Welcome back to campus everyone! Hopefully the heat didn’t melt you just yet because knowing Texas, it’s here to stay.
Over the summer, The Retrograde has been hard at work trying to figure out how we can better serve the campus community. After talking to so many of y’all at summer orientations, we remembered how chaotic of a process it is settling into campus life. It doesn’t help that information and resources are scattered across dozens of websites, with the most important things buried deep between the lines.
In response, we’ve sifted through said dozens of websites (and pamphlets) and have finally compiled an extensive list of resources offered by UTD. They range from academic help options, food and dining places on campus to a map of all bathrooms with free menstrual products available. You can check out the full guide here, but for now, here’s a quick list of what we think are the most essential ones for the student body.
1. Emergency numbers to save
Emergencies are bound to happen at some point. In any extreme, time-sensitive situation, always dial 911. However, in case of medical emergencies taking place on campus, the number to call is 972-883-2222. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, the Student Counseling Center has a mental health professional accessible 24/7 by 972-UTD-TALK (972-883-8255).
2. Student Success Center
The Student Success Center houses multiple programs aimed to give students more personalized academic help. These range in style from 1-on-1 help to class-like tutoring sessions so students can pick what works best for them. The details of all the different types, how to sign up for them and their locations can be found on the SSC website.
3. Student Health Center
The SHC is where all students can receive primary and preventative healthcare at low cost without stepping a foot off campus. Services include routine checkups, free flu vaccines, sexual assault nurse exams, chronic disease treatment and more, which are all available by appointment only. The clinic is located in SSB 4.700, open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
4. Comet Cupboard
Located in MC 1.608, Comet Cupboard is the on-campus food pantry serving all UTD students regardless of income status — no questions are asked, nor documentation requested. Students can come in twice a week and pick out up to six items of their choice. Those seeking to participate are required to watch a video, take a 6-question quiz on the rules and guidelines of the pantry and bring their comet cards upon arrival.
5. Clothing Closets of Campus
There are two clothing closets on campus. The first one, Temoc’s Closet, allows students to pick out clothes of various styles as well as limited hygiene products to keep. JSOM’s Comet Closet is geared towards those who need to borrow professional wear for a limited amount of time.
6. Computer Labs
Across campus, several buildings house computer labs open to students for free. These computers often have specialized software necessary for students, like Adobe Creative Cloud. Here is a map created by yours truly listing all the different ones across campus accessible by all students.
7. Pre-Professional and Undergraduate Advising Offices
Each school in UTD has a designated Undergraduate Advising Office composed of advisors who help students navigate their academic life. Their locations and open hours can be found on their designated school’s website.
The pre-professional advising offices, the Pre-Law Advising Center and the Health Professions Advising Center, also help with this. But more importantly, they help navigate everything students should be doing outside of academics as well, and have a great track record of doing so successfully.
8. On-campus jobs, internships, research positions
To pursue on-campus opportunities, students should make an account and explore 12twenty and the UTD research portal. 12twenty, instead of Handshake, now hosts all official UTD jobs and internships available to students. If seeking research experience, both paid and non-paid positions can be applied to using the UTD research portal by simply filling out the interest form.
9. Campus Map
The UTD Campus Map can help anyone find the room or building they are looking for on campus. If location permissions are enabled, users can utilize the “Directions” feature to view a path leading the user to their destination. Destinations are not limited to specific rooms or buildings, as the map includes locations like printers and vending machines.
10. Nebula Labs
Created by UTD student organization Nebula Labs, UTD Trends is a website in which you can view past grade distributions for every class as well as professor reviews and class difficulty ratings. UTD Clubs lists all the active student organizations on campus, searchable by type. UTD Rooms displays the availability status of rooms across campus both at the moment and for future dates.
While these are some of the most-utilized resources by students, UTD offers many more that are extremely helpful. However, if I listed them all here, this article would be over 5,000 words. That’s why I, once again, implore you to check out the full resource page which is a more extensive yet organized list we’ve put together here.
If there’s a resource you know about that I didn’t mention, or one that you need but don’t see listed, email us at theretrogradenews@gmail.com and we’ll help out however we can. Otherwise, the best of luck to everyone this upcoming semester, and I hope these resources are of help to you!