Tusculum College and its student-athletes for many years. A well known and respected member of the Greeneville community, his service to others also includes membership on Foundation Board of the Greeneville Exchange Club, the Laughlin Health Care Foundation Board and the Consumer Credit Union Board of Directors.  In 2010, Coughlin was recognized with Tusculum’s Sports Benefactor Award, which recognizes individuals for their contributions toward the Pioneer athletic programs.