Parents

A Note to Parents

(Adopted  from University College, Arizona State University)
Traditionally parents have been removed from the college experience of their children. The idea being, most college age students are (or are in the process of) becoming adults. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (1974) or FERPA has been used or interpreted to legitimize cutting the parent "out of the loop" concerning the academic progress of your child.

From a developmental perspective, the School of Journalism Advising Staff goal is to work with your student as an "adult" client. We want your student to make timely academic decisions based on their personal goals and abilities. Our goal is for your son or daughter to be successful on his/her terms. However, we know that you - the parents are crucial to the growth, development, and success of your child during their college years.

In most situations after a student enters Texas State, the only contact with a parent is in a negative academic situation - i.e. parent just found out that their student is on academic probation, the student has lost financial aid or scholarships and the parent thought their student was doing fine academically, etc. While FERPA does prohibit us in most cases (see FERPA page) from sharing grades/academic status with students' parents, it does not stop us from being on the same team as parents in wanting your student to graduate and be successful.

While we want your student to make his/her academic decisions for themselves, we believe it is crucial for you - the parents to be a part of the process. Please feel free to call for assistance in understanding the academic process/policies at Texas State. We are an advocate and an ally to you and your student. We ALL want academic and personal success for your child.