Varying the Frequency of Intentional Communication Between Student Affairs Personnel, First-Year Students, and Their Parents
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S. Kate Daniel
Higher education administrators are increasingly committed to proactive communication with the parents of their students, but little empirical research exists that demonstrates the effectiveness of such communication. This investigation evaluated the effects of varying frequency of communication by randomly assigning first-year college students and their parents to receive 0, 1, or 4 documents that described activities associated with student success in college and urged them to discuss these activities with one another. Students and parents were then mailed a follow-up survey that assessed their recall regarding how many documents they had received, accuracy of recognition about the content of the documents, and extent of communication about these topics. Results indicated that, for parents, significant linear relationships existed between receipt of more documents, recall of receiving a greater number of mailings, and greater accuracy in recognizing content. Recall and recognition among students, however, were not differentially affected by receiving more documents. For both students and parents, receipt of more documents was not associated with increased frequency of conversations about specific content. Across experimental conditions, parents reported having more frequent conversations with their students than students reported having with their parents. These outcomes suggest that parents, but not their children, are attentive to the content of communications from college administrators, especially when they are sent frequently and within a short time frame
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
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- Moving On: Voluntary Staff Departures at Small Colleges and Universities
- The Clery Act, Campus Safety, and the Perceptions of Senior Student Affairs Officers
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- The Integration of First-Year, First-Generation College Students from Ohio Appalachia
- Varying the Frequency of Intentional Communication Between Student Affairs Personnel, First-Year Students, and Their Parents
- The Status of Crisis Management at NASPA Member Institutions
- Parental Engagement and Contact in the Academic Lives of College Students
- Review of "The gender gap in college: Maximizing the developmental potential of women and men"
- Review of "Student services in community and technical colleges: A practitioner's guide (4th edition)"
- NASPA Journal Volume 46, Issue 2
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Table of Contents
- A Portrait of Culture in a Contemporary America
- Decreasing Use of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs on a College Campus: Exploring Potential Factors Related to Change
- Moving On: Voluntary Staff Departures at Small Colleges and Universities
- The Clery Act, Campus Safety, and the Perceptions of Senior Student Affairs Officers
- Reflections on Personal Responsibility: Sorority Members At Risk for Interpersonal Violence
- The Integration of First-Year, First-Generation College Students from Ohio Appalachia
- Varying the Frequency of Intentional Communication Between Student Affairs Personnel, First-Year Students, and Their Parents
- The Status of Crisis Management at NASPA Member Institutions
- Parental Engagement and Contact in the Academic Lives of College Students
- Review of "The gender gap in college: Maximizing the developmental potential of women and men"
- Review of "Student services in community and technical colleges: A practitioner's guide (4th edition)"
- NASPA Journal Volume 46, Issue 2
