SBIT BITS
News for Students
Issue #38: August 2025
Newsletter for Purdue University Global Business & Information Technology Students
Embedded Files
Purdue Global "Student Advisory Board"
PG Student Newsletter
Looking for SBIT Corporate Partners from our SBIT Network!
Whether you are a current staff member, faculty, or Alumni, or Student - we believe the best connections come through trusted relationships, and you could be the key to our next great partnership. By taking a moment to share details about a potential partnership opportunity, you're not just making an introduction—you're potentially opening doors for mutual success. After all, Purdue has been a gateway to success for many people including yourself, let’s share that with others! Whether you share potential connections from your own company, or a company you are familiar, the SBIT Industry Partners Steering Committee will follow up.
Industry Partner Referral Form
Do you know?
This Month in History
a series by Dr. Jack Deem
The Panama Canal opened on August 15, 1914. France had previously attempted to build the Canal in 1882. The project was headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal (US Department of State, (n.d.). However, deadly diseases resulted in about ¾ of the French engineers died within three months after setting foot on site. In the end some 20,000 laborers died by the time that France quit the project in 1888 (Klein, 2025).
The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901 paved the way for the canal. Columbia originally claimed ownership of Panama. Supported by US warships sent by President Theodore Roosevelt, Panama declared independence in 1903 and within 6 months, construction began. Panama was paid $10 Million up front and committed to paying an annual fee of $250,000 for the 10-mile-wide strip through the country (US State Department, n.d.). After several changes in project managers and battles with the environment, Yellow Fever and other diseases, pre-exploding dynamite, all of which resulted in additional deaths of some 5,855 workers, the Canal officially opened on August 15, 1914 (US State Department (n.d.).
Full ownership of the Panama Canal was ceded back to Panama on December 31, 1999 under an agreement with the Carte Administration (Terrell, E. 2024).
Today, the Panama contributes some 7.7% to the total US GNP and further affects some 23.6 % of the US government annual income (IDB Invest, 2024).
Sources:
IDP Invest (2024, December 19). The economic contribution of the Panama Canal and its sensitivity to internal and external shocks. Retrieved from
https://idbinvest.org/en/publications/economic-contribution-panama-canal-and-its-sensitivity-internal-and-external-shocks
Klein, C. (2025). Why the construction of the Panama Canal was so difficult-and deadly. History.com. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/articles/panama-canal-construction-dangers.
Terrell, E. (2024). Research Guides: this month in business history: Opening the
Panama Canal. Retrieved from https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-
history/august/opening-Panama-canal
US Department of State (n.d.). Milestones in the history of US foreign relations 1899-1913: Building the Panama Canal. 1903-1914. Retrieved from
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/panama-canal.
This Month's Trivia: August
(The Month that has Adapted)
August is a month that knows its way around a calendar. Not only was it not initially the eighth month, but it also didn’t always have 31 days. The Roman calendar borrowed heavily from complicated Greek lunar calendars when it first began; the Roman year originally had 10 months containing 304 days total, with the new year commencing on the first of Martius, the month we now call “March.” Sextilis (which eventually became August), originally the sixth month, had 29 days. Subsequent reforms added two additional months, bumping some month names to spots that no longer agreed with their new position in the calendar. (For example, “September” means “the seventh month,” but it is now the name of the ninth.)
Some of these inconsistencies remain. Julius Caesar (namesake of the month July) instituted further calendar reforms, eliminating leap months and declaring that most years contain 365 days (except for leap years). When the Julian calendar was introduced in 45 BCE, Sextilis got 31 days. Rome’s first emperor, Julius’ great-nephew Augustus Caesar, renamed Sextilis “August” — by then the eight month — in honor of himself in 8 BCE.
Tuesday, August 12
3:30 pm ET
Join Purdue Global’s Global Indigenous ERG for a special event in honor of the International Day for the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This engaging hour will feature diverse presentations from faculty and staff exploring Indigenous cultures, histories, and traditions from around the world. Come listen, learn, share your own stories, and celebrate the resilience and richness of Indigenous identities across the globe. All are welcome! This event will be held via Google Meet.
Purdue Global Cafe' (PG Cafe')
PG Café is an online meeting place.
As an online school, Purdue Global lacks a social connecting point between students, as well as Faculty with students outside of the classroom. The use of asynchronous communication is not the same as synchronous in developing dialogue and connections. Ground based schools have physical meeting areas where students may interact, offering a common type of social dynamic. At PG we can't just walk out into the quad and talk with each other. We can't run into each other at the Campus Coffee shop, (but we can in a virtual Cafe!)
PG Cafe will host a monthly “SBIT Student SME Networking” session every last Friday. (Schedule will be linked in the SBIT BITS newsletter for students)
This session will introduce students to a Host PG Faculty member with various SME backgrounds (Subject Matter Expertise). The session will allow students to enjoy dialogue with a faculty member outside of the classroom - and talk about various aspects of the faculty’s SME.
SBIT Student Networking Office Hours
Friday July 29, 2025, 11:00am ET
(US)+1 252-656-5109 PIN: 741 191 542#
Café Manager: Dr. Blake Escudier
Student's Stories:
SBIT Department News
Open your world for new ideas and information!
(Click links below to open in new pages)
Student Life at Purdue Global
Join a Student Organization Today!
Add to your Life/Work Balance with PG Student Life!
PG Students and Digital Badges.mp4Digital Badging!
Digital Badging!
Digital badges are visual representations of an accomplishment or credential you have earned that has been issued and endorsed by an organization in a digital, shareable format. As a student at Purdue Global, you may earn a digital badge for several accomplishments, including making the Dean's or Chancellor's List or earning a micro-credential. Micro-credentials are smaller groupings of courses that can “stack” into or fulfill the requirements of other degree programs (such as a bachelor's degree). With these accomplishments represented by a digital badge, they can be easily shared with and verified by others. PG issues digital badges through Credly, our digital badge platform. To learn more, visit this page. If you have questions about digital badges, you can send an email to digitalcred@purdueglobal.edu.
Graduation Information
Upcoming Graduations:
May 2, 2026 (Register February 2026)
October 2026 (Register Summer 2026)
Purdue Global Military
Click for more info!
Military Student Relations : Meetup Thursdays
Military Student Relations offers a drop-in opportunity every Thursday afternoon (4:00pm-6:00pm EST) for our military affiliated students to to network and build community, learn more about campus resources and events, and get your feedback on how to improve the military student experience!
Simply click on the meeting invite on our event calendar. We look forward to seeing you!
Academic Success
What is - Writing Across the Curriculum?
Student Success Coaches
Academic Success Center
Academic Success Center
Click here for more: Academic Success Center
COLLEGE WRITING
The Purdue Global Writing Center supports writers in college composition and across the curriculum with resources that cover a range of topics on college writing from audience and formality to assignment types and sample essays and argumentation and rhetoric. Browse the collection below or use the search tool to locate topics on college writing and more.
Military Prior Learning
Military Prior Learning
Achievement in Community Engagement and Services (ACES) is a free, university-wide, co-curricular, non-credit program designed to recognize the community engagement and service learning efforts of Purdue Global students.
ACES connects students to their local, national, and global communities, to foster relationships in and their commitment to community engagement and service learning.
Students earn points for their service, both inside and outside the university, toward digital badges that can be used on resumes as documented evidence of their dedication to service. Their achievement is also recorded on their permanent academic transcript.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
Purdue University Global holds itself accountable to foster a culture that promotes diversity and inclusion, offering an environment that is fair, equitable, and accessible for all.
PG Library Access: Your PG Library!
PG Library - Get Help from the Library
Get Research Help Around the Clock - Expanded Librarian Availability
See more @ PG Library Research Help
Academic Writer
Academic Writer is APA's authoritative solution offering you a complete digital environment for teaching, learning, and writing academic papers.
New to Academic Writer? Check out our orientation, Getting Started with Academic Writer, to learn how to navigate and use the site.
For more detailed guidance on using the Writing Center, visit our lesson on Writing in Academic Writer.
Searching for Data and Stats!
Searching for Data and Stats!
Who Can Receive Accommodations?
Who Can Receive Accommodations?
A student with a disability and/or temporary impairment that limits a major life function and is diagnosed by a health care professional can request accommodations. Accommodations can be permanent or temporary.
Who are they? SAS was once known as The Center for Disability Services (CDS). The department name was recently changed to Student Accessibility Services (SAS) to create a more inclusive environment that provides accessibility to all. Student Accessibility Services (SAS) at Purdue Global is the primary office responsible for the coordination of services for students with disabilities. Pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, Purdue Global will provide reasonable accommodations for students who have met the eligibility and verification requirements of SAS.
What do they do? SAS works directly with the student to provide accommodations that aid the student in being successful in their classes. SAS works as a liaison between the student and their instructors and notifies instructors of the student's approved accommodations each term. Students with temporary medical conditions can also request accommodations on a temporary basis.
How do you request an accommodation? Students with disabilities are responsible for requesting an accommodation. If you are a potential Purdue Global student, or already enrolled at Purdue Global, and are seeking accommodation(s) due to a diagnosed disability, you may request to be referred to Student Accessibility Services (SAS) through your university representative and/or contact SAS directly by telephone, or email. Actively enrolled students may also submit a self-referral to SAS through their student portal. SAS will then send an email to the student with information about requesting accommodations and will provide the required accommodation request forms attached to the email.
Purdue Global Contacts and Student Connections
Purdue Global Contacts and Student Connections
Purdue Global Contacts
Registration Issues: 866-522-7747
Textbook Inquiry: Student Support Desk or Academic Advising at 866-522-7747
Technical Issues: 866-522-7747-Support and Solutions
Student Accounts: 800-817-8272
Office of Student Support: 866-522-7747
Financial aid: 866-458-2008 option #2, or at fastudentsupport@purdueglobal.edu
Student Connections
Page updated
Report abuse