Most universities provide a parent information newsletter usually via Web sites. I have written here about information I gleaned from the University of Colorado parent newsletter, but today I found some great insights in the Colorado State University parent newsletter.
One of my sons is currently a CSU student, so I regularly get the CSU “Parents & Family” e-newsletter. The one that came yesterday is full of great information including, explaining the tool that allows parents access to their student’s privacy-protected information, tips on how to turn around academic struggles, ideas on how to resolve roommate conflicts, and what parents should expect from their student’s college experience.
While all the articles were helpful, I want to highlight the one that asked, “What can you reasonably expect from Colorado State University?” For parents who have just fledged their first college student, the answers to that question often shocks. For example, many parents do not realize that privacy laws prevent the school from giving out any information about the student, including grades, behavioral or health issues, or even citations received for illegal activities. It makes no difference if you are paying tuition and fees—you only have access to your student’s information if he or she grants it to you. By the way, I explain FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), the law that mandates that privacy, in Toward College Success: Is Your Teenager Ready, Willing, and Able?
Jody Donovan, CSU Dean of Students and Executive Director of Parent and Family Programs, stated in the article that she doesn’t believe high schools or institutions of higher education do a very job explaining collegiate-level expectations. I agree with her, and that is one of the primary reason that Toward College Success was written. Parents need to realize what their students will face, and what is assumed that they will know, once they land on a college campus. When parents understand those expectations they can give their teenagers opportunities to learn the skills they will need to succeed.
Donovan printed a chart that showed expectations at the high school and college levels for a number of issues. It was taken from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and it closely resembles information found in Toward College Success. One example looked at rules: In high school, “students are usually told what to do and corrected if their behavior is out of line.” In college, “students are expected to take responsibility for what they do and don't do, as well as for the consequences of their decisions.”
Another example on expectations in class: In high school, “students will usually be told in class what they need to learn from assigned readings,” while in college, “it's up to students to read and understand the assigned material; lectures and assignments proceed from the assumption that they've already done so.”
A last example on the role of family: In high school, family involvement is “expected and rewarded via parent-teacher conferences and advocacy on behalf of your student, while in college, “students become the keeper of their educational records and families are expected to coach and mentor their students to help them achieve success. Families take a back seat or a guiding role to students in the college setting.”
Your teenager needs to be prepared to meet these and other collegiate expectations long before you wave goodbye from a dorm parking lot. Toward College Success will give you the ideas you need to start preparing them now.
To ready Jody Donovon’s article: http://www.parents.colostate.edu/eletter/LetterView.aspx?l=94bf980f-0766-4881-92e2-d7b8a9fd309b&letter=9a7764d7-6d06-42ee-8c8d-e231a3b3c40d
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