When students go to college, their families have a list of questions and concerns they’ve never faced before. What will change at home? Will my student be safe? Is college a good investment? How can we support our student’s experience without being intrusive? What do we need to know? Research has shown that when family members understand the college experience, they can better support their students’ success.
The purpose of this website is to provide information about the issues faced most often by college students and their families. The content for the site is based on academic research and includes information from interviews with current students and parents, as well as input from parent and family professionals across the United States.
Many colleges and universities have established services and events for parents and family members, including e-newsletters, orientation, family weekends programs, and a helpline. Your best resource for information on supporting your student is the parent/family program at your student’s school, but some colleges do not provide parent/family services. To find out if the school your student is attending has a parent/family program, check the members’ list of the Association of Higher Education Parent/Family Program Professionals.
This project is a collaborative partnership by faculty, staff, and graduate students in University of Minnesota Extension and the Department of Family Social Science. The primary contributors include:
Marjorie Savage, MBC
Project Co-director
Content Expert
University of Minnesota
Department of Family Social Science
Jodi Dworkin, PhD
Project Co-director
University of Minnesota
Department of Family Social Science
Samantha LeBouef, MA
Website Design and Content Support
University of Minnesota
Department of Family Social Science
Sun-Kyung Lee, MA
International Family Content Support
University of Minnesota
Department of Family Social Science
Mara Stommes, MS
Commuter & First Generation Family Content Support
Counseling Psychology
University of Minnesota
More about the project co-directors
Jodi Dworkin joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 2002 and is a professor and extension specialist. Her research focuses on risk-taking among adolescents and college students, promoting positive family development, parenting adolescents and college students, and the role of technology in these relationships as well as developing research-based outreach services to promote positive family development.
A retired director of parent/family programming at the University of Minnesota, Marjorie Savage continues to conduct research, write, and consult on the topic of college parenting. She is the author of You’re on Your Own (But I’m Here If You Need Me): Mentoring your child during the college years.