Parents improve academic experience

College students whose parents are closely involved in their lives take advantage of more educational opportunities during their college years and are more satisfied with their university experience than other students, according to the results of a nationwide survey released Monday.

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) 2007 Annual Report, titled "Experiences That Matter: Enhancing Student Learning and Success," also concluded that students with so-called "helicopter parents" — moms and dads who intervene with school officials when their children have problems on campus — also have more positive academic experiences.

Another finding was that "high impact" activities — including first-year seminars, service learning, undergraduate research, study abroad and internships — boost students' ability to think critically, solve real-world problems and work effectively with others.

NSSE asked questions of "randomly selected first-year and senior students from hundreds of four-year colleges and universities," according to its report. While Princeton and other Ivy League institutions did not participate in the study, NSSE said its findings are intended to provide broadly applicable advice to colleges to help them "improve undergraduate education," among other purposes.

When asked how often they call home, roughly 70 percent of the students surveyed by NSSE responded that they communicate "very often" with at least one parent or guardian during the academic year.

The study also found out that students' decisions are influenced more by parents than by close friends. According to the report, "about three quarters of all students frequently followed the advice of a parent or guardian, and more than four in 10 students said they frequently followed the suggestions of siblings. Fewer were influenced frequently by friends."

Parents' prominent role was also evident in the small but significant number who fit the "helicopter" definition. Students have helicopter parents if their moms and dads "have [frequently] contacted college officials on their behalf," NSSE Associate Director for Research and Data Analysis Robert Gonyea said in an interview.

According to the report, 13 percent of freshmen and 8 percent of seniors said their parent or guardian frequently intervened on their behalf to help them solve problems at college. Twenty-five percent of freshmen and 21 percent of seniors said their parent or guardian sometimes intervened.

Though "students with involved parents reported higher levels of engagement, deep learning and greater educational gains, they had significantly lower grades," according to the report. It also noted, however, that parents might intervene on their children's behalf because the students are having academic difficulties in the first place.

In interviews, Princeton students seemed to fit the trend of frequent phone calls home but said they wouldn't consider their moms and dads "helicopter parents."

Dan-Meng Chen '08 said she speaks to her parents in Singapore "on the phone, three times or four times a week," adding that she does it "mostly voluntarily." Sometimes, she said, just "complaining" during those conversations can be a helpful way to vent.

Kunle Demuren '11 said she thinks staying in touch is simply the right thing to do. "It's fair because they're paying the bills [for college]," she said.

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But Princeton students didn't describe their parents as overly involved. "I make my own decisions," Todd Aldinger '09 said of his parents' role in his day-today life at college, though he added that "sometimes I consult them."

Courtny Hopen '08 said that her parents are "very supportive without being interfering," adding that she "would never" ask them to intervene on her behalf regarding academic problems and that they "would never do that, even if I asked them to."

But Gonyea said parental support does not always come in the form of academic intervention, noting that sometimes parents help with problems including housing and financial aid. Often, he added, support is shown by just being there.

Hopen, who is currently co-directing a show to benefit the Student Volunteers Council and Habitat for Humanity, said just chatting with her family helps her cope with her sometimes hectic schedule. Speaking to her parents about her successes and frustrations, she explained, helps keeps her grounded.

Aldinger agreed that he appreciates having parents to talk to every week. "It helps, being able to talk to people I can trust," he said.