When Mindy and Tom Gunn sent their son away to college this fall, they expected the school to send them a bill. They didn’t expect a letter saying he’d been caught drinking.
But two weeks after their son John enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the school notified them that the 18-year-old had violated the campus drinking policy. The letter encouraged his parents to talk to him about it. And it invited them to call a school official if they had questions.
Schools agree that for the policies to work, the key is to engage parents. “It’s not just about notification, it’s about involvement,” says Lori Berquam, dean of students at the University of Wisconsin. In 2005, the university began calling parents of students who have alcohol or drug violations in certain circumstances, such as when a student is transferred to a detoxification center or a student gets three violations (a fourth results in suspension).