Parents of Traditionally Aged Community College Students: Communications and Choice

Varying the Frequency of Intentional Communication Between Student Affairs Personnel, First-Year Students, and Their Parents

“…This finding represents yet another in a string of outcomes suggesting that parents and their college-age children have very different perceptions about one another. Previous research indicates that parents consistently overestimate the well-being of their children (Bers, 2005;Bylund et al 2005). Provision of information about psychosocial development represents a recurring theme among authors who espouse best practices (Coburn, 2006;Wartman & Savage, 2008).…”

“…Bylund, Imes, and Baxter (2005) found that parents consistently underestimated their students' alcohol and marijuana use and unprotected sexual activities. Similarly, Bers (2005) reported that parents of community college students consistently overestimated the academic skills of their children. Consequently, parents' tendencies to overestimate the well-being of their college-age children may inhibit necessary corrective discussions between these communicating parties.…”

Are Community Colleges “Home-School Friendly?”: An Exploration of Community College Web Sites as an Indicator of “Friendliness”

“…Although research has started to explore the role of parents in community college choice (Bers, 2005;Bers & Galowich, 2002), it has not examined the role of the home-schooled student's parent. Often the parent of the home-schooled student is more involved in the actual education.…”

“…According to Carnegie Communications, such methods include the use of Web sites as recruitment tools (Klein, 2005). A study by Bers (2005) reports 48.1% of parents having used community college Web sites as one of their top three information sources (54.6% reported reading brochures and catalogs and 52.8% talked to high school counselors=teachers). This may be particularly important for home-schooled students and their parents who often lack access to college fairs and school counselors; thus, they tend to use the Internet to secure their college information.…”

Career Capital and the Community College

“…Factors such as the availability of support services, financial aid, academic programs, access, location, aspirations, encouragement from friends, and encouragement from family also play a potentially important role in an individual's decision to opt for a community college degree (Somers et al, 2006). Career-related decisions-particularly among adults (Bers & Smith, 1987;Horn, Cataldi, & Sikora, 2005)-that are often garnered from social networks of family, friends, teachers, counselors, employers, and college marketing materials (Absher & Crawford, 1996;Bers, 2005;Bers & Galowich, 2003;Santos, 2004) also play a role.…”