The Dean of Students Office staff, including the Dean, focus their time and effort on supporting and advocating for the students and their experiences on campus. Students come to campus with complex backgrounds and sometimes life can get in the way, usually at the worst times. The Dean of Students staff are available to support students while they navigate the challenges life often presents, and help students find solutions that will hopefully allow them to continue to meet their academic goals. The Dean of Students staff often work closely with many people to support the students, at Michigan Tech we like to call these people the students Support Pack. The support pack often involves the students’ parents.
The relationship between the university staff, the student, and their parents can sometimes be complex. Research suggests that the relationships between staff members and parents can make an impact on the students' success (Harper, Kiyama, and Lee, 2023). Parents can play a crucial role in supporting students' development while also acknowledging the importance of students' self-reliance.
Over the last decade, parents have been more persistent in their involvement beyond the scope of college choice or financial support and can be labeled as being too involved. Parents are no longer taking a backseat to their child's education at the college level, therefore, University staff have become increasingly intentional about managing the increased family involvement, creating targeted programs and dedicated communications. It is essential for students to balance independence and the relationship with their parents (Weathers-Fincher, 2024). The University experience should be one of growth and independence, and the role parents take in that growth is critical.The delicate balance between parental involvement and students' need for independence during the college experience can be the difference in the students' successful growth. Maintaining a connection to parents during college will require a renegotiation of how involved and to what degree parents are in their students' lives. It is imperative that the Dean of Students staff work closely with the student and their support pack to improve student outcomes. To ensure the students’ success, we must embrace the role the parents and support pack play in their lives and work collaboratively to support the students’ in all their goals.
-Kellie
References:
Harper, C. E., Kiyama, J. M., & Lee, A. (Accepted/In press). Finding Balance: Staff Members’ Beliefs About Parental Contributions to College Students’ Independence. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2023.2242305
Weathers-Fincher, T. M. (2024). Links to Parent Involvement and Higher Education Success Literature Review.