Parents and the Academic Calendar
Hear us out on this . . . .
If you are trying to figure out how to be a supportive but hands-off college freshman parent, encouraging independence while still keeping some guardrails in place, the college academic calendar just might be your secret weapon.
Every school publishes its academic calendar, indicating not just first days of sessions and exam dates, but other dates that are really important. These include:
Tuition payment deadlines
Financial aid application deadlines
Deadlines to add classes
Deadlines to drop classes
Deadlines for complete withdrawal
Mid-term and Final Exam dates
Holidays and break dates
Registration dates
These dates are largely self-explanatory, and their significance is obvious. The problem is that many new college students are not tracking these dates closely. This can result in financial and academic setbacks.
We suggest adding these dates to your calendar, and if appropriate, scheduling a few well-timed check-ins with your student right before the deadlines hit. Some suggested topics include:
For financial deadlines (tuition and financial aid applications, make sure that you and your student know who is doing what and when they are doing it. This will help avoid late fees, registration holds, and the loss of financial aid.
For drop/add and withdrawal deadlines, parents might choose to be a bit more strategic. For example, in a conversation with your student about a week before the drop deadline, you might ask for more detailed information than usual about how classes are going and whether your student is caught up. If your student is struggling in a class, identifying the issue at a time when the student can speak to their professor and try to find a solution in advance of the drop deadline can be very helpful. No one wants to drop a class, but making the call to drop a class rather than fail the class can be the wise move.
For registration dates, it makes sense to touch base prior to the opening of registration to make sure your student doesn’t have any holds in place (which often have to be resolved prior to registering) and that your student is prepared for registration and has a plan in place to ask questions of their advisor prior to registration (if needed) Registering late can result in not being able to take important or desired classes, so preparation is vital.
For exam dates, holidays, and break dates, staying in touch with your student can help with arranging travel home in the most economical way. One thing to ask your student about is Thanksgiving – parents sometimes schedule travel home on a Wednesday evening, only to find out that the student’s classes on Wednesday are cancelled or virtual. Usually this news comes too late to make an affordable change. Encourage your students to check their syllabi and ask professors about their schedule this week. Similarly, sometimes families schedule travel home for winter break after all exams are finished, only to find out that their student’s exam schedule would end earlier. Communicating about these dates is helpful.
These calendar dates provide opportunities for communication and problem-solving, and familiarity with the academic calendar can be a very helpful tool.