At a research university, an air of curiosity permeates all fields, and the study of parent-college relations is no exception. How parents relate to their student and to the university, how college families are changing over time, and best practices in parent services and events are all topics for consideration. The University of Minnesota Parent Program has grown throughout the past 15 years based on the results of surveys and suggestions from parents. Moreover, our research has affected national trends in parent programming.

In recent years, a partnership with the University’s Department of Family Social Science and University of Minnesota Extension has provided more opportunity for scholarly research. Associate Professor Jodi Dworkin, who studies and teaches about family relations, has worked with us on a number of projects.

“Parents become change agents when they are provided opportunities to participate in research that directly impacts them and their students,”says Dworkin. “The voices of parents are extremely powerful, and we are now seeing how this partnership has laid the groundwork for a new way of supporting parents of college students across the country.”

Satisfied parents
Last spring, the Parent Program conducted its sixth biennial survey of University of Minnesota parents, and the response was overwhelming. Nearly 1,100 people answered the 42 questions about the University and their student’s college experience.

Of the respondents, 98.2 percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the University’s communications for parents and 97.1 percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with programs and services provided to parents. As one parent reported, the University “goes way above the call of duty of keeping parents informed.”About 95 percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I feel that the University of Minnesota includes parents in the University community.”

National research on student development suggests that when students are actively engaged on campus with staff, faculty, and student activities, they have a more positive and successful experience. The 2008 survey indicates that parents have picked up on that concept. When parents were asked if they knew of a faculty or staff member, student organization, or student service that contributed to their students’University experience, nearly two-thirds took the time to respond. Individual instructors, academic advisers, and residence hall staff were singled out; activities such as the marching band, recreational sports, the solar car team, and faith-based student groups were mentioned, as were other students and supervisors for on-campus jobs. One parent noted that the University has “not only created a home away from home but has magnified opportunities for these kids.”

As in previous years, the parent survey found strong correlations between parents’satisfaction and connectedness and parents’use of communications, programs, and services. For example, parents who attend Parent Orientation and Parents Weekend are more likely to be satisfied or very satisfied with the University and feel more connected. Those who make use of Parent Program offerings, such as the biweekly Listserv and online workshops or courses, are among the most satisfied.

Other findings:

• Cell phones are the most common way in which parents communicate with their students; e-mail is the next most popular.


• Academics and issues of health and safety are parents’top concerns in their students’first year. By senior year, nearly 41 percent of parents cite career planning as their No. 1 concern.


• Time management is the topic for which students are least likely to ask their parents for help; only 3.1 percent of parents say they have provided assistance in this area.


• Gen X parents are some-what more likely than Baby Boomers to use the University’s parent communications as talking points with their students (91.7 percent versus 87.6 percent). And Gen X parents are in closer contact with their students (28.1 percent are in touch one or more times a day, compared with 21 percent).