http://www.jmu.edu/parents/

James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Parents Newsletter Spring 08 - Index

Communicating
with the university:
Why, how and when
Why?
As a parent, you want
the absolute best for your
student. Because of this,
you probably struggle with
when to intervene and
when to steer clear of challenging
situations that arise
in your student’s life. This
struggle will not end when
he or she goes to college;
in fact, recent research
actually suggests parental
involvement in their college
students’ day-to-day
activities is increasing.
How?
How can you be a partner
with JMU in supporting
your student’s personal
growth and development
without interfering? Below
are some common college
student experiences along
with suggestions on how
to empower your student
to handle each situation.
Roommate
conflict
Your son has complained
to you for weeks that his
roommate is messy, stays
up late and interrupts his
study and sleep time.
First, encourage him to
talk with his roommate
about his observations,
concerns and possible
solutions. You can even
role-play this conversation
to help your son feel
more confident.
If that doesn’t work,
suggest he talk with his
resident adviser to help
mediate a roommate
meeting or provide strategies
for conflict resolution.
What Not to Do:
Call the roommate’s parents,
call the director of
residence life or call the
president of the university.
When your student
goes through the proper
channels, his chances of
success increase.
Grade conflicts
Your daughter feels that
a professor is unfairly
grading her work. First,
help her identify why she
believes this. Professors
have open office hours, so
encourage her to schedule
a meeting after class or
stop in to share her concerns
with the professor.
If that doesn’t work,
suggest that she meet
with her academic adviser
to discuss the situation
and see what other
options are available to
address her concerns.
What Not to Do:
Call the professor, call the
academic dean or call the
academic adviser.
Minor conduct
violation
Your student has been
found guilty of a behavioral
conduct violation.
First, breathe! Then
discuss the violation, the
choices that were made as
well as the consequences of
the inappropriate behavior.
Second, advise and
support your son or
daughter as he or she
goes through the campus
judicial process. Help him
or her reflect on what was
learned from the experience
and how behaviors
will change in the future.
What Not to Do: Call
a lawyer, call the vice president
of student affairs or
attend the judicial hearing.
When?
There certainly are times
when direct contact with
the university is appropriate
and necessary. However,
challenging situations
are a natural part
of the learning process.
When parents limit their
involvement to suggestions
and advice, students
gain confidence, selfresponsibility
and skills
that will last a lifetime.
Contact support
The Office of Parent
Relations provides support
and information to
the parents and families of
JMU students and helps
parents become partners
with the university in the
education and development
of every student.
Parent Relations serves as
the primary contact point
for all parent involvement
and programming,
including the annual
Family Weekend, Parents
Council, Freshman Sendoff
Picnics and other promotional
activities.
Parent Relations Office
MSC 3605
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
(540) 568–3193
www jmu.edu/parents
A TIME of TRANSITION
Sending students to college leads to a time of
tremendous transition for families. All students
go through an adjustment period and
experience many ups and downs while living
away from home. There are many resources on
campus available for students to successfully manage
this transition.
While JMU staff and faculty members welcome
parent input and questions, their goal is to deal
directly with the student. At the same time, they
share the goal of helping students to be successful
and want to connect parents to the resources they
need to support their students.
It is important that students have encouragement
from home while being allowed to mature through
their own experiences. By all means, parents should
be there for students as a sounding board, but they
should let students handle their own problems as
much as possible. Student success depends upon
their ability to function independently. M
By the Numbers
(cont. from page 2)
Four-year
All-America,
“ironman”
Tony LeZotte
started all 50
games during
his four seasons
with the
Dukes, setting
another
school record.
1December
graduate Tony
LeZotte (’07)
is the first Atlantic
10/Colonial Athletic
Association
football player,
and the first JMU
student-athlete, to
be named an All-America for
four straight years. This past
season, the senior safety earned
his second conference Defensive
Player of the Year honors.
LeZotte was ACC Co-Rookie
of the Year in 2004, when the
Dukes won the I-AA national
championship.
19,350
During its Centennial Celebration
year, JMU received a
record number of student applications
for admission to the
freshman class for the 2008-09
academic year. The admissions
office received more than
19,350 freshmenapplications
— up
4 percent
from last academic
year.
Applicants
are vying for
3,960 freshman
spaces.
SUMMER 2008 3