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PARENT’S GUIDE
TO SPC
This Guide for Parents is designed to provide you with all the key information we think parents of full-time students at South Plains College will need during the year.
In This Guide
From High School Parent to College Parent
Families Contribute to Student Success By……
High School vs. College – TESTS
High School vs. College – GRADES
What can I expect the first semester my son/daughter is in college?
Guide to Student Privacy Rights: Questions & Answers for College Parents
Form: Parents Certification of Dependency Form
Form: Student Privacy Notice
Summer 2007 Official Academic Calendar
Fall 2007 Official Academic Calendar
Cost Chart: Estimated Tuition & Fees
Payment Details
Loan Details
Applying for Financial Aid
Directory: Who to Contact
When Can My Son/Daughter Register for Classes?
Testing & TSI
Texas Success Initiative Exemptions
Testing Dates for Levelland Campus
Testing Dates for Reese Center
Course Placement Information
Students with Disabilities
Student Health Services
Job Placement Services
From High School Parent to College Parent
When your child leaves for college, you probably realize that life is going to change. There are many unknowns for you and your child at this time. Your child is moving from adolescence to adulthood, and this is will be a challenging time for both of you.
A parent’s role during the college years begins with serving as a sounding board. When students face a problem, they frequently turn to their parents first—before talking to anyone on campus. When they call home, students are trying to decide, “Is this a problem?” “Should I do something about it?” “How do I talk about it?” “Who might be able to help?”
Your role is to listen, to understand that your student is concerned, and to encourage her or him to look at the issue from different perspectives. You can remind your student of campus resources that will help. In most cases, your job is not to solve the problem for your child.
That doesn’t mean students no longer need their families. It means they may need parents, siblings, and other relatives in different ways. While the family role during the growing-up years was to protect and nurture the child, in the college years the role changes to mentoring and giving support.
Even as adults, we all want and need the understanding, love, and emotional support of our core family. But as adults, we also need to have confidence that we can manage our own lives, make our own choices, face our own challenges, and take personal pride in our own accomplishments.
When students work through problems on their own, they take critical steps in their personal and academic growth. They also find the people on campus who can help them, not only with the current situation but with future problems.
There are times, however, when parents do need to be involved. Family members should be aware of a student’s financial circumstances and decisions. If you are concerned that your child is not yet ready to take full financial responsibility, it’s useful to touch base from time to time. If a student falls into serious financial trouble, his or her debts can impact your family’s finances.
Physical and mental health are also areas where parents may need to intervene. In many cases, family members are the first to notice physical or mental health conditions. You know your student’s personal history and family history, so you may be more alert to certain symptoms. These are areas where an immediate response can make a difference.
Families contribute to student success by..
· Being aware of the unique challenges and opportunities facing today’s college students, including academic and non-academic expectations.
· Learning about student support services and understanding how students can access these services.
· Encouraging students to set and achieve personal goals and make responsible decisions related to academics, career planning, social interactions, and community engagement.
· Understanding and supporting the College’s commitment to academic excellence and integrity, ethical behavior, diversity, and civility.
· Empowering students to examine personal values; encouraging students to learn about and respect the values and beliefs of others.
· Challenging students to seek new experiences for personal and professional growth.
· Supporting students as they face conditions of uncertainty and learn to perform in complex environments and challenging situations.
· Allowing students to accept consequences of their actions and responsibility for personal errors; urging students to examine disappointments and unexpected experiences in order to assess what caused them, what can be done, and how to avoid them in the future.
· Knowing when to step in and when to empower students to take responsibility.
· Understanding the role parents play as mentors to their students.
· Knowing the limitations on accessing student records under federal regulations outlined in FERPA and HIPAA.
· Promoting self-advocacy by encouraging students to identify problems and work toward solutions independently.
· Being alert to signs that a student is under significant stress, is taking unhealthy risks, or is ill; discussing concerns openly with students and assisting them in developing a plan to address the problem.
· Contacting appropriate campus or community authorities if a student’s physical or mental health is endangered.
· Developing an affinity for the College.
· Understanding that parents are part of the College community as prime supporters of their students.
· Participating in campus events; supporting and encouraging all students as they learn, perform, lead, or serve through campus and community activities.
· Assisting other parents in understanding the student experience.
· Promoting goodwill on behalf of higher education at the state and federal level.
College vs. High School: TESTS
Tests in High School / Tests in CollegeTesting is frequent and covers small amounts of material. / Testing is usually infrequent and may be cumulative, covering large amounts of material. The Student, not the professor, need to organize the material to prepare for the test. A particular course may have only 2 or 3 tests in a semester.
Makeup tests are often available / Make up tests are seldom an option.
Teachers frequently arrange test dates to avoid conflict with school events. / Professors in different courses usually schedule tests without regards to the demands of other courses or outside activities.
Teachers frequently conduct review sessions, pointing out the most important concepts. / Professors rarely offer review sessions, and when they do, they expect your student to be an active participant, one who comes prepared with questions.
Guiding Principle: Mastery is usually seen as the ability to reproduce what you were taught in the form in which it was presented to you, or to solve the kinds of problems you were shown how to solve. / Guiding Principle: Mastery is often seen as the ability to apply what you’ve learned to new situations or to solve new kinds of problems.
Keep in mind that the college demands will be different and often greater than in high school. These demands include the need for greater organizational skills, assertiveness, and use of self-advocacy skills. Students must be prepared to handle a complicated course schedule and make more time for studying and completing assignments. Mastering learning strategies and study techniques will make college coursework more manageable. Because adults will not be seeking the students out to offer assistance, students can not be shy about asking for help.
How good are my student's study and test-taking skills?
High School vs. College: GRADES
Grades in High School / Grades in CollegeGrades are given for most assigned work. / Grades may not be provided for all assigned work.
Consistently good homework grades may raise your overall grade when test grades are low. / Grades on tests and major papers provide most of the course grade.
Extra credit projects are often available to help a student raise their grade. / Extra credit projects cannot, generally speaking, be used to raise a grade in a college course.
Initial test grades, especially when they are low, may not have an adverse effect on your student’s final grade. / Watch out for the first test. These are usually “wake up calls” to let the student know what is expected – but they also may account for a substantial part of the student’s course grade. Students may be shocked when they get their grades.
You may graduate as long as your student has passed all required courses with a grade of D or higher. / You may graduate only if your average in classes meets the department standard – typically a 2.0 or C
Guiding Principle: “Effort counts.” Courses are usually structured to reward a “good-faith effort.” / Guiding Principle: “Results count.” Though “good-faith effort” is important in regard to the professor’s willingness to help you achieve good results, it will not substitute for results in the grading process.
What Can I Expect the First Semester
What is the biggest challenge my son or daughter will face this semester?
The biggest challenge college students have is accepting responsibility for their academic program, living arrangements, social life, and free time. College classrooms and laboratories require initiative and independence, sophisticated critical thinking and writing skills, and independent research. Life in the residence halls is similarly challenging as students with a diverse range of prior experiences and values work together to develop rhythms for studying and living together. All of these freedoms and responsibilities are intertwined with students’ explorations of old and new identities.
What should my son or daughter do if homesick?
First year students face numerous challenges and some struggle a lot at first. We advise them to give it a little time, get engaged with their academic work, eat the right foods, engage in regular exercise, get enough sleep, get into their academic work, invest in their relationship with their roommate, join a co-curricular group, and establish a good working relationship with their advisor or another faculty or staff member.
What should my son or daughter do if having academic problems?
In the case of academic problems, the student should work closely with his or her professors and faculty advisor and make use of the academic support services at SPC.
First year students are often reluctant to acknowledge their difficulties. Please encourage them to bring their academic concerns to their faculty advisors. We will help them assess their difficulties and develop a plan of action.
Tutoring Services are free at South Plains College. To request a tutor on the Levelland Campus, your student should send an e-mail to: and include the following:
Their name, class information, instructor’s name and phone/cell number
Student attending the Reese Center should contact:
Guide to Student Privacy Rights
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FOR COLLEGE PARENTS
1. How can I learn how my son/daughter is doing?
Your son/daughter is considered an adult at the age of 18. You will no longer have access to your son/daughter’s records, unless your son/daughter chooses to share information with you. You cannot call the school and get updates on your son/daughter.
The best approach is to ask your son or daughter directly. Communicating with young adults isn't easy. They're not always as forthcoming as we would like. The college years, however, are a period of remarkable growth and maturation. The ability and willingness of students to share information and insights usually grows, especially as they acquire the confidence that comes with assuming greater responsibility for their own lives.
2. Does South Plains College have any written policy about information from student records that can be shared with parents?
Yes. Like other colleges and universities across the country, the College is subject to a federal law called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (also called "FERPA" or the "Buckley Amendment"). FERPA sets privacy standards for student educational records and requires institutions to publish a compliance statement, including a statement of related institutional policies. South Plains College FERPA policy can be found at: http://www2.southplainscollege.edu/displayPage/380
Parentsof studentsmay obtain accessto student records if they meet specific criteria and submit acompleted Certification of Dependency Formto the Dean of Admissions and Records. (form on next page)
3. Where can I find out more information about FERPA?
The U.S. Department of Education enforces FERPA. The Department maintains a FERPA Web site (with links to FERPA regulations) at www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco.
SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE
Admissions and Records Office
1401 South College Avenue • Levelland, TX 79336 • (806) 894-9611 • Fax: (806) 897-3167
PARENTS CERTIFICATION OF DEPENDENCY FORM
(For release of student records)
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 provides privacy protection of a student’s academic record and limits the release of such records without the student’s consent. The Act further provides that the College may disclose such records to parents or legal guardians if the student is a dependent as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
To enable the Office of Admissions and Records to release to you the student’s academic record (college transcript), please complete this form, attach a photocopy of the first page of your most recent Federal Income Tax Form, and return the packet to:
South Plains College
Admissions and Records Office, Box C
1401 S. College Avenue
Levelland, TX 79336
PARENT’S DECLARATION: I certify that I am the parent/legal guardian of the listed student in accordance with the above legislation. I agree to cancel this request when the student is no longer my dependent.______
Parent/Guardian’s Signature Date / STUDENT’S ACKNOWLEDGMENT: I acknowledge that I am aware of this request to release my records to my parent/guardian. I understand that this release is in effect until the College is notified to cancel it.
______
Student’s Signature Date
With few exceptions you are entitled, on your request, to be informed about the information South Plains College collects about you. Under Sections 552.021 and 552.023 of the Texas Government Code, you are entitled to receive and review the information. Under Section 559.004 of the Texas Government Code, you are entitled to have South Plains College correct information about you that is held by us and that is incorrect. Be assured that your SPC records are protected from unauthorized disclosure by federal law.