Parents as Partners
Mission Statement
The Dean of Students Department facilitates communication between the university and parents in support of student success, and fosters appropriate roles for parental involvement.
Desired Outcomes for Parental Involvement at UNM
Contribute to student success:
- Be aware of the challenges and opportunities facing today’s college students, including academic and non-academic expectations for students at the college level
- Learn about student support services and understand how students can access services; encourage the student to identify and obtain support from appropriate resources (examples: one-stop enrollment services or tutoring programs)
Support UNM’s goals for student learning:
- Challenge the student to identify, define, and solve problems independently
- Encourage the student to set and achieve personal goals and make responsible decisions related to academics, career planning, social interactions, and community engagement
- Understand and support UNM’s commitment to academic excellence, access with support to succeed, integrity, ethical behavior, diversity, respectful relationships, freedom of inquiry and sustainability.
- Empower the student to examine personal values; encourage the student to learn about and respect the values and beliefs of others
- Support the student as he/she faces conditions of uncertainty and learns to perform in complex environments and challenging situations
- Allow the student to accept consequences of his/her actions and accept responsibility for personal errors; urge the student to examine disappointments and unexpected experiences in order to assess what caused them, what can be done about them, and how to avoid them in the future
Know when to step in and when to empower your student :
- Understand the role parents play as mentors to students
- Know and understand limitations to access student records, as delineated by federal requirements outlined in FERPA and HIPAA (confidentiality of personal health information).
- Promote self-advocacy by allowing the student to make decisions independently
- If the student’s physical or mental health is endangered, contact appropriate campus or community authorities, including UNM Student Health and Counseling.
Adapted from the University of Minnesota Parent Program
Additional Parent Resources
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
Student Information Release Proxy Form
UNM Office of Parents and Families
Student's Billing Statement Information
