Category — Understanding The World of College

The question of whether your college student will graduate on time is a loaded question.  It’s an important question, and it’s a tricky question.  As parents, we send our students off to college hoping that all will go without a hitch and that they will graduate in the expected four years.  We often do our careful financial planning based on the four-year timetable.  As we examine the question of graduating on time, there are two important things that we need to consider before we discuss time to graduation.

• The first thing that we need to consider is what we mean by “on time”. Although most of us still consider four years to be the norm for an undergraduate degree, according to the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), the percentage of students who graduate in four years is approximately 36%.  The percentage who finish in six years is 57.5%.  This is approximately 10% less than the figure for the 1960’s.  Colleges have historically measured graduation rates which include those who graduate in 150% of the normal time – 6 years for a “4-year degree.”  With the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in 2008, colleges now measure graduation rates with 200% of time – 8 years for a “4-year degree.”  So we may need to question whether a “4-year degree” is the norm. [Read more →]

If your college student tells you that she is “course shopping”, you may wonder just what she is doing.  If your student lets you know that he is dropping a course, you may worry that he won’t be taking enough credits.  If your student tells you that she is making an enrollment change, you might wonder what kind of change she is indicating.  If all of this happens in the first two or three weeks of a new semester, it is part of the normal movement that often happens in courses as a new term begins.  It may be helpful, as a college parent, for you to understand the Add/Drop or Enrollment Change period.

Most colleges have a period at the beginning of each semester during which students can drop courses from their schedule and/or add new courses to their schedule (if space is available) without penalty.  There is no financial cost, and courses dropped will not appear on the student’s transcript; they simply go away.  The length of this period will depend on the policies of the institution, but generally may be anywhere from one to three weeks.  Sometimes students may have a slightly longer period to drop courses than to add courses.  Again, depending on the procedures of the institution, courses may be added or dropped online, or students may need to obtain signatures of instructors and/or their advisor to make a change.

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Obviously, grades are a big part of the college experience.  Students attend college for many reasons, but classroom experiences, and the grades that go along with those experiences, are an important measure of college outcomes.  Some students seem to care more than others about their grades, but all college students know that they matter.  Families, too, differ in how they view college grades.  Some parents are anxious to hear about every test or paper; others may not be interested in grades as long as they are passable.

Starting a conversation with your son or daughter about grades may be completely natural for some parents and more awkward for others.  But talking to your student about his grades is important.  Don’t take them for granted or assume that all is well if you don’t hear anything.  Remember that in college, grades go to the student rather than parents.  Your student has ultimate responsibility for his grades, but it is reasonable for you to ask to talk about them.  This is especially important if your college student is a new college student in his first or second semester.  Help him consider what his grades may mean and what he can learn from them.

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Students work very hard to get into college.  Students (and their parents) spend years, and countless hours, making just the right list of potential colleges, visiting school after school, studying for SAT or ACT exams, writing college essays, filling out applications, interviewing, and waiting for that all important letter.  Students agonize over the decision to find the place where they feel comfortable, attend Orientations, contact roommates, shop and fill their dorm rooms with all of the necessities.  Why then, do almost 45% of those students who began with so much hope and so many plans, leave college or transfer schools before they complete their degree?

There are hundreds of reasons why students leave the school where they began their college education.  Some students transfer to another school (often losing credits along the way), some dropout entirely, some stopout and return later, and some slowdown and take longer to finish their degree – often as a part-time student.  Because, as parents, we are often used to being responsible for the direction our student takes, we may feel responsible when our student tells us that he wants to leave school.

It is important that college parents understand that there are some factors leading to college success that we can control and help with, and there are factors over which no one has control, or the student alone has control.  It is important to separate the two categories.  In this post, we’d like to take a look at some of the factors that parents can control (a very short list), and some of the major factors that parents cannot control (a much longer list).  We hope that this will help parents understand how varied the reasons for leaving school may be, and also help parents discuss reasons with their college student and help support the college student who may be struggling to succeed.

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Retention is not a new topic, but it is an important topic for colleges.  Your student’s college wants him to stay enrolled. It is good for your student, and obviously, it is good for the college.  Many students transfer to a different college – often after a semester, a year, or two years.  Roughly 55% of students who start college finish school in six years at the same school.  There are hundreds of reasons why a student may transfer, some of which are better than others.

If your student talks about transferring, it is important that you help her think about her reasons.  Talk to her about whether things will be different in a different place, or whether she might make some changes in her approach in her current school. Many students consider a transfer at some point during their first or second year, but many choose to remain where they are.   As you and your student think about the transfer question, keep in mind that most colleges are working hard to help your student succeed and find satisfaction.  Your student chose this college initially, and the college selected your student.  The college wants this to work.  Your student might think about whether she is taking advantage of all of the opportunities provided.

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There are many important reasons why you should encourage your student to stay on campus on the weekends and not come home every weekend.  Research indicates that those students who are engaged and involved on campus not only do better in school, but also experience higher satisfaction with the college experience.  It is important to help your student understand why she should not return home most weekends if that is an option.

However, if your student attends school at a distance that makes coming home for a weekend a possibility, there are some reasons why an occasional visit home for a weekend may make sense.

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As a college parent, or pre-college parent, you probably used the calendar diligently to watch the deadlines for college fairs and open houses, college applications, financial aid forms, deposit deadlines, and housing deadlines. Now that your student is actually in college, you may be thinking largely in terms of first and last days and breaks when your student will be home.

Hopefully, your college student is paying attention to important dates on the college calendar, and on his class syllabi, to keep track of his own important deadlines.  For parents, however, keeping an eye on the college calendar will help gather a sense of the rhythm of the college semester and year.  Taking note of important dates will help spark important conversations with your college student and give you a snapshot of some of his activities.

Your student’s college may send a copy of the year’s calendar home, but it is also almost always posted on the college’s website.  Many colleges update the online calendar frequently and include all of the activities happening on campus.  Try to make it a habit to check the calendar, and to use the information there to help you understand your student’s world.  Here are a few suggestions of things to watch for and think about.

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As parents of traditional college age children, we know that our children live in a different world.  Intellectually, we know that the world changes – ever faster – and that our children have grown up with many different experiences than we’ve had.  Sometimes, however, we forget – or just plain don’t realize – how different that world truly is.

Each year Beloit College releases The Beloit College Mindset List. Since the list was first published in 1998, in addition to providing college professors a chuckle, it has also proved to be an eye-opening look at “the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college” that year.  The list was originated by Beloit professor Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief as a reminder to faculty members that many references used in class might be outdated, but it has become a much more comprehensive look at the worldview of current college students.

We include here, for your consideration, amusement and possible consternation, a few of the items that are true for current college students. These are taken from the last four Mindset lists. So if your student was born between 1989 and 1992, consider some of the following.  (You may view the entire lists, by year, at www.beloit.edu/mindset.)  If you sometimes wonder why you feel as though you don’t know your college-age student, read on.

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As a college parent, we want nothing more than for our college student to be successful in college.  Although that success may look slightly different to different parents and families, important measures of success for most of us are certainly competence, grades, happiness, and a job after college.

Students are responsible for their own behavior in college.  As parents, we have raised them and prepared them for their college journey.  We continue to be involved and to support our student, but she must make her own decisions and take responsibility for her actions.  Our role, as a college parent, changes.  However, as the coach on the sidelines, we can do much to suggest options to our student which will help guide her toward her success.  Some students may need more reminding and guiding than others, but students will make choices which will determine their path.

We’d like to suggest some choices and actions that you can encourage in your college student to help him increase his chances of a successful college experience.  Of course, there is no magic bullet, and sometimes even those students who make all of the right choices may hit rough patches, but these suggestions may help to guide your student toward success and increased confidence.  Encourage your student to consider some of the following.

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College is different from high school in many ways.  Both students and parents expect there to be differences, but they may be unsure of exactly what those differences are.

One of the major academic differences between students’ high school lives and their college lives has to do with the student’s schedule of classes.  Students will spend less time in class.  Typically, high school students spend approximately six hours a day in class – that’s approximately 30 hours per week.  College students may spend between twelve and fifteen hours per week in class.  Because college students spend so much less time in class, they are expected to do the bulk of their academic work outside of class.  College students who are clear about the difference have a much better chance of academic success in college.

A second major change regarding a college student’s schedule is that the student has much more control, and therefore responsibility for, his own schedule.  Students usually plan their schedule in consultation with their academic advisor, but students then may make changes.  Unfortunately, some students may make changes that may not be in their best interest in the long run.  There are many factors that dictate a “good” college schedule.

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