Tips & FAQs

FAQs for Parents

Academics

The academic environment is very competitive and challenging. Students will experience a multitude of feelings varying from happiness to frustration.

What students and parents should know:

• Your primary focus is to get a good education. Do your best! Don't be afraid to succeed.

• No matter what, go to class! Whether you are tired or sick or tempted to do something more fun, go to class.

• Meet your professors early-- e-mail them often, stay in front of them to ensure that they know the efforts you are putting into their course(s).

• For the first semester of the first year, take 12-16 credits. Refrain from taking difficult course combinations. Allow some leeway for adjusting to new people, a new schedule, and long hours of homework.

• Seek out the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching if you experience academic difficulties. CELT provides free tutoring in various subject areas with specialization in English and math. Tutoring is available one-to-one and in small groups. English, math and science are the critical areas that provide the foundation for all academic coursework. Seek assistance in the first 2-4 weeks to ensure good academic progress. The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching is located in Ruff Learning Center, Room 100.

• If you start to feel overwhelmed, talk to someone—an adviser, the instructor/faculty member, or others in your class. You may feel overwhelmed at times, or a little hesitant to talk different people. You must speak up if you do not understand something.

• Keep things in balance. Competition is good. However, as long as you are doing your best, don't worry too much about your grades. Give yourself some "down time!" Get involved! It's all right not to get an 'A' all the time.

Career Choices

Parents desire to prepare their son/daughter with lifelong career-management skills. With so many academic and career choices, the integration of academic and career plans can be extremely challenging and frustrating to students. Capital University provides a variety of options to assist students with tough academic and career choices.

What students and parents should know:

• It's OK not to have an identified career path/plan in the first year.

• Take a wide variety of classes and identify academic areas you enjoy.

• Schedule an appointment with Career Services to conduct an assessment of your skills, interests and abilities.

• Plan to attend an "Exploring Capital Majors" workshop where you can explore various issues related to academic and career choices. See Career Services for the schedule.

• Investigate how to conduct informational interviews. You can also explore careers through job shadowing, internships, volunteer work, summer jobs, and part-time/work-study jobs on campus.

Credit Cards and Spending

Discussing money management and financial responsibility with a first-year student is very important. Establish and explain credit cards and the parameters of use.

Credit card vendors provide incentives—T-shirts, phone cards, fast-food coupons—that are particularly tempting to students. Parents are often disturbed by their students' willingness to complete credit card applications for free incentives like T-shirts, etc.

What students and parents should know:

• A college student is not in the best position to have credit cards as expenses are high and their income is very limited.

• Getting in debt comes fast and easy; getting out of debt is a long process which many students do not overcome until many years after graduation.

• Most people obtain a credit card to begin to establish a credit rating. Be advised of the high interest rates, late payment fees and other penalties that can result in a poor credit rating.

• If you obtain a credit card, pay the entire balance every month.

• Avoid incurring more debt than you can satisfy monthly.

• Use a software program to manage your personal budget.

• Consider an ATM debit/credit card as an alternative.

Getting Involved

Getting involved is a great way to make new friends on campus, as well as connect with organizations that can assist you with focusing your academic and career goals.

What students and parents should know:

• Join at least one group or organization that can serve as an anchor for your college life. The organization might be a group that meets for class, such as choir, or the honors student group, etc.

• Participate in the Student Government. Make a difference on campus.

• Participate in athletics (basketball, volleyball, golf), intramural or arts and entertainment events offered through University Programming, Multicultural Affairs and various academic departments.

• Start an organization or develop a program. The Student Activities staff can assist with this process.

Making the Transition

Your relationship with your son/daughter will change for the better. It will become an adult-to-adult relationship instead of an adult-child relationship. You must trust your child. You raised them for 18 years and prepared them to become adults, now the rest is up to them. You are still there to guide them, but they are adults—trust what you have instilled in them over the years.

Advice for parents:

• Let go! Give them space to grow, make mistakes and experience their own success and failures.

• Seek support from other University parents. They can be a great source of support.

• Become a partner in your student's educational process. Join the Capital University Crusader Parents' Network.

Support from Home

Advice for students:

• Be safe and think about things before you make quick decisions.
• Remember your morals and values.

Advice for parents:

• Indicate that you will always be there for your student, no matter what happens.
• Give students a chance to settle and become comfortable with the college academic environment.
• Coach your student! Know the available resources and refer your son or daughter to them frequently.
• Students come from various academic, cultural, socioeconomic and political backgrounds. Diversity can be a challenging new concept. Encourage your son/daughter to respect individual difference and opinions.

Campus Communication, FERPA, Students and Parents

Capital University is moving toward becoming paperless. Communication will come to your student via campus mail and/or electronically via e-mail. Therefore, students should check their campus mailbox and/or e-mail daily. The university communicates important dates, deadlines, policy changes and procedures via e-mail.

The Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) provides certain rights to eligible students, parents of dependent students and parents of students under 18 years of age regarding students' educational records. Eligible students and parents have a right:

1. To inspect and review the student's educational records maintained by the university. Capital is not required to furnish copies of such records unless they are unreasonably difficult to inspect personally, in which case the university reserves the right to charge a reasonable fee for such copies.

2. To request in writing that the University correct educational records believed to be inaccurate or misleading. If the records custodian refuses, the student or parent may request a review by the provost or appropriate vice president after which, if the university still refuses, the student or parent has a right to place a statement in the student's record commenting on the contested information. The right to challenge grades does not apply under this policy unless the assigned grade was inaccurately recorded.

The Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) requires that the University obtain permission from the student in order to release information as related to the student's grades, fees, financial aid, etc., unless the student is identified as financially dependent.

Judicial Affairs

The core mission of the university is to prepare students for vocational service to society. Preservation of academic freedom and free and open exchange of ideas and opinions for all members of the university are central to these missions. The Student Code of Conduct is established to foster and protect the core missions of the university, to encourage the scholarly and civic development of students in a safe and secure learning environment, and to protect the people, properties and processes that support the university and its missions.

For a more comprehensive understanding of university policies and procedures, please review the Student Code of Conduct and other selected policies and procedures in the http://www.inside.capital.edu/. Select "Services," and click on Judicial Affairs. You are encouraged to read all policies and procedures to understand the University academic and student life policies and procedures as you will be held accountable for community standards and expectations for responsible behavior.