Helping Families Help Their Scarlet Knights: Inside New Parent and Family Orientation

Informative sessions equip families of incoming Rutgers–New Brunswick students with knowledge, resources, and confidence

For parents and families of incoming college students, pride and excitement are the emotions of the summer. But right behind those feelings come anticipation and nagging questions: How will our student manage the myriad challenges of the academic year, and how can we help?

When struggles with academic success, student life, or mental health arise, many students turn first to their parents and families. This is as it should be; research shows that family engagement helps students navigate these issues, stay enrolled, and persist toward successful graduation. But many parents have a hard time finding the right campus resources and information when their students need it most.

Fortunately, Rutgers–New Brunswick offers a solution: New Parent and Family Orientation (NPFO), offered throughout the summer for the supporters of incoming new students.

Each one-day NPFO session provides families with campus resources for health and wellness; individually tailored academic advising and support; career exploration; involvement in campus life through student organizations, intramural and club sports, and on-campus employment; financial aid and loans; tips on navigating the parking and bus systems; and more.

NPFO and New Student Orientation are parallel programs with distinct aims. NPFO prepares parents and families to become partners in student success. New Student Orientation equips students with the knowledge to start their college transition and develop autonomy.

There is some overlap in the information provided by NPFO and the student orientation—but, as Rutgers parent Sharon Schlam recently noted, “(incoming students) are so excited they aren’t going to remember details like we parents are.”

Schlam is a two-time Rutgers alum and member of the R Family Council, an advisory group of parents and families who help the Division of Student Affairs foster positive family connections.

When it was her daughter’s turn to join Rutgers, Schlam said she already knew the university well but attended NPFO to learn the latest available information. “There are supports in place I would never have known about,” she said, “and after (NPFO) I knew where to direct my daughter if she came across an obstacle like housing.” In fact, she learned information that helped steer her daughter toward a rewarding job as a paid campus lifeguard.

NPFO presentations highlight the many resources for student success offered by the Division of Student Affairs and its campus partners. They include a visit to the Career Exploration and Success office on Busch Campus, with information on the career resources every Rutgers student should tap into during their first year; a dorm tour; a bus tour of the five campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway; and a dining hall buffet lunch that highlights the nutrition and variety students can expect from the dining halls’ national award-winning chefs. Virtual sessions are available for families with time or travel constraints.

Family members of incoming new Rutgers–New Brunswick students can learn more and register at the NPFO webpage.