Tips for Parents

Whether your student is an entering freshman or a transfer student, the first year at Concordia will be an exciting, challenging, and transforming experience for both you and your student. Adjustment to Concordia is an ongoing process and each academic semester poses new situations, both positive and negative.

As parents, you will need to provide support and encouragement to your students and assist in their development as adults by giving them more decision-making responsibilities.

Concordia University Irvine values its partnerships with parents as we strive to work together to ensure our students develop into wise, honorable, and cultivated citizens. To develop this partnership, we want to equip you with helpful advice and strategies you can use when fostering your student’s growth.

Smile!

When your teen leaves for college, you should be his/her biggest cheerleader. College students moving away from home need a confident smile to reassure that they are doing the right thing. It can be both a joyous and fearful moment in their lives!

Do not call every day.

So many students now have their own cell phone and it is tempting to want to keep in constant touch. Please start now in cutting the apron strings and talk only a few times per week. No first-year college student wants Mom and Dad checking up on them daily. Let your child know that you trust him/her.

Ask “generalized” questions (but not too many).

How are your classes? Are you having a good time? How is the cafeteria food?.... these are great questions that will get better answers than the following: What is your roommate like (he or she might be listening close by)? Are you staying out of trouble? All in all, the less you ask - the more they will tell.

Have a discussion about Social Media.

Social media postings can have a lasting effect on a person’s life and what is posted there is forever archived to follow the student throughout their lives… think applying for a job, joining the military, becoming president… Employers use these sites to research potential employees’ personal lives. Students are notorious for posting information that is too personal and too informative about themselves. Encourage them to be judicious in what information they post. If you have no idea what these sites are about, look them up because they are an important part of young adult culture now.

Encourage involvement.

College is more than classes and homework. Experience with extracurricular activities is valued by employers. Encourage your child to be active in their field of study by joining clubs and honor societies. These opportunities will allow your student to meet others, develop leadership and social skills, and contribute to their transition to a new setting. The more involved and connected students are with Concordia, the more invested they will be in their education and college experience.

Have another discussion about alcohol and drugs.

Concordia is very strict about these two things. Sanctions as extreme as suspension and expulsion can occur as a result of poor choices made by students who use/abuse alcohol and drugs on campus. Although we make this information known widely and talk about it constantly, many students knowingly violate the policy. We hold our students accountable for their actions as we honor our commitment to a healthy and safe environment.

Do NOT make surprise visits to school.

Parents visiting their student are something tricky to deal with because the parents are in the student’s world, so they feel very responsible for showing them around and being with them. When the parents show up and the student has no idea they are coming, things get stressful.

Talk about credit cards and finances before school begins.

We encourage parents to have a frank discussion about finances with the students. Will the student have a credit card? Should a parent be a co-signer and get copies of the statements? Banks bombard college students with credit-card offers.

As a result, students can get over their heads in debt and even ruin their credit ratings before they graduate. We encourage you to discuss with your student about making an educated decision on budgeting finances and credit card needs.

Your student’s grades are no longer sent home via US Mail...

So, for you to get a peek at how they did will have to come from them. They receive their grades electronically, soon after the close of each semester. While it would be invasive to ask for codes and passwords to view these screens, parents who are funding the educational endeavor do have a right to see how progress is being made. However, keep in mind that Concordia will not be able to reveal your student’s grades to you due to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) which protects the privacy of student records. Only your student will be able to give you access. A signed form will need to be submitted to our Registrar’s Office for you to receive access to your student’s records