Help Your Student be Successful
College is a time of transition for students and parents. Help your student be successful by encouraging them, supporting them, and letting them find their own path.
Tips to help your student succeed
- Don't call to tell them how much you miss them.
- Keep conversations positive and upbeat.
- Ask about campus activities, classes, extra-curricular involvement and new friends.
- Encourage your son or daughter to become involved in activities and events.
- Encourage your son or daughter to stay on campus at the beginning of the semester. Often times, that's when students take the time to relax and connect with new people.
- Send photos, cookies, newspaper clippings, just any little thing from home. Everybody likes to get mail. Even the heaviest emailers!
- A subscription to your hometown paper might help your student feel connected to home.
- Encourage your student to seek assistance with tutoring, study skills, nurse practitioner, counselors, advisor, and residence hall staff, among others.
- Remind your son or daughter that remaining in contact with friends at home is important, but so is making new friends and connections at college.
- Talk with your student about your plans for their room at home. Don't surprise them. Assure them that they will always have somewhere to "come home" to.
- Be aware that the family dynamics will change with one sibling out of the house.
- If there has been a crisis at home or in your hometown, before you call your student with the news, give our staff a call. We can help your student deal with the crisis and determine whether to go home.
- Refrain from discussing family financial issues with your son or daughter. Using money to "guilt them" into studying or making better grades rarely works.
- Always call our professional staff with any concerns (660-248-6223.) But remember, we deal with students when resolving an issue, not parents.
Encourage Success
- Encourage your student to attend all classes.
- Major distractions for students come from Facebook, friends and the Internet. Talk with them about self-discipline in these areas.
- Encourage your student to participate in study communities, or form their own study group. These mix social interaction with learning, resulting in better retention.
- Ask about assignments and exams. Ask how they are preparing or how they are doing. Don't assume that the comment, "I flunked that test" means they got an "F." It's a common expression that means "I didn't do as well as I wanted to."
- Time management is key to succeeding in college. Make sure your son or daughter has and planner (or digital device that has a calendar feature) and they use it.
- Remind your son or daughter that asking for help does not show weakness. It shows maturity and a desire to succeed.
- Talking with professors is one of the best strategies. They are the best resource when learning a particular concept is a struggle.
- Talk with your son or daughter about future plans. Help them to "see" themselves in a career. What is their purpose in life?