Frequently Asked Questions:

How do I access my student's grades?
Contact registrar’s office at 205-348-4886 or visit website at registar.ua.edu. FERPA, or the Family Education Rights Privacy Act, is federal legislation that prohibits the academic records of anyone over the age of 18 being released.  The best way to get your student’s grades is just to ask the student. If you are logged onto your students myBama guest account, then you can access grades there. Go to the student tab, click on student services (on the left), click on the student records, and the grades. If you do not have access to your students’ myBama then you can call the registrar’s office.

Where can my student purchase textbooks?
Your student can purchase books at the SupeStore (Ferguson Center or Tutwiler Hall). They can be reserved online at www.universitysupplystore.com

My student needs help with study habits?
Contact the Center for Teaching and Learning at 348-5175 visit www.ctl.ua.edu/default.asp .  They have many different tutors and different tutoring class that can help in any subject that your student might need help in. There is also a class that is geared toward helping freshmen in particular adjust to college life. To look at a list of the University’s class offerings, go to mybama.ua.edu, and then go to the catalog.

How can I contact a professor?
Your student should be in contact with their professors. When a student is enrolled in the class, the professor gives out a syllabus with his or her office hours and an email address. Due to FERPA(see above information) the professor should only communicate academic related information with your student.

What is an ACTion card?
The students ACT card is the university I.D. They can use it to access university facilities, as a method of payment for dining dollars and Bama Cash transactions, and around campus like at the library.  The Action Card is also used to get into sporting events. The student just slides his/her card and they are let into the event.

Where can my child eat using their Dining Dollars or Bama Cash?
Students can eat all over campus with their dining dollars and at some off campus locations. Bama Cash is also accepted off campus including both food and non food stores. Both are accepted at Crimson Cafe, Buffalo Phil’s, and several other places. If you go to www.bamadining.com and click on locations/hours, you will see a map that tells you all the locations for dining dollars and Bama Cash. Bama Cash can be used off campus at several different places. There is normally a decal that says BAMA CASH on the door of the off campus places that accepted it.  For a complete list of locations, visit www.bamadining.com . You can also call 348-6816 for more information.

What’s the difference between Dining Dollars and Bama Cash?
All undergraduate students with 9 or more hours will join the Dining Dollars program. A balance of $300 per fall and spring semester (and $50 per summer term) is automatically billed to your student’s account. These funds are available for use at all campus Bama Dining locations plus all Domino's Pizza, Buffalo Phil's and Crimson Café locations and campus vending machines. Bama Cash accounts are optional. With a pre-deposit of funds, you can then use your Action Card to make purchases at participating locations both on and off campus. Parents can deposit money onto the ACT card for their student to be able to use Bama Cash. If they have Bama Cash, their ACT card will act like a debit card.

How do I add Bama Cash?
Contact 348-2288 or 1-800-474-2288 or visit www.actcard.ua.edu. Just click on Bama Cash or action card online. To add money to your student’s Bama Cash account, you may make a deposit online or you may also call or come by the Action Card Office at 205-348-2288 or 1-800-474-2288, 104 Student Services Center. Parents can also add money to their student’s Bama Cash account using the online access. All you need to know is your student’s campus wide ID student number and name as it appears on your Action Card. Further information regarding online access services can be obtained from Action Card Online.

How do I attend football games with my student?
To attend a football game with a student there are two good options. The first is to purchase two regular admission tickets, one for you and one for the student. You can do this at www.rolltide.com . If your student already has a ticket to that game they could sell it to a friend or through the student website: www.uaguru.com. Another option is for the student to purchase another student ticket and upgrade it to a student guest ticket. To do this the student must visit the athletic office before the Friday of game week and pay the upgrade fee to transfer the ticket and make it a student-guest ticket. Upgrading it just makes the student ticket the same price as a normal ticket. Prices vary according to the game. Up charge fees for SEC games are normally a little more then non- SEC games. 

Can I go to other athletic events with my student?
Of course you can!! When attending events like basketball or gymnastics, parents can purchase a ticket for themselves at the event or by www.rolltide.com and then meet with the student once inside the Coleman Coliseum and sit in the student section. Or your student can purchase you a ticket ahead of time and give them to you before you enter the Coliseum. If the student section becomes sold-out it may be necessary for the parent to purchase a second ticket for the student to be allowed to sit with them.

I have questions about my student’s ResNet capabilities.
Visit the website www.resnet.ua.edu or contact the Help Desk at http://helpdesk.ua.edu.

What is myBama, and what does it do?
The purpose for myBama is to provide one location on the Web where students, faculty, and staff can get important information about the University. It is where students can access their bama mail account, register for classes, or check exam results. Students can also create a guest login in for their parent. myBama also provides helpful information such as the Academic Calendar and information about upcoming events.

How do I create a guest login at myBama? Or what should I do if I lost my parent login for myBama?
To create a guest account on myBama, you student will have to personally log in and set up guest login information for their parents. See above for information (HelpDesk) or contact http://helpdesk.ua.edu if you lost your parent login for myBama.

Who can I contact about on-campus or off-campus housing?
You can contact residential life at 348-6676 or you can go to http://reslife.ua.edu/  or http://housing.ua.edu.  

When should a student begin looking for housing off campus?
As soon as possible! For the coming fall, most renters sign leases beginning in January (and sometimes as early as December).  Leases are usually for one year, but there are some 9 month ones available.  The best thing to do is to go straight to the rental office (there are several in town) and see what they have to offer. Use www.yellowpages.com for contact information. Most offices have books with houses/apartments categorized by the number of bedrooms, price, location, etc. Visit www.offcampusassociation.com  for a special program for UA students to help with living off campus. You can also go to http://apartmentfinder.com and type in Tuscaloosa and it will give you all the apartment complexes in the city and the realtors.

Where can my student stay while he takes classes this summer?
Visit http://housing.ua.edu/summer/summerschool.htm for locations, rate information, and applications. You can also call the housing office at 348-6676.

My student needs special accommodations, what do I do?
Please call the Housing Office at (205) 348-6676 and they can assist you with any accommodations that your student might need.