<p>I stumbled into this-- it looks like it's more geared towards parents of current or incoming students, but I imagine our parent posters here might enjoy chiming in from time to time, and it looks like it could useful to the prospective student/parent population as well.</p>
<p>The forum is guided by the College Programming Office (CPO), which runs a tight ship on many student programs, including O-Week.</p>
<p>AGH!!!! Another way to suck up my time!!!! ;) (I just signed on.)</p>
<p>Unalove, thanks.</p>
<p>This is fascinating. I never knew this forum existed; it's a well-kept secret. My daughter will be a 3rd year at Chicago (doing her first semester in Paris) and I have NEVER known Chicago to make any effort to connect parents to the school. Do you know of any other links at UChicago where parents can go to be/stay informed? </p>
<p>My youngest is about to start NYU and they have so much more information and opportunities for parents to keep in the loop on the web. Of course, that may only be lip service -- time will tell -- but Chicago has been just awful about staying in touch. Apparently all we're good for is paying tuition bills and answering fundraising appeals!</p>
<p>kwibbles-- this is the first I've heard on the parent forum front, and I found the forum while searching for something entirely unrelated.</p>
<p>Your D should be having the time of her life in Paris this fall. Is she doing civ there, or one of the (many) other Paris programs?</p>
<p>I think my parents are pleased with the contact they have with the University, but I think it's because their connection with the university comes mainly through me. I've introduced them to my professors, my boss, my advisor, my friends, and my Resident Heads, and I think they're quite impressed with the level of attention and education I'm getting here.</p>
<p>I think they were less pleased overall with where one of my siblings went to school, but because he was so happy there, the pricetag was worth it.</p>
<p>My daughter leaves for Paris at the end of September and is fulfilling her civ requirement, in English. I hope she has fun -- God knows no one ever offered to send me to Europe for 2 1/2 months to study! You wouldn't have to ask me twice!</p>
<p>So you are the link between school and parents -- that explains it. Because we are in New York City we don't visit anymore -- four times the first year was more than enough. Although we do love Chicago and would consider moving there, it's almost as expensive to visit as New York. But even in those four visits, we were never introduced to one faculty member and hardly any friends. I guess she's embarrassed by us:(</p>
<p>Do you have any direct experience with the Paris program?</p>
<p>My child is now entering her third year at U of Chicago and I must say that I have not been disappointed at all with the school's communication with me. First of all, the school has always been clear with the parents that the student must be responsible for creating their own experience. If the student wants to introduce their parents to their advisors, professors, etc. as in the case of Unalove, the school is extremely receptive and always allows the parents to be actively involved. If the parents call the school with any questions, etc. they are extremely responsive and courteous. I really think that this is an issue between the student and his/her parents to work out. In terms of important reporting as to issues involving parents' direct involvement,ie. student's financial aid, etc., the school has been adequate in keeping the parents involved. I went to another major university years ago and I don't remember them being involved with my parents in any way at all. I think that it is important to attend parent's weekend in the fall and to sign up to see classes and your child's advisor, resident advisors, etc. at that time.</p>
<p>Wow. My dad never came to campus when I was in college, and my mom only once, when she dropped me off freshman year. Is there really a need to attend Parents' Weekend? Why would I want to meet my son's professors and advisor? Not that I'm not curious...I'm just surprised that schools encourage these weekends at the same time they are pleading for parents to back off. Is it for another reason -- getting parents to "buy in" to the institution and contribute?</p>
<p>This isn't intended at Chicago specifically -- I've just read lots of threads where parents are enthusiastically planning to attend Parents' Weekend, and it has always struck me as unnecessary (not to mention expensive, even with cheap plane tickets, cheap hotel and meals). If S begged us to come to a Parents' Weekend at some point, I suppose we would at least consider it, but right now, I think he will be quite happy if we stayed home and went to S2's football game instead.</p>
<p>As a parent of an incoming first-year, I've been exploring the UChi website and have come across these pages for parents:</p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://parents.uchicago.edu/learning/%5DParents">http://parents.uchicago.edu/learning/]Parents</a> & Family | The University of Chicago<a href="newsletter%20reporting%20research%20and%20activities%20%0Apertaining%20to%20specific%20academic%20divisions">/url</a></p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://parents.uchicago.edu/publications/communications.shtml%5DParents">http://parents.uchicago.edu/publications/communications.shtml]Parents</a> & Family | The University of Chicago<a href="links%20for%20publications%20of%20interest%20to%20parents">/url</a></p>
<p>I appreciate the attempt to provide info. specifically directed to parents, despite the generic (but what else could it be?) quality of the information.</p>
<p>I recently received the parent letter about student adjustment from first year to second year from the dean of students. It was a lovely letter and broadly on target but I found it most uncharacteristic of U of C. It felt like a response to helicopter parent pressure, to parents who are truly out of touch with what their student is experiencing or to calm parents who are in a hurry to have their student stick to a major.</p>
<p>I got that letter last year, too. I don't think it's unusual to expect that students are not being entirely honest with their parents about their college experience, and not every parent has a "Chicago" mindset (even if every student has a "Chicago" mindset).</p>
<p>I wonder if parent involvement was always such an issue for universities-- but it becomes one when another university (in this case, NYU) offers a better service than Chicago, and parents come to Chicago expecting the same treatment that they got at NYU.</p>
<p>My parents received the same college treatment that I did-- the parents shut up, pay their portion of the check, and cross their fingers that their kids come back all in one piece and still on their way to a degree. </p>
<p>kwibbles:</p>
<p>The only experience I have with the Paris programs are the people who come back with huge smiles and loads of pictures. I know a few people doing the Paris civ program and a few people doing other Paris programs.</p>
<p>The University has a "center" (I hear it's just a building, nothing special) in Paris, so a lot of study abroad programs go from there:
Study</a> Abroad Master List</p>
<p>CountingDown-- Parent's weekend sounded like a lot of fun to me, but S was clear that he had no stake in my visit. I think it depends on the kid and parent.
S would have been happy to meet me for dinner but he was really busy and content, there was no reason to go except for my own amusement. I felt no need to meet the advisor or faculty but it would have been fun to put faces with names. Everyone has a different view and need for contact.</p>
<p>unalove-- you nailed it-- it's about the "Chicago" mindset and parents do need some help understanding. However, it's OK with me if the college process is somewhat private for each student. Those years of figuring things out (or not)
are not always smooth or easy but they belong to the student. Ted O'Neil told the students that he believed in them in his opening remarks, parents can too.</p>
<p>I have found Chicago's parent communication to be increasing as well. They have always sent letters (at least since my experience with them started in 2003) to parents discussing the transitions to the next year, so I don't think that's in response to "helicopter parenting", but there are other more subtle communications that lead me to the same conclusion as glasses. As for Parents Weekend...it was an organized excuse to go see my D. We signed up, went, registered and did absolutely nothing related to the "Weekend". We shopped, went out to dinner, wandered a lot and had a wonderful weekend. For some kids its hard to watch everyone else hanging out with their parents if yours are not there. I agree that it is not an inexpensive visit (we are also from the NYC area), but we only went first year. I really liked that in the first year we were able to see her frequently during that first quarter. We don't plan to go this year, but she has made me promise to get to one of her hockey tournaments this year, so I guess I'll go out later in the year.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the U can't legally discuss much with parents, unless the student signs a written authorization. This even goes for grades - parents will not see grade reports unless the parent signs. </p>
<p>I knew the advising staff very well when my D was at Chicago (she graduated in June), from Susan Art down, and had many a phone discussion with them. But they made clear from the beginning what they could and could not discuss with me, both legally and philosophically.</p>
<p>FWIW, the philosophical bent is that our kids are now adults, and are responsible for their own choices, good or bad. They will not let us "advocate" for our kids, and will even inform our kids when we talk to advisors (at least my D's did!)</p>
<p>In fact, one of the few times you might hear from the Dean of Student's office, from Susan herself, is if your kid were picked up and transported to a medical facility for intoxication (alcohol or drug). Believe it or not, this happens quite a bit on weekends. I even had a discussion with a campus police officer about how they spend most of their weekend evening patrol time picking up students who've had a bit too much. (no, we never received such a call...)</p>
<p>We connected with the advising staff for the first time at parents weekends, where you have a chance to meet your kid's advisor. I highly recommend doing so your first year. When we went, the advisor clearly spelled out the rules, and also warned us about typical results from the first major college paper which comes out about the same time. It was an excellent meeting, it alone making parents weekend worthwhile.</p>
<p>Just wanted to cast a vote for attending family weekend. It coincides with the Humanities open house, and they do a great job of providing lectures and events for parents to attend and get a feel for the University.</p>
<p><a href="https://familyweekend.uchicago.edu/%5B/url%5D">https://familyweekend.uchicago.edu/</a></p>
<p>Parents of current and incoming students can also attend sendoff parties in the area:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.alumni.uchicago.edu/sendoffs/%5B/url%5D">http://www.alumni.uchicago.edu/sendoffs/</a></p>
<p>My parents were expecting these sendoffs to be a simple excuse for the alumni association to ask for spare change, but the ones I've been to are casual and fun, and a great way for parents to get to know other parents, alumni, and other incoming students.</p>
<p>As it happens, my parents (who did not attend the U of C) happen to have a lot of friends who are U of C alumni, so even though I'm geographically far from home, I think they still feel connected to me.</p>
<p>Sniff, I just waved goodbye to my second year, yesterday.</p>
<p>Unalove - wondering if you can help with some advice for my S, a 2nd year. He’s having misgivings about his plans for a major. Where do students go for guidance on this issue? I know there is the dean of students, CAPS, etc. but I am wondering what’s been your experience or if there’s been a concensus on this at UChicago. Have you tried the services at CAPS - various inventoeies, Myers-Briggs, etc. Thanks</p>
<p>unfortunately, the parents forum has been filling up with spam since November. I’ve sent an email but nobody has fixed the problem.</p>