YOUR NEW ROLE Parenting and Your College Student

Scenarios Your student is currently a senior. On weekends, he sleeps until at least 12 noon. On school days, he has a difficult time getting up and is late for school at least once a month, and has served detention for that. He has just registered for his fall semester and has two 8:00 a classes. What is your role to insure he will get to class on time? What steps will you take? It is October and you have just returned from “parent’s weekend” visiting your student on campus. On Monday morning, you retrieve the mail at home to find a letter addressed to your child with a return address from “Student Resident Life.” Concerned that it may contain information about next semester housing, you open the letter, to find a notice requesting your child at the residence hall hearing for a recent alcohol citation. What do you do?

Scenarios Your student is a freshman at the community college and lives at home. You have noticed that her hours seem irregular, at times extreme. On days that she has afternoon classes, she leaves the house at 12noon and often returns around 1:00am. You have set rules that seem reasonable, such as routine tasks, taking out the garbage. How do you address your child’s schedule? What do you need to consider? Your student will have rights to his or her account including student records, grades, etc. The university has indicated that they will no longer be issuing and mailing final grade reports. All information will be accessed via a student account password. What is your role? How will you access your child’s grades?

College Bound, the first year experience! Last year, approximately one and a half million first-time students began their degree-seeking journey within the walls of higher education. Regardless of their backgrounds and varying levels of academic preparedness, they all experienced the anxiety associated with the transition to college life. The transition from high school to college is daunting for most 18-year olds, but parents, too, feel the stress associated with sending a child away to college for the first time. Understanding the concerns of college freshman and what you, as a parent, can do to make the transition easier will alleviate some of the anxiety – for you and your son or daughter. Reference: pkg-learning/article-sk college-bound--the-first-year-experience-t/

Stress Factors Paying for college Feeling overwhelmed Being lonely or homesick Meeting new people Adjusting to the "Social Scene“ Balancing social pressures with academic demands

Campus Calm.com Fact: 50% of students who attend college drop out or fail out, 33% within their first year. Fact: Educational burnout tops the list of reasons why students drop out of college. Fact: Stress is the biggest life issue that students say affects their studies. Fact: According to a spring 2009 poll of more than 2,200 college students across 40 colleges and universities: 85 percent of students reported feeling stressed on a daily basis. Academic concerns like school work and grades, with 77 percent and 74 percent respectively, maintain their positions as the top drivers of student stress, even over financial woes in today’s economy. Six out of 10 students report having felt so stressed they couldn’t get their work done on one or more occasions.

Helping the Transition Listen to their concerns Teach life skills Encourage your son/daughter to enroll in a "college survival" seminar Talk about financial issues Be willing to cut the cord Negotiate frequency of communication Negotiate expectations of visits home

Reminders Relationship Decision making Your child is an adult “Transitioning from high school to college doesn't have to be a difficult adjustment, for your child or for you. With parental guidance and support you can make a difference in how your son or daughter handles the first year college experience.” -Lynne Ticknor, parent educator, Clarksville, Md. 2003