Resources for Parents and Families

Parents can encourage their student(s) to get involved with student clubs and organizations on campus, and to autonomously seek out the academic support resources of the college. Help student(s) to see themselves as their own best advocate(s), and gently encourage them to solve their own problems using our wide offering of college resources at their disposal.

Parents can empower students to advocate for themselves by letting them manage their own time, schedule appointments on their own, and advocate for themselves by reaching out to resources. While it can be hard to get out of the habit of scheduling your student’s appointments, it’s important to give students the opportunity to manage the tasks of  living on their own and learning how to be an adult. By encouraging your student to seek out and reach out to resources, you can teach your student the valuable and empowering skill of advocating for oneself.

Additionally, there are many opportunities to be further involved in the community as a parent and family. We recognize that SLC parents and families are equally as creative and dynamic as their students, and we encourage you to bring that ingenuity to Sarah Lawrence! Families support the College and student body by attending virtual and in person events, by acting as ambassadors at Sarah Lawrence events and in your home community, by offering internships and career counseling support, and through fundraising activities. For more information on other opportunities to get involved, visit www.sarahlawrence.edu/parents/.

Sarah Lawrence’s unique curriculum and opportunity for academic freedom may be the first time students are fully in control of their education. While it may be the first time you and your students are experiencing this type of education, keep in mind it’s not the first time for faculty and staff who will support and advise your student through this transition. Below are some answers to common academic questions you and your student may have.

What academic support resources exist at the college?

SLC provides a number of academic support resources that seek to approach the process of support from a holistic perspective. All first year students are intentionally paired with their don, who teaches their First-Year Studies course and serve as an academic advisor. Students are cohorted with their don and other first-year students in order to begin cultivating a relationship that will span the entirety of their time at SLC. The  Learning Commons provides a variety of hands-on coaching, writing, and tutoring in specific course area offerings that support students across disciplines. . Students are strongly encouraged to access these resources, and parents can help by encouraging their students to reach out to offices and services as needed. These resources include the Gryphon Guides, Learning Commons; Writing Center; library; Academic Deans; Pre-Health Program; Access and Disability Services; and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Gryphon Guides host office hours weekly in the Learning Commons, and can refer and connect students to resources across campus; if a student does not know which resource to go to, their Gryphon Guide is a great place to start!

How is academic performance evaluated? Are there grades?

Students receive written narrative evaluations from summaries and assessments of their work in each course. Evaluations provide feedback on strengths and areas for improvement. Additionally, all students receive grades at Sarah Lawrence College. Students may access their unofficial transcript as well as their narrative course evaluations through their account on MySLC.

My students’ don is not from their academic area of interest. Does that matter?

The role of the don is to guide students through the Sarah Lawrence College curriculum with the advantage of having knowledge of the student as a scholar (having taught the student for a year in the First-Year Studies seminar). Students work with faculty across all disciplines very closely so they too get to know students’ interests and aspirations. Our students find that as they take courses with faculty in their areas of interest, they are able to foster meaningful, discipline related advisement while having a don’s guidance across the entire academic four year program.

For a more comprehensive FAQ, visit the FAQ for New Students and the Parents & Families page.

College students are at a time in their lives where their developmental job is to individuate and separate from their family. Allowing your young adult to decrease their frequency of contact with you (even with less frequent texting) can be a way to allow this normative developmental process. While often well-intentioned, daily contact can hinder their ability to generate their own skills of weathering challenges and growing their wings.

Students deal with transitions in different ways, and may need different levels of support from you during this new phase in their lives. Your relationship with your student(s) may change, and that’s okay! In order to navigate this expected change:

• Talk with your student before they move in, and make a plan of how often you will check in or talk. But, don’t be offended if that plan falls through!, Students are busy meeting new people, adjusting to their new workload, and keeping up with new schedules. This doesn’t mean they need you any less, just that the ways in which they need you may be changing.

• While you may be tempted to reach out to your student’s don or SLC Faculty and Staff to get a sense of how they’re doing, please resist. It is important to give your student the space to develop their own relationships of trust and mutual respect with their new community.  , If you have general questions within the residential life sphere the best contact for residential life questions is reslife@sarahlawrence.edu.

If you have questions about academic in general, please contact the dean of studies office at deanofstudies@sarahlawrence.edu

• Encourage your student to reach out to the resources around them, such as RAs, Gryphon Guides, academic deans, coaches, dons,!
• Send a care package! Order care and gift packages through the Sarah Lawrence College bookstore, or send one on your own!
• Affirming to your student that you remain available to them as needed and are there to support in a non-judgmental way allows them to seek you out as needed.
• All mail and packages should be addressed as follows:

Student’s Name
SLC, Mail #XXXX
1 Mead Way
Bronxville NY, 10708

• Expect that you may hear from your student less frequently then you are used to when they were living at home.
• Expect them to make mistakes, they are navigating new situations for the first time and this is a learning experience. Remember that some of these mistakes help your student grow as an individual and develop skills for adulthood.
• Encourage them to address their own problems. When you intervene to “fix” your student’s  difficulties versus encouraging them to use the resources on campus, it disinhibits them from developing the important skills and strengths of self-advocacy, individuation, and weathering challenges in their lives.
• Don’t panic when they panic. More often than not, the panicked or distressed call home is their first step in helping them resolve a situation for themselves. Support them in weathering their difficulties, direct them to resources, as well as providing permission to struggle in small ways.

There are several ways in which Parents and Families can engage with their students’ college experience at Sarah Lawrence College. Families are able to attend events virtually or in person, be it a performance, reading, athletic event, or showcase.

At the end of October, Sarah Lawrence offers an annual Family and Friends Weekend, welcoming loved ones onto campus to celebrate the academic and social communities their students engage with. This weekend offers an immersive opportunity for parents, families, and friends to get to know what the Sarah Lawrence College experience looks like for their student right alongside them. Student showcases, athletic events, live performances, campus tours, informational sessions, and a family fun night are just some of the activities families and friends have the option to participate in, well acquainting them with all aspects of campus life.

The Parents Council is the College’s family philanthropy group dedicated to fostering a robust and informed parent community. Members of the Parents Council make an annual contribution of $1,000 or more to The Fund for Sarah Lawrence. The Council has a staff liaison at the College who works closely with Council leaders to strengthen the relationship between the College and all Council members.

For more information on these opportunities, please visit https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/giving/fund/parents-council.html   or   contact staff liaison and Associate Director of Leadership Annual Giving, Nicole Bedoya.