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This is a posting from Fresh@News, Villanova's e-mail
newsletter for parents and friends of the class of 2012. Please feel free to
open as many subscriptions as you please, by sending an email to Fresh@News.Villanova.Edu. The
message should have just two words: subscribe fresh To be removed from the
list, just reply to this e-mail and tell us you want to be off. In a few days, many members of the class of 2012 will be
headed home for fall break, and you can feel the energy in the air. For many
this will be the first time they’ve been home since August, and the
students are excited about seeing their family, their friends, their pets,
their homes, about eating their favorite home-cooked meals, and everything else
they miss. Of course, the students might also be a little sleep deprived after
finishing up papers and studying for midterms, so they may spend the first few
days catching up on sleep. And parents should remember that, as much as the
students want to see their parents and families, sometimes the old high school
friends can take up a lot of their time as well. After all the joy in seeing
each other, however, a big question that many parents will have is: “How
is my son or daughter doing at college?” In this posting we’ll
give some general advice and then try to answer some specific questions.
Fresh@News has asked Ms. Kathy Byrnes, Associate Vice President for Student
Life, to provide some perspectives. Fresh@News: So what should parents be looking for as
they try to get a sense of how their son or daughter is doing as a freshman? Kathy Byrnes: Generally speaking when we ask how a student
is doing we look at a few different things: 1) Is the student adjusting well
to the academic expectations of college work? By now the student should have
gotten some grades back, and should either be doing work that is at least
satisfactory or being proactive about seeking help. 2) Does the student seem to
be making some social connections? Everyone expects the students to make a lot
of new friends in college and it often happens that way, but for some students
it takes a bit of time. It is a good thing if by fall break the student does
seem to be talking about at least some new friends. 3) Is the student getting
involved with some activities? Some students who have a really rigorous
academic schedule hold off on getting involved with activities until they get
their feet under them, and that is a good thing. Other students may get
over-involved right away and can’t keep up with their work, so that
isn’t such a good thing. For most students, however, it is a positive
thing if they are involved in at least some structured co-curricular activity
over and above their course work and spending time with their friends. F@N: Any other general advice for parents? KB: Sometimes there is a temptation for parents to want to
interrogate their daughter or son, to make sure everything is going well. My
suggestion is to be patient, at least at first, and let their son or daughter
tell about their experiences in their own way. Of course a few well placed
questions can always be helpful too. Fresh@News: Good advice. Here at Fresh@News we often
hear specific concerns from parents. We are going to ask you some of the
questions that come up frequently. Here is one we hear a lot: “Will
Villanova notify me if my son or daughter isn’t doing well?” KB: For a number of reasons, we prefer to deal directly with
our students, and we assume that the students themselves will communicate with
the parents. For the most part, then, parents will not hear from us about the
student’s progress. The Dean of Students Office does contact parents if
students are put on probation (or receive a more serious sanction) for a drug
or alcohol violation. If the student is in an emergency situation, we'll be
sure that the student calls you or, of course, if the student can't call,
you'll be contacted by us. F@N: How about this one: “My son is really
struggling with some of his classes. He was always a great student in high
school but he is having a lot of difficulty in college. What can he do?” KB: Generally, the first semester of college is a huge
transition for students, so this is not a completely uncommon situation. The
obvious suggestion is for the student to seek help, but some of our students do
have some difficulty asking for help when they need it. The first resource is
always the professor. All Villanova professors have posted office hours, and
the student should either visit the professor at the office hours or make an
appointment to see the professor at some other time. If a student is more
comfortable with his or her academic adviser, the student should also see that
person. For difficulties with writing or mathematics, the student can also go
to the Writing Center or the Math Learning Resource Center. Many students have
difficulty with knowing how to study and with managing time. These students can
check in with the Study Skills Counselor: http://www.villanova.edu/studentlife/counselingcenter/ This
program offers individual help and also classes on topics such as test taking. F@N: What if a parent hears that their son or daughter is
doing OK in classes, but is not that happy with life on campus. KB: Once again, it sometimes takes awhile for friendships
to solidify. On question to ask is what is the student doing to try to make
friends? Is the student reaching out to classmates? … hallmates? …
students from the orientation group? If the student lives on campus, another
step is to talk to the RA (Resident Assistant) in the residence hall. The RA is
trained to be a resource for students, and can refer the student to a variety
of services as needed. Some of these services are listed on this resource page
for parents: http://www.villanova.edu/studentlife/specprograms/parents/
Students can also contact their Orientation Counselor (OC). The OC often has
many connections throughout campus and can help students navigate some of the
ins and outs of campus life. Another avenue is a visit to the Office of Student
Development, home of many campus organizations and a great resource for getting
involved. Through getting involved, students naturally meet people with similar
interests and friendships form. F@N: Suppose the student is feeling that he or she is
not in the right academic program. What should the student do if this comes
up? KB: Often our freshman students are under tremendous
pressure from the world around them to be able to explain their future career
plans to anyone who asks. (Of course, we all know that many students have no
idea what they want to do for a career, and even the ones who think they have
an idea often change those ideas.) So there is an intense pressure on students
to pick a major that seems focused on a specific career. As a result, some of
our students start to talk about transferring from Arts and Sciences to one of
the pre-professional schools (especially business) because they think that it
will help them find employment when they graduate. At the same time we see
other students who are thinking about leaving programs such as pre-med,
nursing, engineering, or business because they were attracted to these programs
not so much because they were interested in these fields but because they
thought the fields would lead them to employment. As a result, some students
are always interested in transferring from one college to another. It is
possible to transfer from one college to another, of course, but students have
to go through an application process and they are not guaranteed admission to
the new college. If they do transfer, they may have to make up course work that
they missed. So I can give two pieces of advice. First, the students should
get some advice about whether the academic program is the right one, and here
the academic adviser can be very helpful in discussing these questions. Each
college has an advising center, and students can go there for additional
guidance. Second, if the question is really about employment and jobs, the
student should check in with Career Services in Corr Hall, and the counselors
there can help students think more realistically about careers. Of course the
first thing they will tell the student is that, "Your major is not
necessarily your career." Their website is:
http://www.villanova.edu/studentlife/careers/ F@N: Here is a question that we hear sometimes:
“My son says he LOVES Villanova and that he is having a great time. I'm
worried, however, that he is having a terrific time socially but that his
grades may be suffering. It isn't that I don't trust him, but I'd like some
independent indication of how he is doing academically. How would I get
that?” KB: This question is not untypical, and it isn’t only
the young men who may be distracted by the social aspect of college. Given the
greater freedom of college life, some of our students can be a bit unrealistic
about how things are going. The fact that they have fewer tests and fewer
graded homework assignments can also mean that they don't get as much feedback
on their progress as they got in high school. Occasionally a student also may
not be completely up front with their parents about their academic work. There are several things to watch. The first indication is
mid-term grades. Many faculty members post a mid-term grade. These grades are
posted on Novasis, which is our student record system, and they are usually
available about a week or two after fall break. So if you haven’t heard
anything by the middle of fall break, it is a good time to ask your son or
daughter since it is more than likely they received most of their mid term
grades by then. You might ask your son to show you his mid-term grades on
Novasis. Three of the colleges - Arts and Sciences, Business, and Nursing -
also send a mid-term warning letter to first year students who are doing poorly
in their academic work. These letters are typically sent to the student both at
the home address and at Villanova. So, if a letter arrives in October from the Academic
Dean, you might ask your child what is in the letter. Final grades - which come out just around Christmas -- are a
definite moment of truth for first year students. Again, they will be posted on
Novasis, and so you should check in with your son or daughter about how grades
were. A student who does poorly (generally less than a 2.0) during the first
semester is put on academic probation. Most of them straighten out in their
second semester. A few who really aren't ready for college work continue to do
poorly, and may be asked to take some time off to gain some additional
maturity. We also have a new program which is a parent’s version of
Novasis, so that parents can monitor the student’s progress themselves.
See below for instructions for getting started. F@N: Suppose parents are worried about the academic
progress of their son or daughter. May they call the teacher directly? KB: It really isn’t the best idea for parents to
contact professors directly. Part of the problem is a legal one. There are very
strict federal regulations about what kind of information can be given out
about students. A professor typically does not know whether he or she is
authorized to discuss a student's records with a parent, and also does not know
whether the person who has called is in fact the parent. In general, professors
want to deal directly with the students themselves. Parents who feel the need
to call about academic work should start by calling the Office of the Dean of
the student’s college. F@N: Suppose a parent is worried about the student. When
is it appropriate to call and whom should they call? KB: If there are problems, the first thing for the parent to
do is to advise the student to seek help. Generally speaking, the parent should
get involved in one of three cases. 1) The student is in trouble but doesn't
seem to be reaching out for help. 2) The student has reached out for help, but
the issue wasn't resolved. 3) The parent is concerned that the student is not
being completely candid about the situation. In those cases, the parent should
call either the Dean of Students Office or the University Counseling Center
(for personal concerns) or the office of the Academic Dean of the student's
particular college (in other words, if the student is in Arts and Sciences,
call the office of the Dean of Liberal Arts and Science). These offices are
extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Again, many of the resources are listed on
the page below. While college is a time for students to learn how to manage and
navigate their own lives, as a parent you are always welcome to reach out to
Villanova when you are worried about your son or daughter. |