JMU Parents & Family

09/08/2026

Are your Dukes looking for transportation for Winter Break? Check out CollegeTransit!

Winter Break trips for JMU and Virginia Tech students from PA, NJ, NY and CT are posted and available!
https://collegetransit.com/all-trips/
JMU Alternative Transportation Virginia Tech Transportation Services Virginia Tech Parents & Families

09/08/2026

Our Madison Family Newsletter for September is out with LOTS of important topics including:

- A Letter from Dr. Miller
- Tickets for Family Weekend Train Concert
- Family Weekend Fun on Hanson Field
- More Than a Pretty Campus: Parent Conversation Checklist
- Concerned for a Student? Madison Cares Wants to Help!
- Self-care Resources from the University Health Center
- Flu Shots Available
- Financial Aid Disbursements and Starting Classes
- Welcome Back to JMU Dining
- JMU Dining: Family Weekend
- The One Career Event Every JMU Student Should Attend
- Study Abroad Programs
- Transportation for Your Duke
- Parking Information for Visitors
- Live on Again: On-Campus Housing
- Take Your Time Before You Sign: Planning for Next Year’s Housing
- Help Your Duke Find Their Community
- Parents Council Chairs Offer JMU Families Advice
- JMU Traditions Magnet
- Bring JMU Home
- Career Closet: Autumn Attire Harvest
- Duke Club: Friday Night Flights 2026
- Student Travel Home Update: NY, NJ, CT & PA
- The Makery in Carrier Library Reopens with Even More Opportunities to Create

Read it here - https://www.jmu.edu/news/family/2026/september.shtml

09/07/2026

Now that your Duke is settling into their routine and classes, tell them to take advantage of JMU Learning Centers! The Learning Centers at JMU provide support for your Dukes and empowers them to succeed in their academic work!

Some services include:
- Free Tutoring
- Study Sessions
- Writing Consultations
- Peer Academic Coaching
- Speech & Presentation Prep
- English Language Consultations

Learn more - https://www.jmu.edu/learning/index.shtml

09/04/2026

Please review this information with your Dukes!

Federal Student Loan Changes for 2026-27

New federal regulations may affect your eligibility for federal student loans if you are not enrolled in enough financial aid-eligible credit hours during the academic year.
Before dropping, withdrawing from, or changing your classes, review how these changes could impact your financial aid.

What you can do:
Review our FAQs
Use the Loan Eligibility Calculator
Plan your enrollment carefully

Learn more and access resources on our website.

09/02/2026

All First-Year and Transfer Dukes must complete the steps of The Madison Center for Civic Engagement's program, Better Conversations Together. This program is designed to equip your students with the tools to have curious, productive conversations across divides.

Remind your First-Year and Transfer Dukes to complete the Perspectives Program, Post-Survey, and Deliberative Forum Signup by September 9th, 2026.

We also want to encourage parents and families to learn too! Talk to your students about Better Conversations Together and learn more here - https://brnw.ch/21x5nVe

To gain family access to Perspectives, email [email protected].

09/01/2026

Attention students!!! Tell us who deserves to be the 2026 JMU Family Member of the Year by! Please take 10 minutes (by September 6th) to nominate that important family member who has made a significant impact on your life as a JMU student for the 2026 Family Member of the Year Award. This is a great opportunity to show your loved one just how much you appreciate them! The award recipient and student must be present to be recognized on the football field during halftime of the Family Weekend football game on October 3rd.

Again, the deadline to nominate is September 6th. We can't wait to hear from you, Dukes! Nominate your loved ones here - https://www.jmu.edu/family/events/fmoy.shtml

08/31/2026

Is your Duke looking for a job? The Part-Time Job Fair will be on Sept 2nd, from 1-4 pm in room 1075 of the Student Success Center. There will be opportunities for On and Off Campus positions. Your student can find more information about the Part-Time Job Fair on the BeInvolved App!

JMU PageUp is the best place for your Dukes to find the most-up-to-date information about job openings at JMU.

08/28/2026

Remind your Dukes that they can add and drop classes without penalty through Friday, Sept. 4, at 11:59 p.m. for all regular semester and 7W1 classes. Your students can use MyMadison to make adjustments.

If your Duke drops a class after the add/drop deadline, they will receive a "W" grade for the class (which does not impact the student's GPA) and the student will be responsible for all tuition charges associated with the withdrawn class.

If a student wants to add a class after the add/drop deadline, they will need to speak with the academic unit that oversees the class to receive an override/permission.

View more Fall 2026 Dates and Deadlines here -https://www.jmu.edu/registrar/_files/deadlines-fall.pdf

08/27/2026

As your Dukes are settling in and finding their way around campus, we want to talk about Financial Aid Disbursements.

These occur during the first week of each semester if all paperwork has been submitted in a timely fashion and your Duke is registered for the amount of hours used to determine financial aid eligibility.

The number of financial aid eligible (FA Hours) your Duke is registered for during the enrollment period plays a major factor in determining eligibility for financial aid. Not being enrolled in the correct number of FA Hours when it’s time to disburse funds will lead to delays, as JMU Financial Aid cannot disburse financial aid if a student is registered for fewer FA Hours than what was used to develop the financial aid package.

For example, if your Duke is registered for a total of 12 credit hours in a term and only 9 of them are listed with a "Yes” under the “Eligible for Financial Aid” Column in “My Class Schedule” in MyMadison, then for financial aid purposes, the student is considered enrolled in 9 hours. However, the financial aid package was developed based on 12 hours.

You can find more information about this in Section 9 and 13 here - https://brnw.ch/21x5g8z

Your Duke can visit the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships in the Student Success Center, MSC 3519.

08/27/2026

Our favorite part of the first day of classes is seeing how excited our Dukes are to be back on campus.