UMass Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125-3393
617-287-5000
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BEACON BEGINNINGS: Orientation for New Students
TIPS FOR PARENTS & FAMILIES
A Time of Transition
College is a period of transition not only for your son or daughter but for you and the other members of your family. During this time of transition your son or daughter (student) will still continue to need your support. Parents can help by being supportive and trusting, and encouraging independence.
Accept that you won't know every detail of your student's life. Most students come to college having lived in a somewhat structured environment. It is important to realize that although your student may never have lived away from you before, going to college is an exciting and important step in his/her maturation process. The values and ethics you have instilled will help your student make good choices and decisions. It is extremely helpful for you to talk about this with your student throughout their first year at the institution.
Although UMass Boston can seem like a large place, unlike anyone's home, your student will actually be learning and possibly living in an environment where staff understand the developmental process and transitional issues experienced by college students, and so they can help students adjust to life at UMass Boston. This will require some effort on the part of your student, as staff depend on students to come forward if they need assistance.
Helping Your Student Manage Concerns
Learning to successfully manage concerns within a complex organization is an important part of becoming a competent adult. If your student reports difficulties we urge you to encourage him/her to take personal responsibility for seeking resolution. Show concern about their lives and understand their struggles. Ask questions, but try not to invade their privacy. Often students will let you know what is happening, but at their own pace and timing.
For the majority of your student's life you have been right there to help make decisions and choices. As a college student your student will need to be more independent and self sufficient. Although they will still want to talk about their experiences, you need to empower your student to solve their own problems by offering guidance, encouraging independence, and trusting your student's decisions. Handling difficult situations for them only impedes their development. Since students can and do resolve most of their own concerns.
Getting Along With a Roommate
Roommate conflicts are natural and healthy. Living away from home at most institutions is all about learning to live with a roommate. This experience will help your student to learn essential skills like communication and boundary setting. We have systems in place to address roommate concerns. You can help this process by challenging your student to actively work through the issues, instead of avoiding them or looking for easy answers. Changing roommates is often not the best solution, so helping your student seek alternative solutions, will enhance the learning that can come from this experience.
Homesickness
Homesickness can be one of the hardest areas to help your student move past. For your student, life has changed and will never be the same. The first two weeks of the year are filled with many activities that help people get connected. Your student needs to take advantage of those opportunities in order to become a successful member of their new community. Throughout the year it is important to write letters, and send food and care packages, a sure sign of support and concern. You have no idea how excited students get when these arrive. But don't hover over the mailbox waiting for a letter in return. Students are curious about what you are up to and may expect to know about what you are doing but are less inclined to let you know what they are doing. It is not unusual for your student to want to come home occasionally during their first year, but if they want to come home every weekend try to find out why, they may be struggling with the social aspects of on-campus living. Encourage them to give it time and get out and meet people.
Helping Them Stay Informed
You have probably already realized that UMass Boston uses e-mail as a primary method of communication. Please remind your student to pay attention to e-mails sent to their umb.edu e-mail account from the University.
Community Expectations at UMass Boston
Many parents and students come to UMass Boston with preconceived notions of campus conduct, university regulations, and the law. These preconceived notions are often based on media accounts, someone's memories, and assumptions. But every university has to abide by federal regulations; must respect the particular laws of its home state and municipal venue; and has its own traditions, regulations, and institutional integrity. If parents know more about institutional and legal expectations, they can reinforce the positive teachings of UMass Boston and help their students avoid complications. Rules and regulations are designed to protect the rights of students and encourage individual and community responsibility. They exist for the following reasons:
- To support the requirements of local, state, or federal laws
- To provide for the health, safety, and security needs of students
- To allow students the opportunity to pursue their academic endeavors without undue interference.
Academic Life at UMass Boston
While your student was in high school you could monitor how much time was spent on academic work but now, they are the masters of their own time and energies. Talk with your student about how they plan on balancing this new freedom to ensure that they succeed academically. Be careful to not make them feel like you do not want them to have fun, but rather that you want to help them succeed socially and academically. Ask very pointed questions that demand answers greater than "things are ok". Your student may not tell you everything that is going on, however if you stay interested, they will know that you are there and will come to you when he/she really needs you.
It is normal for students with high-school marks in the 90's to see them drop a little. This may come as a shock to both you and your student, given that they were always one of the best in their high school. Your student is experiencing a life-transition from high-school to a university, and for many students a temporary drop in grades is typical. Don't let your student get depressed or discouraged, instead encourage them to get help. Tutoring, study skills workshops, and other academic support is readily available for first year students. Students who seek assistance from the various campus resources typically get back on track and do fine.
"The Phone Call"
Be prepared for "the phone call". Often it comes just after midterms or near the end of the first term, when work is piling up, or marks aren't what was hoped for, your student may feel overwhelmed or unable to cope as well as in the past. Your student may be upset and chances are he/she is going to call you. It's important that you don't panic; remember that this is normal, and as much as you'd like to alleviate the stress, you can not (and should not) "fix this" for him/her. Your student will rely on you to be calm and reassuring about their ability to successfully work through the challenges. Encourage your student to seek help from the campus resources that are available.
Returning Home
Understand that your student may have difficulties returning home on holidays after experiencing life on his/her own. For the last several months he/she has become accustomed to only his/her own daily routine - not the family's, and he/she has not been living with the house rules that may have been in existence in your home. Sometimes they come home with new expectations for family members. It's a transition time for everyone.
Parent Access to Grades and Other Information from Student Educational Records
In 1974 Congress passed the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or “FERPA”, also known as the Buckley Amendment. FERPA applies both to K-12 and postsecondary educational records, although there is one key difference in the way that the law applies. In K-12 the rights under FERPA belong to the student's parents until the student turns 18. In postsecondary education the rights belong to the student, regardless of age or dependent status.
The law gives students certain rights concerning their educational records, including the right to expect that information in their educational records will be kept confidential, disclosed only with their permission or under provisions of the law. One such provision allows the release of "Directory Information" - name, address, major, degree sought, honors (including Dean's List), and other such information - without student permission. "Directory Information" is the type of information that generally would not be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released.
There are some types of information that parents might like to receive: grades, bills, financial aid, and so on that are not considered “directory information”. The university will not release that information without the student's permission, even to parents who pay the bills. So what can parents do to get this information? One way is to ask your son or daughter for the information. We encourage parents to communicate with their students about their grades and their progress towards their educational objectives, and not just at the end of the semester. Mid-semester, prior to the start of registration for the next term, is a very good time to have a conversation about how a student's courses are going in the current term and what courses the student plans to take the next semester.
For more about FERPA please click here.
Further Useful Information
** For overnight accommodations near the campus, check out our Recommended Hotels here
** Find more info For Students here
** Find Tips for Parents and Families here
** Some Helpful Websites are listed here
** Some Helpful Books for Families are listed here
Contact Us
Has your student paid their New Student Deposit to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions yet? They must submit $200 prior to attending orientation. Download a PDF of the New Student Enrollment Confirmation form here.
Questions?
Phone: 617.287.5813
Email: orientation@umb.edu