Effectively Communicating
with Parents:
Addressing the Needs of Baby Boomers,
GenXers, and First Generation College Parents
Marjorie Savage
Parent Program Director
Agenda: What We’ll Talk About
• Today’s Parents
and CollegeParent Relations
• Boomer
Characteristics
• GenX
Characteristics
• Similarities,
differences
• Non-generational
issues
• Implications
Definitions
• Parents/Family
– Primary support system
• Generational terms
– Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1960,
1962 or 1964, depending on who defines them)
– Generation X (born between 1961, 1963, or 1965
to 1981, depending on who defines them)
– Millennials (born 1982 or later—no terminology or
span of birth years yet for post-Millennials)
• First Generation
– First generation Americans
– First generation college students
Definitions
Why work with parents?
• Cost of college
• Level of communication between
students and parents
• Parents as a key secondary
audience
• Expectations: No Child Left
Behind
• Parents seek institutional affinity
Is Parent Involvement New?
• Parent programs have been around for
nearly 100 years
• Parents have always been involved,
especially those with “social capital”
• What’s new is “consumerism” of higher
education
Parent Program Status
• Family programs have been established
based on needs/demands of Baby
Boomers
• Parent services are primarily a product
of four-year colleges and universities
• Goals of programs differ depending on
schools’ public/private status
Parent Program Development
45%
40%
35%
1970 or earlier
3-D Column 2
3-D Column 3
3-D Column 4
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
1970s or
earlier
1980s
1990s
20002007
Data from National College and
University Parent Programs
Survey 2007. N=193
Size of Institution
45
• Small schools 36.9%
• Mid-size 40.3%
• Large 22.7%
40
35
30
Small
Mid-size
Large
25
20
15
10
5
0
percent
Data from National College and
University Parent Programs
Survey 2007. N=193
Program Placement
Reporting structure for parent programs
Placement
Public Private
Advancement/Alumni
15.40%
50.50%
Student Affairs
73.60%
34.50%
Other
11.00%
15.00%
Data from National College and
University Parent Programs
Survey 2007. N=193
The Media Image of College
Parents
Names
o
o
o
o
Helicopters
Lawn mowers
Stealth bombers
Submarines
Image
o Overly involved
o Intrusive
o Manipulative
An International Phenomenon
• Great Britain: The
Agent, Banker, White
Knight
• Japan: Kyoiku
Mamas, Monster
Parent
• Singapore: Kiasu
Parent
• Scandinavia: Curling
Parents
Overview of Today’s Parents
“Traditional” students:
 Students born 19851990
 Generation: Millennials
(aka GenY)
Parents, Class of 2012:
 Parents born anywhere
from 1940s to 1970s
 Generation: Silent,
Boomer and GenXers
Movies for the Ages
Boomers
•
•
•
•
The Graduate (1967)
To Sir with Love (1967)
American Graffiti (1973)
Paper Chase (1973)
Movies for the Ages
Cusp: Boomers to GenXers
• Animal House (1978);
• Grease (1978);
• Fame (1980)
Movies for the Ages
GenXers—First Wave
• Fast Times at Ridgemont
High (1982)
• Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
• Breakfast Club (1985)
• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
(1986)
Movies for the Ages
GenXers—Second Wave
• Stand and Deliver (1988)
• Dead Poet’s Society (1989) (set in 1950s)
• Heathers (1989)
Technology for the Ages
Boomers
• Transistor radios, Color TV, Princess
telephones/second phone, Room-size
computers
GenXers
• Walkman, Cable TV, Cordless telephones,
Home computers
Millennials
• iPods, Netflix/Roku, Cell phones, Laptops
Technology for the Ages
Douglas Adams’ rules related to
technology:
1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is
normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the
way the world works.
2. Anything that’s invented between when you’re
fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and
revolutionary and you can probably get a career in
it.
3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against
the natural order of things.
From The Salmon of Doubt, 2001
Overview of College Parents Today
 Age: 36 to 65, plus or minus
 About half of Millennials are children of
boomers; half are children of GenXers
Overview of College Parents Today
Commonalities between
Boomers and GenXers
 Have a good relationship
with their children; are their
children’s “best advisers”
 They…and their
students…have choices
 Multiple learning styles
 No Child Left Behind
Overview of College Parents Today
Would you like a return to more
traditional standards?
Boomers
1977
Xers
1997
Boomers
1997
Family life
56%
73%
76%
Parental responsibility
47%
70%
75%
Schools
40%
58%
62%
Social relationships
23%
41%
44%
Sexual relationships
20%
46%
46%
Work
19%
33%
41%
Homemaking
16%
35%
42%
Source: Yankelovich MONITOR
Overview of College Parents Today
Differences:
Boomer Characteristics
 Older—More patience, more money
 Career identifies the individual
 Theme: Anything should be possible
GenX Characteristics
 Younger—Generally less disposable income
 Career must fit lifestyle; lifestyle must fit family
 Theme: Anything should be available
Implications
 Private vs. Public work time
 Multiple learning styles
 Different parent messages
 Rebellion looks different
 Parent relationship to college is different
 Post-college expectations are different
 Expectation about student services
Implications
 Boomers: “Question Authority”
 Xers: “Savvy”
 Both groups project their outlook on their
children
Implications
What really
matters
 Culture/ethnicity
 Economic
status
 Parents’
education
Implications
Student satisfaction with parent involvement
Who wants more parent involvement?
Factor
White
Black
Native
Amer.
Asian
Latino
Dealings with
college officials
12.10% 20.50%
20.70%
33.30%
32.20%
Choosing college
courses
18.60% 33.40%
28.80%
37.40%
43.50%
Choosing college
activities
16.10% 33.70%
27.80%
39.60%
43.30%
From Higher Education Research Institute, 2007
Implications
The technology gap
• Is it real?
• Can it be
overcome?
Implications
First Generation college status
matters
• First Generation students enter college less
prepared, get lower grades, and are more
likely to drop out
• More First Generation students take
remedial courses
• More First Generation students enter college
without an intended major
Data from National Center for Education Statistics 2005
Implications
Financial status matters
• Families are expected to contribute to
student’s expenses; if they don’t have the
funds, are not credit-worthy, student cannot
afford college
• Students who work more than 15 hours a
week are less successful
• Families with the largest loans are those with
annual incomes between $40,000-$105,000
Implications
Culture matters
• Traditional student development theory
does not fit all cultures
• Strong family ties are threatened by the
separation that education brings
• What’s intrusive for some families is not
for others
Implications
FERPA
• Talk about policy, “what’s typical”
• Explain how parents can get information
• Work with new professionals on how to
handle FERPA
• Work with faculty on institution’s
relationship with parents
Implications
Key Parent Messages
• Provide action steps
• Normalize behaviors/emotions
• Discuss the critical issues
– Finances
– Mental health
– Physical health
• Crisis communications
Implications
Parents will call regarding
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Financial aid/billing questions
Housing/roommate issues
Course selection/academic advising
Career planning
Mental health concerns
Physical health concerns
Safety
Faculty dispute
Other
Implications
How do parents help us?
• Contribute to
student success
• Reinforce our
messages
• Provide just-intime messages
Predictions
Participant Question: What may
change in college-parent relations
based on
• Today’s economy?
• National call for volunteerism?
• President Obama’s call for
parents/individuals to “take
responsibility”?
Predictions
What may change?
• Communication style and frequency
• More clearly defined parent roles
• Financial implications of higher
education could be a significant parent
issue
Conclusions
We’re looking for appropriate parent
involvement
•
•
•
•
Parents don’t know what’s appropriate
Student doesn’t know
We need to define “appropriate”
Explain parents’ role in terms of student
development, but keep culture in mind
Conclusions
Key messages for parents
• “Here’s what your student can do”
• “Here’s what your student is learning.”
• Crisis message: “Here’s what happened,
what we’re doing, when we’ll know more, how
you can help your student.”
• “Here’s where we need your help.”
Consistency is critical across campus,
across the years
Parent Outcomes
Families contribute to student
success by
• Understanding the student experience and knowing
about resources available at the University of
Minnesota.
• Supporting the University’s goals for student
development outcomes
• Knowing when to step in to help their student and
when to empower their student to take responsibility
• Developing an affinity for the University of Minnesota
Discussion
• What changes have you seen in families at
your institution in the past three years?
• What’s the biggest reason for the changes
you’ve seen: generation or culture?
• Do you think your parent messages reach all
families? If not, why not?
– Do you need different communication methods?
– Do you need different messages?
Contact Information
Marjorie Savage
Parent Program Director
University of Minnesota
Phone: 612-626-9291, e-mail:
mbsavage@umn.edu
Web site: www.parent.umn.edu
Resources
Parent Outcomes
http://www.parent.umn.edu/about.html
National Survey of College & University Parent Programs
http://www.parent.umn.edu/parentsurveys.html
Wartman, Katherine Lynk and Savage, Marjorie (2008). Parental
Involvment in Higher Education: Understanding the Relationship
Among Students, Parents, and the Institution. San Francisco:
Jossey Bass, ASHE Higher Education Report, Vol 33., No. 6.
Carney-Hall, Karla C., ed. (2008). Managing Parent Partnerships:
Maximizing Influence, Minimizing Interference, and Focusing on
Student Success. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, New Directions
for Student Services, No. 122.