While semester grades weren’t gracing the inside of mailboxes for students, semester schedules were sent home as usual.

“That’s on my target list as well,” Don Larson, executive director of enrollment, said. “There is a possible elimination of the semester schedules as well since they are available elsewhere. Schedule books will be continued to be mailed home, although a list of the off-campus courses will be available online only.”

During Winter Break, many students waited anxiously by their mailboxes in anticipation for their semester grades, good or bad.

Some students wiped their brow in relief that their parents wouldn’t uncover what they received, while others pondered where their final grades were and worried about receiving any good student discounts on insurance.

The answer to the missing in action semester grades is quite simple, according to the Office of Registration and Records.

“Budget cut reasons are why we eliminated the mailing of grades,” Robin Hendricks, assistant director of records and transcripts, said. “We’ve had some negative and some positive feedback from the students and some were concerned that they missed their grades in the mail. I feel that we have helped out all the students who’ve had problems.”

Don Larson agrees.

“We’ve been planning the elimination of mailing semester grades for some time now,” Larson said. “We saw that other campuses are moving away from the mailing because it does become an expensive redundancy. There are other alternatives for students receiving their grades. They are available online and over the phone.”

As for continuing this process, Larson and Hendricks both agree that they will continue to not mail home the semester grades, while they will adjust for some of the concerns that arose this past semester with students. One of those concerns revolved around students who needed a form of identification on their grades for insurance purposes, which the printout from the Internet did not supply.

“I think we took care of those students who needed any extra attention,” Larson said. “We did mail home semester grades to those on academic probation, as well as those who were dismissed from the university. Some changes will be made for the May semester to improve the process.”