As the Director of First and Second Year Experience at Cedar Crest College, I knew first-hand that parents of prospective students were very involved in the admission and enrollment process. I also knew that involvement wasn’t going to stop after decision day. In fact, the opposite is true: parents of first-year college students expect an even higher level of communication from their student’s college.

76% of college families expect outreach from their child’s school weekly or more. As an office of one, it was a lift I couldn’t manage on my own. When I partnered with CampusESP in 2019 to scale my family communications strategy, it was my goal to balance parent expectations with student growth and development. I knew this would be most crucial during the summer melt season.

So we decided to harness the influence of parents that summer … and we saw results. Email open rates for these announcements SOAR into the high 60% range. More students actually completed their required orientation tasks. Our financial aid office got fewer panicked calls about unexpected bills. And ultimately, we saw more students arrive on campus that fall.

Ultimate influencers: parents get students to take action

Getting information to incoming first-year students over the summer is critical in combating summer melt. Curated and consistent communication helps keep students interested in their college of choice and motivates them throughout the three long months of transition — a time when nerves may flare and doubts may start to creep in. 

I worked with colleagues and partners across campus to create a summer melt plan aimed at not only students, but also their parents. The structure we created connected with students throughout the summer months, giving them advice, tips and tricks, and important to-do items every other week. We brought all areas of campus together and asked them what they needed most from students over the summer to help their transition. More times than not we were met with concerns about students actually completing the task. And this is where parents came in. 

We took the communication plan we created for students and created a second version tailored to parents. Every other week they received a short email via CampusESP, nudging them to nudge their student. 

We didn't send the same full email we sent their student. We didn’t provide the parents with forms to fill out for their child. We simply told them what was expected of their student and gave them some talking points to guide them. The parents took it from there.

5 topics to engage first-year families

While the students received a more comprehensive summer campaign that ultimately led them into orientation, we honed our parent communications a bit. We still wanted students to bear the bulk of responsibility and information, and instead focused communications to families on the topics they would be most directly involved in or concerned about.

1. Information about the first bill. We know that financial aid is the most important topic for families. We started building trust with parents around this crucial topic during the enrollment process, but that first bill is when it shifts from numbers in a spreadsheet to reality. We wanted them to be prepared for what they could expect to receive and when, as well as what to do.

2. Housing selection and room announcements. Probably one of the most exciting communications for new students can also be one of the most nerve-wracking for their parents. We wanted families to feel included in this process and have all the information about the dorms so they could feel comfortable and secure about sending their student to campus.

3. Programs and services available to students. Student Affairs teams have a wealth of programming and resources for students — so long as the students know it's there for them. With families having access to information about DEI, career planning services, mental health accessibility, and other key programs, there’s a much better chance they’ll remind their students of these resources if or when they are needed.  

4. Academic Services information. Students whose families are involved with academic support are more likely to persist. Again, we wanted families to have this information at the ready should their student ever need it. This could include more timely information like class registration deadlines, GPA requests, or academic advising.

5. Orientation information. Parents love a good to-do list with clear tasks and dates (think move-in day checklists). As they begin to think about the fall and returning home without their student, they’ll appreciate clear information that will keep everyone on task.

Ultimately, our students were in control and were learning to be independent, but their parents remained informed and supported throughout the process. We didn’t pull a rug from beneath them during their transition from parent of a high school student to parent of a college student … instead we slowly shrunk the rug.