For Parents For Parents This section has been designed to introduce parents to Waynesburg University and provide you with information you may need throughout your student’s time at Waynesburg. A Waynesburg University education focuses around the integration of faith, learning and serving. Therefore, we ask that you encourage your son or daughter to fully participate in using the resources of the University, get involved on campus and take the most from his/her university education and investment.
Letting Go As parents, you’ve been in the process of letting go since your students were infants, so this isn’t new to you. You know how hard it is to let your students make their own decisions. You know how hard it is to watch as they fail and learn from that experience. Some students are ready for the freedom and responsibility of university life. They handle decisions including planning their course schedules, choosing athletic and extracurricular activities, managing money, selecting a major and establishing a social life with ease. For other students (most students, if the truth be told), learning to handle all of this occurs in a “trial and error” fashion. As parents, your challenge is to give them enough freedom to be independent and make their own decisions, while at the same time supporting and guiding them as needed. Letting go — with grace — is the bittersweet challenge that parents embrace as their students move from adolescence to adulthood. Some days will be harder than others. But in the end, as you watch your student accept their diploma, you will know that they are ready for the adult world. Letting go, after all, is really letting grow…
Things Your Student May Tell You or May Not Tell You… “There is nothing to do on campus.” Our Student Activities Office offers a variety of weekly social programs on and off campus. In addition, there are sporting events, various performing arts and lecture series provided. Over 40 clubs and organizations are recognized at Waynesburg University and provide ways for involvement and leadership skill development. So, when you hear there is nothing to do, ask your son or daughter if they attend events or have gotten involved in any club or organization. “I need more money.” While this may be true, living within a budget is
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For Parents important. If they are a resident student, remember, meals are provided. If a student chooses to order pizza every night, this can become expensive. Most activities on campus are provided free of charge. “My grades are fine.” While “fine” is a relative term, it is important to ask more specifics and to have them tell you how they are doing in each class. Remind them, that if by chance they need help with a class, seek out the professor and/or FREE tutoring provided at the Knox Learning Center.
Communication & Expectations We recommend that you talk with your student about expectations regarding financial matters and everyday spending, academic progress, class attendance, how often you will communicate by phone or e-mail and career planning. Establishing expectations prior to their departure will assist in establishing a smoother transition for everyone.
Contact with the University One of the important elements of university life is for the student to begin to establish some degree of independence. There will be many experiences that your son or daughter will need to sort out on his/her own. Much of the contact between members of the university community will be directly with the student. It will be critical for you during this period to be supportive of and helpful to your student but at the same time, to encourage the student to assume responsibility for himself/herself. While the staff of Waynesburg University is always available for consultation with you in order to be helpful, it will remain the student’s responsibility to make his/her own decisions. As a result, it will often take the initiative of the individual student in order for any issues to be considered or resolved. You should know that in certain disciplinary cases of alcohol as well as drugs or other serious infractions, we would take the initiative to contact you so that you might be better informed and reinforce University expectations for behavior. As described in the previous notes on Student Behavior, according to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the following is true: for a parent or guardian to have access to his/her student’s educational records, the student needs to have signed and submitted a release form to the Registrar’s Office. These release forms are distributed at the Fall Preview Days, and students can obtain one from the Registrar’s Office at any time.
First Year Guide — 2012/13
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