Freshmen Parents: “Helping You Help Your Student”

Welcome to Gonzaga – your student is here, all of their belongings have been unpacked (we hope), and they’ve gotten through their first couple weeks of collegiate academic work.  Now you can kick back and relax, right?  Sounds nice, but chances are, you’re still involved with your son or daughter, some of you perhaps more than others, depending on your student’s anxiety level, and your own.  College can be a harrowing experience, but rewarding as well.  We want your student to get the most out of their time at Gonzaga, academically and personally.

The best thing you can do to help your student on this journey is to provide the structural stability your student still needs, but to let them make more decisions on their own, which we hope, will develop their problem-solving abilities, and lead them to making responsible, well-informed decisions.  Please resist the parental instinct to “take care of it.”  Instead of contacting your student’s professors, give your student some ideas on how they can approach their professors with the issues they are facing.  This is their college education – the more vested in the experience they are, the more well-rounded they will be upon graduation, ready for the work-force.

If your son or daughter presents you with a problem that you aren’t sure how to handle, or who to go to, refer him or her to our office, Academic Services.  We can help with a variety of academic concerns or questions.  We will meet with your student one-on-one to help with academic planning, academic advising and guidance, academic policy interpretation and explanation, and much more.  We also can provide your student with a referral for a host of resources available on-campus including, but not limited to, career services, counseling, and disability resources.  Please visit our website, www.gonzaga.edu/academicservices, for more information about our office, including contact information.