College orientation is emphasized more and even involves some parents

CHICAGO — A generation ago, college orientation was a perfunctory affair, lasting little more than a day. The focus was on registering for classes and buying textbooks. If parents were needed at all, it was primarily for their wallets.

Now, universities are putting more emphasis on this annual ritual than ever before, hoping that time and energy expended during the summer will boost student success and avert problems during the school year.

At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, for example, orientation lasts 2 ½ days and includes a separate program for parents, increased from one day to two in 2006. DePaul University also has beefed up its sessions, with an overnight stay to help establish a sense of community right from the start. Two years ago, the University of Minnesota tacked on a "Welcome Week" for freshmen on top of the traditional midsummer confab.

The expansion is needed, say administrators, to address a range of topics that didn't exist or weren't discussed much a decade ago: illegal downloads, sexting, plagiarism, credit card abuse — along with more concern about alcoholism, eating disorders and other mental health issues.

Rolling out the welcome mat also builds a relationship with Mom and Dad, who have been much more involved in their kids' lives than previous generations.

"We recognize that the issues of transition are much greater than just academics," said Jennifer Weed, DePaul's associate director for new student programs.

But all the front-end investment has a bottom-line payoff as well. Some schools lose as much as 40 percent of incoming freshmen, said the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. It's more cost-effective to spend resources on retaining current students than on recruiting new ones.

"If you hurry through this, what happens when students have their first crisis? They quit ... they transfer," said Dan Saracino, the University of Notre Dame's recently retired admissions director. "To spend an extra day to improve the likelihood of staying is just good business."

Sometimes, reinvention is a matter of necessity, as it was for Tulane University, where enrollment dropped after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Two years later, the school launched its first summer orientation — two days of dawn-to-dusk activities to reassure families that the institution was back on track.

The gathering gives organizers a chance to display New Orle ans culture, from Zydeco music to Sno-balls. While the kids go off on a scavenger hunt to learn how to navigate the campus (clues are delivered via texts), Mom and Dad might be chatting up other parents over wine at a local gallery.

That almost 75 percent of the 1,650 freshmen participate in the optional preview — requiring time off work, hotel lodging and travel expenses in addition to the $125 fee per student and $50 per parent — is a testimony to its success, said Penny Wyatt, wrapping up the last of nine sessions.

And even though Lisa Goldberg, of Chicago's North Side, had already sent her oldest child off to college, she and her husband, Michael Cohen, still wanted to accompany their son to Tulane last month.

 "Do I think attending is absolutely necessary? No. But it was very worthwhile," said Goldberg, who will return in August for move-in day.

Her daughter is a senior at Goldberg's alma mater, Washington University, so Mom knew what to expect. But New Orleans was the unknown, and despite having raised city-savvy kids, she was interested in the presentation by a police officer, discussing the safe ride program and hurricane evacuation plans.

Ever since the shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois Universities, personal safety has zoomed to the top of the list of parental concerns. Some 63 percent of all schools now have psychiatrists on staff at least part time — a message every campus seems eager to deliver.

While young adults arrive on campus more well-traveled, they are less worldly, officials said. Since fewer share rooms anymore, more time is spent on conflict resolution. Ditto alcohol and responsible decision-making. "This is something the university is focusing on much more than we would like," said Weed, acknowledging DePaul's proximity to bars and clubs.

Also in a nod to the times, many institutions have fortified sessions on financial fitness ("You'd be surprised how many kids will sign up for a credit card just to get a free T-shirt," one dean said) and file sharing — a practice that many students consider normal, but that the music business views as theft.

And the captive audience is a perfect opportunity for schools to build partnerships with parents, whether over life skills or curriculum (at Reed College in Portland, Ore., elders can read "The Odyssey" and then sample a freshman humanities course).

Given that baby boomers have been involved with their children's education since preschool, why pull back now?

Unlike earlier generations — who had more of a sink-or-swi m approach — today's parents are in frequent contact with their sons and daughters, according to the findings of a 2006 survey by College Parents of America. About 74 percent of 900 respondents talk "at least two to three times a week, while 34 percent communicate daily."

Such engagement is why, in addition to bigger orientations, many institutions are providing links on their websites for Mom and Dad — who may be out $40,000 if their child flunks out.

"Today, schools are marketing as much to parents as to students — especially in a shaky economy," said Katherine Cohen, CEO and founder of IvyWise, a college consulting company. "They know that it's parents who are giving their hard-earned dollars ... and want to know what they are getting for their money."

But others insist it's less about consumerism than being proactive, said Barmak Nassirian, a spokesman for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

"Schools aren't keeping everyone longer for the hell of it," he said. "It's because there's so much more ground to cover ... and you have to make a good-faith effort to give it to them before you hand over the key."