Parent Relations

Today's Chronicle poses the question - Will Drinking-Age Fight Elevate Role of University Leaders?

In his article, Fain claims that "Higher education has received more scrutiny in recent years, with much of it focusing on the rising cost of college. Alcohol-related problems contribute to those rising costs, Mr. Durden says. Dickinson and other colleges spend substantial sums on police departments, outreach to parents, and alcohol education and counseling."

Today, the Associated Press announced that 100 college presidents have signed a petition encouraging lawmakers to reduce the drinking age to 18. View the full press release.

Beloit College has produced a snapshot of the class entering college...

27 categories that recognize colleges for their best practices and policies.

Read the article from the Chronicle here

If there is one thing, and one thing only, that I think everyone should know it is…

Know two ways out, no matter where you are.

A few sources of information that might be helpful:

Questions to Ask

The best resource that has just been released is www.iGot2Kno.org. This is a website with a wealth of information and two riveting videos on it.

The web site provides an overview of what happens during the young adult years in the brain and in underlying thinking skills, as well as what contributes to healthy development, what can go wrong, and ways to help. Resources on the site include a printer-friendly pdf of the entire site, a pdf of a PowerPoint presentation, and references from the project’s electronic database of over 500 books and materials.

Many think that this "dual enrollment" will help them get into a selective college
By Eddy Ramírez
Posted June 26, 2008

Beginning with college algebra in the seventh grade, Ankit Gandhi took 16 classes at the University of South Florida before he even graduated from C. Leon King High School in Tampa. He did it in part to challenge himself academically, but he also thought it might help when the time came to pursue his bachelor's degree in earnest. "Everyone takes AP classes," the 18-year-old says, "so you always have to do a little more to distinguish yourself." Gandhi was admitted to 14 schools, including Duke and MIT, and will attend Penn State in the fall.

An alarming number of Minnesota high school graduates are still taking remedial courses in reading, writing and mathematics before they can begin to take college classes. According to the data from the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State College system, 38 percent of graduates from 2005 had to take pre-college remedial classes.

At summer college orientation, you see not just incoming freshmen, but their parents. Some parents give their children space, others hover and swoop down to rescue their children. That's why colleges have coined the term: helicopter parents.

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=67763&catid=2

Admissions officers from top U.S. business schools address emerging trend of helicopter parents in the admissions process at first annual AIGAC conference.

Most years by this time, college-bound students are proudly wearing their school colors, thumbing through course catalogs, and chatting online with potential roommates.

As a generation of "Millennials" enter the workforce, many employers are finding their expectations to be through the roof. Experts are being hired to help employers know the best way to handle "Millennials" being a part of the workplace. Employers are having to do more coaching than bossing. Many of them have had the opportunity to travel the world but have never punched a time clock; this has led to dissatisfied employers.

They are young adults and have been coddled by their parents to the point of being ill prepared for a demanding workplace. Morley Safer reports on the generation called "Millenials."

Check out the 60 Minutes clip here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4126233n

Andrea Van Steenhouse offers measures of peace for the parents of children soon to leave for college in her tender, wise, and witty book about the transition from high school to college. She chronicles that very important last year in high school and ensuing "last summer" with all the adventures, situations, crises, and triumphs before one pinnacle: "It is time. I've got to believe in the last eighteen years."

• Association of College and University Housing Officers - International (ACUHO-I)
June 21-24, 2008, Orlando, Florida
http://www.acuho-i.org/Default.aspx?tabid=75

• National Resource Center for the First Year Experience (FYE)
June 23-26, 2008, Dublin, Ireland
http://www.sc.edu/fye/events/international/index.html

• National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)
July 12-July 15, 2008, Chicago, Illinois
http://www.nacuboannualmeeting.org/nacubo2008/public/Content.aspx?ID=190

• Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)

The Association of Higher Education Parent/Family Program Professionals (AHEPPP) will be the preeminent provider of programs and services to administrators, staff, and other professionals in higher education who strive to promote parent and family involvement.

University Parent Media had the pleasure of interviewing George (Barney) Ballinger, Director of the widely successful Parent Relations Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU). After serving more than 27 years in the United States Air Force, Ballinger joined the Office of Parent Relations at the University of Colorado. He brings valuable perspective to the program as the father of two children, one a graduate of the University of Colorado and the other a graduate of the University of Nebraska.