Parent FAQ & Resources

Parents and families are an integral part of a student’s educational journey. As a member of the Truman family, you can watch your student blend academic pursuit and human connection into the kind of action that makes a difference in a profession, in their communities, in business, and in service.

Academics

Academic Resources

Consistently ranked among the nation’s best colleges in publications such as U.S. News & World Report, Truman has forged a reputation as a public university that provides a private school experience at an affordable price. Our Liberal Studies Program allows your student to major in a subject that he/ she is passionate about, but also provides a well-rounded foundation that empowers students to become better-informed and more effective citizens.

Student success is extremely valuable at Truman, and we want to make sure that your student is achieving his/ her full potential. If a class or assignment seems particularly difficult for your student, we provide various academic support services, such as tutoring, academic advising, and research and writing assistance.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights regarding the access and release of their education records. Because of this, Truman will not automatically send any parent or guardian a students’ course schedule, grades, etc.

The quickest, easiest way for you to receive information about your student’s grades or other student information is to ask your student to provide it to you. To learn more about FERPA, see FERPA Information for Parents.

Truman’s graduation rate is 75%, the highest among all public Missouri schools.

Truman’s freshman-to-sophomore retention rate is 86.4%, the highest among all public Missouri schools.

Truman graduates’ placement rate into employment or graduate/professional school is 89.3%, with an extremely high response rate.

Our Liberal Arts and Sciences Education, Major Programs, Center for Academic Excellence, and Career Center at Truman ensure that our students will succeed after graduation, regardless of their path. Roughly half of our graduates enter the workforce directly, while the other half go on to attend graduate and professional schools.

Check out some of our notable alumni to see how Truman graduates are making a difference in the world.

Campus Safety

Department of Public Safety

Yes, all students are able to bring their cars to campus, even freshmen! Students are required to purchase a parking permit in order to park on-campus. Check out our Parking Map to see which permit will work best for your student!

Yes, we have our own Department of Public Safety that is dedicated to providing emergency and non-emergency assistance to the Truman community. They provide police services 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

Yes, there is! Your student can opt-in to our text messaging alerts and add a parent/guardian’s phone number by following these instructions:

    1. Sign in to TruView.
    2. Click on “Truman” tab.
    3. Go to “Update and View My Personal Information” in lower right screen.
    4. Click on “Update Emergency Text Messaging Information.”
    5. Enter or update the information; a maximum of three phones can be registered to receive texts.
    6. Click on “Save” or “Submit Changes.”

Health and Wellness

Student Health Center

We have a Student Health Center that keeps students healthy —or gets them back on the road to recovery when they need it. Our nurses and collaborating physicians treat acute illnesses and minor injuries, give immunizations, educate patients, and provide reproductive health services, among other things.

We also offer confidential counseling services—individual, relationship, and group—for students who are having personal problems they’d like to discuss with someone.

Truman is a JED Campus and strives to provide wellness programming and access to mental health resources for all students.

Yes, if a student wishes the Student Health Center to bill their insurance, they are expected to submit a copy of the front and back of their current insurance card at the time of service.

Any deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, or charges not covered by insurance will be placed on the student’s University Account after the claims have been completely processed by insurance.

University Counseling Services aims to provide affordable resources to all students.

All assessment appointment at UCS are free and then each session is $10. A counselor will discuss the fee with each student during the initial appointment. Students should alert counselors if they are concerned about the cost of services or confidentiality concerns related to billing. Special arrangements to accommodate these concerns are available.

Our Office of Student Access and Disability Services provides a variety of accommodations, approved on an individual basis once a student’s eligibility to receive services has been determined. If a student is seeking additional services or resources, he/she can apply for disability services.

Costs, Scholarships & Financial Aid

Cost & Financial Aid

Tuition and cost will be officially announced each summer for the upcoming academic year. For the 2019-2020 academic year, the current in-state estimate for new freshman students is $17,812 and the out-of-state estimate is $25,006. These prices include: tuition, housing, meals, and required fees. It does not include textbooks, transportation, or any other personal costs while attending Truman.

We offer various automatic, competitive and transfer scholarships that can certainly help a family financially. Your student’s application to Truman is their application to all of our scholarships, and these are renewable each year assuming the student meets our renewal requirements.

There are additional foundation scholarships available to currently enrolled students, financed by the contributions of alumni, friends, parents, faculty, staff, campus organizations, foundations and corporations who believe in Truman’s important mission. Students can apply for the majority of these scholarships in February.

Beyond Truman’s assistance to students, there are also many needs-based financial aid opportunities through grants and loans. You must apply for Federal and State Aid annually in order to receive any grant or loan funds by filing the FAFSA.

Students may also apply for an on-campus, institutional job. Students can apply for these jobs on TruPositions once they have been enrolled in classes. Many local businesses also employ Truman students. For a listing of local businesses, visit the Kirksville Chamber of Commerce website.

Competitive scholarship notification will be initially sent via mail in January, but will be ongoing through February and March. Students who do not receive additional scholarships will not receive notification. If the student has submitted the FAFSA before our Office of Financial Aid begins packaging in January, they will receive a comprehensive award letter within a few weeks.

We consistently have an incredibly competitive applicant class, and we have limited dollars to award. The scholarship committee reviewed each file individually and had to make countless tough decisions.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a government-funded program that, based on student income, parent income, household size, and assets, yields an expected family contribution (EFC) which determines eligibility for various aid programs. Learn more about filing the FAFSA.

Work study is a federally funded program that is awarded by Truman’s Office of Financial Aid based upon aid guidelines, a student’s unmet need, and available funds. Learn more about work study eligibility and opportunities.

Students are able to customize what aid they take each year, including the amount of a particular type of aid (loans, for example).

The tuition down payment is due July 1st. Information about this will be mailed in May. The only paper bill will be mailed in late July. The remainder of the bills will be emailed and available on TruView.

Yes, there is a Flexible Payment Plan that allows for a family to pay their semester balance in four payments spread out throughout each semester. You can see more specific information about this plan on our Flexible Payment Plan brochure, including how your student can sign up for the plan.

In order to access a student’s bill and student account information, the student must set you up as an Authorized User. Students can designate Authorized Users by following these instructions:

  1. Go to TruView and log-in.
  2. Click the “Student” tab at the top of the page.
  3. In “Student Finances section”, click on “Student Account Suite.”
  4. Click on the tab for Authorized Users at the top.
  5. Follow the instructions to enter e-mail addresses for parent(s)/others who need access to online bills for the student.

Authorized Users are sent an e-mail notification of passwords and log-ins.  They are also notified by e-mail when a new bill is posted or when they make a payment through the website.

Housing and Dining

Residence Life

Our residence halls vary in location, room style, dining options, living-learning communities, and price. However, all on-campus housing options will include: wired and wireless internet, computer labs/workstations, common area kitchens, vending machines, laundry rooms and cable access.

Please explore our Residence Life website to learn more about each residence hall, amenities, dining options, and rates.

Once students complete the Housing Application in TruView, they can begin searching for and requesting their roommate. If a student already knows someone else attending Truman, they can request each other as roommates. If they don’t know who they might want to live with, they will see their potential “roommate matches,” based on information they included on their Housing Application. Students are encouraged to talk with their matches to find and request a roommate. If a student doesn’t request a specific roommate, a random roommate will be given to them before Orientation.

Living with another student is a rewarding but sometimes challenging experience. Students will fill out a Roommate Agreement to help prevent any issues.

If problems persist, students will typically start by talking to a Student Advisor or Apartment Manager to try and resolve the issues, but can eventually end in working with the Hall Director to change roommates. Roommate changes can take place after the second week of regular semester classes.

We do not have specific gender-inclusive housing or open housing as it is sometimes called, as a policy. However, our Office of Residence Life will work with all students one on one to find them a great housing placement. If a student is an incoming freshman, we do ask students to let us know if they are not comfortable being placed by their biological sex through the Housing Application.

Students can move off-campus after their freshman year at Truman. There are a variety of off-campus houses and apartments available, most within a short drive or walk to campus. You can look at the available off-campus housing options by searching on rental websites, or taking note of “For Rent” signs around Kirksville.

Our meal plan options vary in the number of meals allotted per week, amount of flex dollars, and cost. Meals can be redeemed at the dining halls, and are generally transferable to most options in our Main Street Food Court. Flex dollars can be used at all dining locations.

We do consistently offer Simple Servings, an allergen-safe dining option for students with food allergies, gluten intolerance, or those who prefer plain and simple foods. This includes food free from common allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, wheat, gluten, soy, milk products, and eggs. We also offer various vegan and vegetarian options daily.

Our Campus Dining Services will work with your student on his/her dietary restrictions to try and accommodate as best we can. Reach out to someone on our team with any special concerns or requests.

Visiting Truman

Admissions Visit Center

Family Day is on Saturday, September 26, 2020.

You can schedule a visit on our Office of Admissions website, or call 660-785-4114. We have opportunities to visit most weekdays throughout the year, and select Saturdays!

You can find a list of lodging options on the Kirksville’s Visitor website. For large visiting days, such as graduation, we recommend making your reservations as soon as you are able.

If you are visiting Truman during the weekday, you are encouraged to pick up a free visitor’s parking permit the Office of Admissions in the Ruth W. Towne Museum & Visitors Center, or at Parking Services in the General Services Building. Parking permits are free to visitors.

If you are visiting during the weekend, you are able to park in any open campus lot.

Kirksville may be a small town, but there are plenty of things to do while you visit. You can go hiking or kayaking at Thousand Hills State Park, see a movie at our Downtown Cinema Eight theater, visit our Downtown Square’s local shops and restaurants, or get your brain working at The Ville Escape Room. Find more things to do in Kirksville on their Visitor website, or look at the events happening on Truman’s campus.