For Parents & Guardians

We realize that sending your student to college is a time of tremendous transition for your family. All students go through an adjustment period and experience many ups and downs while living away from home. There are many resources here on campus available for your student to manage this transition successfully.

Our preference in working with student concerns is to deal directly with the student. This enables us to establish a relationship with your student and helps to get to the crux of the issues more efficiently. We do welcome parent input and questions at any time. Our goal is to provide parents with the resources which they can pass on to their student to help them to help themselves.

It is important that students have support and encouragement from home while being allowed to mature through their own experiences. By all means be there for your student as a sounding board, but let him or her handle their own problems as much as possible. Your student's success is dependent upon his or her own ability to function independently.

Visit this website often for information regarding our department and things that may be of interest to you.

Just a Couple of Resources for Parents and Families in Transition...

Transition to College: Separation and Change for Parents and Students (online)
From the NYU Child Study Center, this document helps both students and parents in the adjustment to the changes resulting from starting college.

College Parents of America (website)
College Parents of America is the nation's only membership organization of current and future college parents. Founded in 1997, our mission is to assist families in the successful preparation, transition, adjustment and completion through college.

US Dept of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, & Violence Prevention (website)
The Higher Education Center helps campuses and communities address problems of alcohol, other drugs, and violence by identifying effective strategies and programs based upon the best prevention science.

Karen Levin Coburn, Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Year, 5th edition. (2009, book)
For more than a decade Letting Go has provided hundreds of thousands of parents with valuable insights, information, comfort, and guidance throughout the emotional and social changes of their children's college years—from the senior year in high school through college graduation. Based on real-life experience and recommended by colleges and universities around the country, this indispensable book has been updated and revised, offering even more compassionate, practical, and up-to-the-minute information.

Janis Brody, Bringing Home the Laundry (2000, book)
Bringing Home the Laundry combines a psychologist's advice with the stories and insights of parents and their college-aged kids. It reassures you that your child's departure for college does not sever family ties, but can mark the beginning of a deeply satisfying, exciting new phase in your parent-child relationship.

Helen E. Johnson & Christine Schelhas-Miller, Don't Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money : The Essential Parenting Guide to the College Years (2000, book)
Does your daughter call home in tears over the latest "crisis," leaving you feeling helpless and concerned? Is your son confused about his major? When children leave for college many parents feel uncertain about their shifting role. By emphasizing the importance of being a mentor, Don't Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money shows that parents may have lost control over their college student, but they haven't lost influence.

Majorie Savage, You're On Your Own (But I'm Here If You Need Me): Mentoring Your Child During the College Years (2009, book)
Parents whose kids are away at college have a tough tightrope to walk: they naturally want to stay connected to their children, yet they also need to let go. What's more, kids often send mixed messages: they crave space, but they rely on their parents' advice and assistance. Not surprisingly, it's hard to know when it's appropriate to get involved in your child's life and when it's better to back off.

You're On Your Own (But I'm Here If You Need Me) helps parents identify the boundaries between necessary involvement and respect for their child's independence. Marjorie Savage, who as a parent herself empathizes with moms and dads, but who as a student services professional understands kids, offers advice on wide-ranging issues

Important Info for Parents & Families

DePaul Quad - The DePaul Quad is an online community designed to foster conversations between parents and family members, while providing important information about DePaul University.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)  - It is important to remember that our primary agreement is with the student and we will do our best to resolve all issues directly with the student.  This law protects the privacy of students' academic and financial records and may limit our ability to provide certain details. 

Parental Notification Policy - The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 (HR 6) permits institutions of higher education to disclose to parents or legal guardians of a student under the age of 21 years information regarding the violation of any Federal, State, or local law, or institutional disciplinary rule or policy regarding the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance.

Parental Notification Protocol -
 DePaul University will notify the parents of students under the age of 21 years regarding the violations of any Federal, State or local law, or Code of Student Responsibility policies pertaining to the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance in the following circumstances.

• In cases of repeated violations of the Code of Student Responsibility policies regarding the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance.

• In cases of a major violation of the Code of Student Responsibility policies regarding alcohol or controlled substances which result in the student being placed on university or residence hall disciplinary probation.

• In cases of a violation of the Code of Student Responsibility policies regarding alcohol or controlled substances which result in an arrest being made by the Chicago Police Department.

• In cases of a violation of the Code of Student Responsibility policies regarding alcohol or controlled substances which result in student behavior that could cause harm to self or others, including, but not limited to hospital transport for excessive drinking.


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