2. Parenting a Greyhound: You Have Concerns Too!
Dr. Sheilah Shaw Horton
Vice President for Student Development
and Dean of Students
The title of this session is Parenting a Greyhound, You have concerns, too! Because we know that parents have questions and they need information at various times. Since my office often tends to be the first place parents call, I thought I would spend just a few minutes with you today to talk about our “approach” to dealing with parents.
At Loyola, our approach to parents is to work in a partnership. And partnership means that you have a role and we have a role. And we respect and trust each other’s expertise and experience with the student. And …. We are working toward the same goal. The success of your student.
So what does that mean? It means that this is your student’s education. It is their responsibility to take advantage of it. But we also know that developmentally, they need your help in the beginning to get connected, understand the system and begin to take advantage of the resources here.
And there are things that you need to do as well…

3. Deadlines Documents Data Decisions ??? Parental transition….
As a parent, you know that you have to pay attention to all the deadlines that come up. There are deadlines that have already passed such as the placement exams, the sign ups for Messina or other first year programs, etc.
And there are the documents that you need to make sure the student has such as the health forms which are necessary, the transcripts or SATs that need to be sent in or other academic criteria, and the surveys that we need you to complete, here and once the year begins. Just a plethora of paperwork!
And then there are the decisions. I put a question mark on the decisions because many of the decisions need to be made by the student – yet we know that the student will often ask you to make the decision for them. So we have to figure out how to help our students to make their own decisions.
Whether it is the classes they pick, the roomates, or residence hall style of living….. These are decisions that THEY have to live with. So we need to let them make the decisions. We can help them by asking them questions that will get them to think about the concerns that we have. And we have to resist the urge to do it for them. RESIST THE URGE!!!!
You don’t want to be the one negotiating the salary deal once they graduate do you? (I hope not!) Well, you need to begin now. At orientation. I saw some of you parents out there in the hallway trying to help your son or daughter pick the classes that they will eventually take. This is good because it makes them feel secure. But they need to go in there on their own, and talk about their interests and their skills and their future ideas and work with an advisor to get the right schedule and the right classes for their particular field. And they can do it. And we help them.
The same goes for the roomate, and other decisions that they have to make.

4. We all work together to support your student
There is a circle of support here and we all work together. Your student will not slip through the cracks if they come to the attention of any of our offices. So if you have information that we should know, particularly for the health and safety of your student please do not hesitate to call.

5. Best to call the department closest to the situation directly unless:
FOR ANY EMERGENCY 24/7
IF YOU NEED ADVICE ON ACADEMIC MATTERS (CLASSES, FACULTY, HONORS)
FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS CONCERNS, ESP REGARDING SAFETY
CALL THE CAMPUS SAFETY
DEAN OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
DEAN OF STUDENTS
*Reminder: there are laws that require us to get student permission to release information
It is best to call the department that is closest to the situation – for example, a housing issue should go to the office of student life. A dining issue should go to the dining department, etc. But if there is an issue that is broader – and you are not sure who to call, or if there is an emergency, there are three places that you can call to get connected with the right person. If it is an emergency at any hour – call campus safety. If you hear that your student is failing, or has some significant academic challenge and you are not sure how to support them – call the dean of UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. If there is a health and safety matter – you have noticed changes in your students behavior that you are not sure how to interpret – call the deans office. We may refer you to counseling services, or there may be other resources that we may connect you with.

6. A REMINDER….
“Timely Warnings will be issued for any Clery Act crime which has been reported to occur on our geography, is reported to us or BPD, and is considered by the institution to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and or employees.”
Timely warnings are required by Clery Act to notify the community when an incident has been reported. It does not mean that your child is particularly at risk. The latest interpretation of Clery suggests that if the alleged perpetrator is still on campus, we must consider it a continuing threat. However we do not remove students from campus unless we believe that a threat exists where there are incidents of violence, force or harm to the community.
There will also be tips on safety and reminders on how to prevent incidents.

7. Summer orientation is just the beginning
Make connections with other parents for future reference
Meet presenters to get names and departments
Attend the information fair
Have “The Talk” with your student on the way
Monthly Parent Newsletter