WELCOME

Moving your student into a residence hall signals the beginning of their life on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville campus.

All kinds of exciting, new, challenging, and unexpected experiences await them. None of us can accurately predict how the college experience will go for your student.

Students’ lives can be a combination of ups, downs, and successes. As they’re on this journey, you can serve as a valuable resource. In many ways, our staff can too. We want students to take advantage of the opportunities and resources available to them on the UW-Platteville campus and develop skills that will help them throughout their lives.

This booklet is designed to be an addendum to information your student has received from our department. We encourage you to look at that information as well, as you will find it informative.

Family Partnership

Being a great family partner includes:

• Reading our monthly newsletters and monitoring the UW-Platteville and Residence Life website and social media accounts.

• Asking your student questions and reminding them about things when they need it.

• Encouraging your student to speak directly with an office or professor on campus.

• Talking with your student about initiative and “putting themselves out there.” Many campuses are reporting that students are having difficulties with face-to-face interactions and conflict mediation. These are important skills to navigate as our residents move toward their professional careers.

• Chatting with them about their financial situation. Let them know there are many on-campus opportunities for student employment, some right outside their door. The resident assistant position, for example, pays for a single room and meal allotment for the year, plus a $925 stipend. We find this experience also set students apart when they are applying for full-time, post-graduate positions due to the breadth of transferrable skills they have.

• Discussing your expectations related to drinking, drug use, class attendance, and video gaming.

And, remember, even though they don’t always show it, your efforts to care, show compassion, and ask how their day/week has been going is appreciated. That communication structure may change however, and texts may not come daily like they used to.

Resources To Assist With College Transition

Transitioning to college can be both exciting and challenging. University Counseling Services at UW-Platteville has identified helpful resources that can assist students in making this transition.

• Set to Go - A JED Program for Transition to College at settogo.org

• Starting the ConversationCollege and Your Mental Health at www.nami.org/collegeguide

• Mental Health Issues Overlooked in College Transition - Special Report at www.webmd.com/ special-reports/prep-teenscollege/20180125/parentsteens-survey

• UW-Platteville University Counseling Services - List of campus resources at www.uwplatt.edu/department/ counseling-services