Your Childhood
video
Who were you at 18?
What were the central pieces
of your life at age 18?
The Millennials
• "Millennials” refers to a specific
cohort of individuals born, roughly,
between 1980-94.
• "Millennials” are primarily children
of Baby Boomers, though some are
children of the older Gen X adults.
• A central characteristic of what
defines "Millennials” is that they
have no memory of the Cold War,
just as Generation X has no memory
of the Vietnam War and the Baby
Boomers have no memory of World
War II.
Characteristics of a
Millennial Student
• Greater sophistication
• More informed but less disciplined
• Greater group socialization
• High levels of stress
and pressure
• Cutting edge
of technology
Common Beliefs
and Behaviors
Special
Sheltered
Achieving
Team-Oriented
Confident
Pressured
Conventional
Political Views
• Disenchanted with politics
and nation’s social
institutions
• Bifurcated in political
attitudes
• Liberal in social attitudes
• Socially conscious and
active
• Consumer oriented
• Local community focused
video
Academic Preparation
• Weak in basic skills
• Learn best in ways
different from how they
are taught
• Pragmatic
• Career oriented
Personal Attributes
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Sexually active yet socially isolated
Heavy users of alcohol
Hardworking
Frightened, tired, and want security
Demand change
Diverse and divided
The Entitlement Generation
• Shockingly high expectations for salary, job flexibility and duties
• Mismatch between expectations and reality
• Raised on extensive praise and expect it
• Will share sensitive or private information
• Need to know WHY something needs to happen and make things task
oriented
• Will work well with others from a different background
• Formality of Mr. and Mrs. and cleaning up are sometimes lost on them
• Need to learn what they’re good at and what they’re not
– Not motivated by feelings of duty
Developmental issues
students will face
Social integration (Chickering and Reisser, 1993)
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Developing competence
Managing emotions
Moving through autonomy to
interdependence
Establishing identity
Developing mature relationships
Developing purpose
Developing integrity
Parent Types
• Helicopter (hovering and
always fixing)
• Lawnmower (mowing
everyone down)
• Bulldozer (destroying
everything in its path)
• Blackhawk (extreme
helicopter)
• Blue Angel Parent (zooming in
unexpectantly)
• Velcro (attached)
Parent Types
• Stealth (secretly hovering from a
distance)
• Stroller (not letting child walk
alone)
• Psycho
• In-Denial (not my perfect angel)
• Lion Parent (roaring and
devouring)
• Mosquito (always poking around
and irritating people)
• Partner
Some Points to Ponder
• What level of involvement is
appropriate, healthy, and
helpful?
• The 90/10 balance—90
percent of life is great, it’s
the 10 percent that we learn
from.
• 24 hour rule…act on
something if it is still an
issue 24 hours later.
Allowing your child to be
uncomfortable
• Facing a challenging professor will help your student
gain life skills to manage a difficult boss
• Managing an uncomfortable situation with classmates
will help your student learn to work with peers and coworkers
• Roommate issues can help your student learn to live
with a partner or spouse
• Dealing with bureaucracy helps your student develop
independence and leadership skills
First Year Timeline - Summer
Parents
All
Residential
*Classes
?
*Packing
*College vs. hs?
*Roommate(s) –
*Who’s in charge?
August 9th
*Preparation
*Friends
Commuters
*Meal Plan
Towson
*Where to park
*OneCard
 Pre-orientation
*Connecting to
 Orientation
campus
 Transition
*Spending time
 Retention
between classes
OneCard
• The OneCard is the student’s all-access pass to
Towson University
• The OneCard acts as…
o
o
o
o
Student’s ID card
Holds meal plan
Holds dining and retail points
Access to residence hall
• Retail points
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8i52mdhoJA&feature=
plcp
• Important website
o www.onecard.towson.edu
Meal Plans
• Two types of Meal Plans
o Flex Plans: Offered to residents or commuter students. Meals will
NOT carry over from week to week. Meal plan will reset on Thursday
nights.
o Block Plans: Offered to commuter students. Meals carry over from
week to week throughout the semester.
•
Dining Points
o Dining points are used to cover the extra balance after a meal is used.
o Dining points can be added to meal plan via the OneCard website.
• Important website
o www.dineoncampus.com/towson
Parking
• Residential Permit
o Limited number of permits, only for West Village garage
• Commuter Permit
o Towson Center and West Village garage until 3 pm on weekdays,
evening permits in Commuter or overflow areas
• Conditions
o Must be registered for classes and have housing assignment (if
applicable) before purchasing parking permit
• Cost
o Full year: $303
o Per term: $174
• Important website
o www.towson.edu/parking
Textbooks
• Purchasing
o University Store
o Online or off-campus stores
o Get receipts!
• Book rental program
o Pay one flat fee per book for the semester then the book is returned to
the bookstore at the end of the term
• Used Books
o Used books are available to buy at the University Store
• Important websites
o Search www.towson.edu for University Store
Academic Advising
• First Semester Schedule
o Student’s first semester schedule is based on the Academic Interest
Form they complete before coming to campus.
o FTP students’ schedules are created by the program coordinators.
o ORIE 305 (not on FTP schedules) is a non-credit baring course hold
for a time when advisors can meet with students.
• Advisor
o All students assigned a First Year Experience (FYE) Advisors. All
students are required to meet with their academic advisor at least
three times a semester, including an advising meeting to discuss and
learn how to register for Spring classes.
• Important website
o www.towson.edu/academicadvising
First Year Timeline –
August/September
• Adjustments
– Academic (actually have to study, less graded assignments, test
anxiety, uncertainties)
– New and unfamiliar people
– Social life
– Sharing a room
– Long distance relationships
– This is college? (disenchantment or elation)
• Homesickness and feelings of insecurity vary
– Can be overwhelming
– Intense at times
– Fades over time
Scenario #1
• You begin a casual phone conversation with your
son/daughter about how things are going with classes. You
hear that classes are difficult but manageable, and that it is
taking some adjusting to get used to the expectations of TU’s
faculty members.
• How do you feel? What, if anything, can you do?
Scenario #2
• Hmmm…you have call and texted your student a few times
today (okay, maybe more than a few) and haven’t heard back
yet. You are beginning to become worried but you also don’t
want to be a helicopter parent.
• What, if anything, can you do?
Scenario #3
• Your son/daughter
texts you this.
• What do you do?
It just seems like everyone
here has frnds. i don’t.
What do you mean?
Ppl eat together, i eat in
my room…
i tried going to bsu but it’s
not me
What’s bsu? Why isn’t
it for you?
First Year Timeline –
October/November
• Academic transition
– Time management, procrastination, more demanding than expected
– Anticipate stress around mid-term exams and grades
– Some might feel a sense of loss and failure associated with grades ,
others will think (or try to make it look like) things are easy
• Social transition
– Social pressures around drinking, dating, sexual activity
– Roommate conflicts may begin or intensify
• Expect
– Colds and sickness more likely
– Depression and anxiety can increase
Scenario #4
• You are talking to your son/daughter on the phone
and he/she comments about going to a party over
the weekend. He/she then goes on to say that
he/she is surprised at the amount of alcohol on
campus and the number of students who are
drinking.
• How do you feel? What, if anything, can you do?
Scenario #5
• Your student calls home late on a Friday night and
tells you he/she is not feeling well and that the
health center is closed.
• How do you feel and what, if anything, can you do?
First Year Timeline –
December/January
• Academic Transition
– Final exams – cramming and extra efforts to secure desired grades.
– Time management pressures - balancing academic demands and
extracurricular responsibilities
– Some wonder if their major is right for them.
• Social Transition
– Relationships changing with high school friends
• Expect
– Excitement builds for winter break and family time
– Students worry about what it will be like back home for break
– Stress associated with the new semester may appear.
Scenario #6
• Your son/daughter shares his/her first-term grades with
you and he/she has received a D and a C, as well as a
couple of B’s. These grades are lower than he/she has
ever received in high school. When you ask him/her about
the grades, the response is that they will improve over the
next term.
• How do you feel? What, if anything, can you do?
First Year Timeline –
February/ March
• Academic Transition
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Pressure to keep up with school work
Worry about mid-term exams and mid-term grades
Anticipation for spring break
Questions about the fall semester—class schedules, confirming major,
• Social Transition
– Applications for many student organizations or leadership roles
– May over-commit to student activities
– Anxiety over relationships or lack thereof
• Expect
– Desire to talk about living options for next semester
– Beginning to plan for summer jobs or internships
Scenario #7
• Your son/daughter asks for additional money to “go
out with friends.” This is the third time he/she has
asked for money since the beginning of the
semester and it is not even midterms yet?
• What do you do?
First Year Timeline –
April/May
• Academic Transition
– Stress and fatigue, lack of focus (Spring fever)
– Academic pressure builds as finals near, followed by relief and desire to
sleep forever!
– Pre-enrollment for the fall
• Social Transition
– End of year banquets and student organization activities
• Expect
– Concern builds over parents’ reaction to grades and moving home
– If starting summer school, concerned about not taking a break
– If starting a new job, concerned about learning the expectations
Scenario #8
• Your son/daughter got along great with his/her roommate
during the first semester but now the honeymoon is over.
The roommate is borrowing clothes without asking, leaving
the room unlocked, playing music too loud and eating your
son/daughter’s Pop Tarts.
• How do you feel? What, if anything, can you do?
Parenting Secrets of a
College Professor
“Trying to think of a new metaphor for my ideal style of parenting, I
decided I want to be one of those guys on the landing strips at the
airport, with the flags…
After much unproductive googling, I contacted my air traffic controller
cousin and this is what he wrote back: “That position is called a ‘Ramp
Agent.’
The code I have developed with my own daughter is this: If I haven’t
heard from her in a few days, or if I just have an ache for her, I will send
her a text that says, “Say ‘hi.’” She will respond with those two letters and
it is astounding, really, how much better I feel.”
Parenting Secrets of a
College Professor
“The only reason we panic when we haven’t heard from our child for three days
is because we can, and often do, hear from him or her nearly constantly. But
learning to respect boundaries is part of this process, and we have to do it,
even when technology has erased the lines. This is the same moderation and
balance we want our kids to learn as they navigate the bumpy freedoms of
adulthood. Just because you have access to all the alcohol you can drink
doesn’t mean you should. Just because you can shut off your alarm and roll
over without any immediate ramifications doesn’t mean you should.
That’s the lesson we parents have to learn. Just because we can peek in on our
children, doesn’t mean that we should. Just because you can see that your
child has not swiped in at the Dining Center but instead bought $12 worth of
snacks at the campus bodega, do you need to know that information? I am
going to do my best to stay a ramp agent and try not to helicopter, waving my
flags on the tarmac — even if sometimes that waving gets frantic.”
- Kathleen Volk Miller
Welcome to Towson
Orientation Schedule
Saturday 8/24
- Move-in & Packet Pick-Up (9 am – 5 pm)
- Commuter Celebration (6 pm)
- Parent Send-Off (6 pm)
Monday 8/26
- Academic Transitions
Sunday 8/25
- Skills & Resources
Tuesday 8/27
- Exploration of campus and Towson
Presented by
Lisa Reagle
Director of New Student Programs
lreagle@towson.edu
(410) 704-2309
OR
Dr. Teri Hall
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Campus Life
thall@towson.edu
(410) 704-2332
And colleagues