Students appreciate parents' involvement

By Kathy Wyer

While college officials nationwide report that parents are heavily involved in the college experiences of their children, a strong majority of today's college freshmen don’t seem to mind. In fact, they believe their parents are involved the "right amount," according to UCLA's annual survey of the nation's entering undergraduates.

But when researchers looked at the responses of Latino students, a larger percentage of them, compared to white students, say their parents are involved “too little” in helping them choose college activities or select courses. The Freshman Survey is part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) and is administered by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA's Graduate School of Education & Information Studies.

The latest report suggests freshmen show a dependency on parents when making college-related decisions.

"When parents intervene in their children's college life and decision-making, students may not necessarily develop their own problem-solving skills, which may limit developmental gains in their learning experiences," said John H. Pryor, a co-author of the report and director of CIRP.

A majority of freshmen considered their parents' participation in their college careers to be the "right amount," with 84% reporting the "right amount" of parental involvement in their decision to go to college, 80.5% in their decision to attend the college at which they enrolled and 77.5% in dealing with college officials.

See UCLA Today Online for the complete story.

Published Jan 28, 2008 5:42 PM