Information sessions - These are held by various offices or
departments on campus and are meant to introduce you and your student to the
resources and services that these departments offer. For example, the
university health clinic representative may tell you that they offer pharmacy
services for less that your current pharmacy co-pay or the parking enforcement
office may offer ways for parents to get free on-campus parking in certain lots
when you visit. There are often so many
services available that students and parents don’t utilize because they missed
hearing about them in orientation, or didn’t read through the handbooks or
online guides. Don’t let this happen to you. Attend all the session you can,
keep the handbooks you receive, and become familiar with the college’s website
search feature.
Tours - Even if you participated in campus tours
when your child was choosing a college, they take on a new feel as you realize
that this place will be your child’s new home within a month or two. Tours
during orientation are usually more specific and highlight the day-to-day
routine of a typical student.
Instead of showing off the new labs or the
remodeled residence hall, orientation tour guides may be able to show the
student the exact buildings, dorm rooms, and classrooms they will be in on a
regular basis. Chances are that your child, being a freshman, will not be able
to live in the deluxe new residence halls or use the new labs that mostly
juniors and seniors will access.
Some students are disappointed that they did
not get their first choice residence hall or that they will be living farther
away from the cafeteria than they originally thought. Remind him that he will
be there for four years and by the end of his freshman year he will know where
almost everything is and where he wants to live the following year.
Explanation of costs, bills and
due dates - Even though the
responsibility for paying tuition, fees and other expenses is technically your
student’s we understand that it is virtually impossible for an 18-year-old pay
for college entirely by himself. Even students who have multiple scholarships
and part time jobs will need help from you once in a while, so while we may
emphasize that the bills will be sent to your child, we will also tell you
everything you need to know to make sure he or she doesn’t miss a deadline or
end up without a meal plan due to an unpaid bill.
Campus involvement - Orientation programs often invite a number of
people to talk with your student about campus involvement. Sometimes these
sessions take the form of an activities showcase where a broad range of campus
groups set up tables or displays that allow current members of these groups to
interact with you and your child or pass out information about their
organization. Other times a few offices will talk specifically about the
multitude of ways to get involved and then show students how to find clubs to
join and what to expect from those clubs.
Either way the goal is the same. To let new students know that college
is more than just class time, and being happy and healthy on campus means being
involved outside of class.
Safety and emergency information -This is one of the sessions that is often
held jointly with parents and students. We know that you are concerned about
your child’s safety and even if your child doesn’t tell you, he is too, even if its just because he doesn’t want you
to freak out. Campus Safety is vital to the academic mission of the
university, because it is extremely difficult to learn in an environment in
which you don’t feel safe.
Campus police or security will often give
students details about how to stay safe on campus and what to do in an
emergency. Advice like locking doors, being aware of one’s surroundings, and
securing property are all common tips provided by campus police, and it’s
important for students to realize that their actions can play a major role in
their own safety. Having this session with parents and students together
assures you that your child has received this information as well.
Enrollment - The vast majority of summer orientation
programs also include the student’s enrollment in his first semester of
classes. These enrollment sessions are usually held for the students alone so
they can sit down with an advisor, counselor or peer mentor to select classes
and plan a schedule. Keep in mind that a lot has changed since we were in
college and had to stand in line for hours to get a schedule that was virtually
etched in stone when we left the registrar’s office. Today, students can easily change class
schedules online. This freedom is both a blessing and a curse.
Having the flexibility to change one’s schedule
almost daily until classes start is very convenient, but please remind your
child that just because he can change
his schedule, doesn’t mean that he should. Students have been known to accidentally
enroll in senior or graduate level classes because the names of the classes
were similar to the ones in which they were enrolled. When this happens it is not uncommon for the
class to be automatically dropped from the schedule, leaving the student short
on classes and credit hours.
Advisors usually recommend that students can
change sections or times of classes as long as they enroll in the same classes
they had enrolled in during orientation. So, a student may freely change from
the 8:30am section of English Composition I into the 9:30am section of English
Composition I, but should avoid changing from English Composition I into World
Literature I even though they are both introductory level English classes. Once he gets into the swing of college there
will be plenty of time to explore classes and take more diverse coursework, but
for now, it’s best to leave well enough alone.
* Suggest that your child enroll in early
classes at least three days per week, or at least wake up as early as possible.
Taking classes from 9:00am or earlier each day means that students aren’t
sleeping through half of their days.
They will still stay up late, but early risers tend to have better time
management skills and more time during the day for classes, study, work and
other activities.
If, at the end of orientation, you still have
questions or if once you return home and have a chance to process all the
information you received, you still have questions, don’t hesitate to call the
appropriate office or the general number for the orientation or parent
relations office. We are used to fielding calls and emails about just about
anything and can find the appropriate person to answer your questions.
