Photo by Brad Meyer, The Daily Illini

Dining halls get a bad rap. But the dining experience doesn’t have to always be a bad one.

Choosing the right meal plan for your student is essential in making their experience an enjoyable one, especially when there are so many options. Mean plans range from six to twenty meals per week. For University Housing, less actual “meals” during the week means more credits  instead.  These credits give students the option to purchase meals or other items on their own terms, whether in the cafeteria or at one of the University’s other a la carte locations, where items are priced individually in credits. Read More »

Photo by William Shi, The Daily Illini

While dads get all the attention during Dads Weekend in the fall, that doesn’t mean that moms are neglected.

In the spring, the University organizes a weekend dedicated to moms. Scheduled for April 12-14 of next year, this weekend is filled with activities just for moms and students.

The weekend kicks off with a Moms Association event Friday evening, where several moms are honored and a Mom of the Year is announced. Read More »

Photo by Ned Mulka, The Daily Illini

A college environment rightfully caters to its students.

After all, serving as an institution of higher education is at the forefront of any mission a university tries to uphold. But that doesn’t mean that the University of Illinois doesn’t have any ways for parents to have fun.

Dads Weekend, which takes place every fall, is a great way for dads in particular to come into town, enjoy a game and participate in some fun activities along the way. Dads Weekend 2011 takes place from Nov. 11-13. Read More »

For many parents, the realization that their son or daughter is now a college student – and completely on their own – can be very difficult. But paying a few visits to the UI campus is often an easy fix for this separation anxiety.

Visiting your kid at college is a great experience for both you and them. College life, while exciting, can be stressful and at times a hard transition for those just beginning it. A familiar face is sometimes the best fix for this. Both campus and the local communities have a variety of activities going on that are great for spending time with your family while experiencing local culture. And although four years seems like a long time, your kid’s time in college will fly by – so it’s important to discover campus while you still can.

Here are some things that every UI parent should do before their son or daughter graduates: Read More »

Photo by Brad Meyer, The Daily Illini

While packing for college is hard enough, there comes a whole new challenge with choosing the right school supplies. Here’s a list of your absolute essentials:

Computer: If you can afford it, getting a computer is indispensable. Whether you get a full-sized model or a netbook for taking notes during classes, a computer fits the bill perfectly. While there are plenty of computer labs on campus, having a personal computer allows for you to study wherever and whenever you want without having to worry about the availability of a computer. Read More »

It’s probably safe to say that for most freshmen, their time away from home during college is one of the first experiences they’ll have where they actually need to take care of themselves. No parents are around to take them to the doctor, be concerned when something seems out of place, or remind them to eat healthy and stay in shape. Read More »

Packing up for college is a fairly complicated process, but you at least hope that you’ve got it all in the end, right? After all, the essentials seem pretty obvious: bedding, mini-fridge, microwave, pictures of mom and dad (of course) … but inevitably, there are a few items that slip by. Read More »

Getting Here

The drive to Champaign is usually simple; however, during parents weekends and weekends of athletic events, traffic can be rough.

“I always carpool with my other mom friends,” Illini mom Sue Ganzer said. “The less cars the better. Nobody wants to deal with all that traffic. Just avoid driving if you can — hitchhike or something.”

Engineering sophomore Kay Ventura and her mother, Susan, decide on which oriental lily to buy at the 55th Annual Horticulture Club Mom's Day Flower Show "Horticulture Around the World" held at the Stock Pavilion during Moms Weekend on April 17, 2010. (Chris Davis The Daily Illini )

Important dates to visit

• Dads Weekend: Nov. 12-14, 2010
• Moms Weekend: April 8-10, 2011

Where to Stay

There are an influx of hotels in the Champaign area. During big parent visit weekends, though, all hotels book up fast, so it’s important to make your reservations as early as possible.

For the Illini Union Hotel, there is a raffle drawing a year in advance to decide who gets to stay there, and they announce the winners during Moms Weekend.
Illini Union Hotel manager Wally Lotz said that every year, the hotel accepts mail-in letters or postcards from applicants that want to book a room for the following year’s Moms Weekend.

“The information (for reservations) is available to people at the front desk, by phonecall and through our web site,” Lotz said. “It’s just a drawing. They send us a letter with their name and phone number.”

He added that the number of winners depends on the number of available rooms because administrative units book hotel rooms, too.

What to Do

During special events weekends, the University sets up events for students to attend with their families.

Sororities, fraternities and residence halls often have special events for parents that often involve food or touring campus buildings.

Read More »

With college bills coming from every direction, the information often seems overwhelming and the paperwork endless. However, this should not stop any parents from applying for financial aid, said Barbara Armstrong, personnel staff for human resources and the Office of Student Financial Aid.

“We have a lot of information out there and we are here to help you,” Armstrong said. “You can call up the financial aid office any time, and people will give you whatever information you need.”

Students are required to pay many fees to attend the University for services, resources and other usages. Sometimes students may be eligible for reimbursement at the end of the school year.

“I wish I would have known before that students can get a lot of their fees back every year in the spring,” Illini mother Barb Gawenda from Joliet said. “We received almost 200 dollars back one year.”

Another important thing for students to remember is the amount of scholarships available.

“Scholarships are not only for incoming freshmen,” said Julian Parrot assistant provost and director for the Center of Advising and Academic Services. “There are many available through the University for sophomores, juniors and seniors that people rarely know about.”

These scholarships are available on the financial aid website, which has a variety of resources concerning any questions one may have regarding aid. People are also welcome to drop in the Office of Student Financial Aid, located in the Student Services Arcade at 620 E. John St.

Adapting to college life can be as stressful for parents as it is for students, and the Moms and Dads Associations understand that.

The organizations, which first started in 1923 and 1922, respectively, have become a resource for parents throughout this transition.

Daughters and dads participate in the Dads Weekend 2009. The Dads Associationg is planning Dads Weekend from Nov. 12-14, 2010.

“Research has shown that involved families will help to increase retention rates and student success even through the college years,” said Becki Galardy, program manager at the Illini Union Parents Programs Office. “So we exist to help educate parents to become better coaches and mentors to their emerging adult students. We are really here to help them navigate that change.”

Galardy’s office, in conjunction with the two parent organizations, has become a very influential voice in the campus community, organizing several events with the goal of helping parents. Volunteers from the Moms and Dads Associations are the first impression many new parents have of the University, as they work the freshmen orientation programs.

Linda Jansen, former vice president of the Moms Association, said that volunteering at these orientations is something that members of the parent organizations really look forward to.

“All you have to do is look at the student and the parent next to them and you can tell both of them were overwhelmed that day and they were just feeling stressed,” Jansen said. “We always just tried to tell them that what they’re feeling right now is totally normal, and if they get there and they need help with anything, help is there.”

“You can just see the anxieties in those new families’ faces kind of melt away when they talk to those experienced volunteers,” Galardy said.
The scope of the Moms and Dads Associations extends beyond alleviating fears; the two nonprofit organizations have made many other contributions to the campus community.

“It does give (parents) a forum where they can actually, I think, can provide some valuable services to parents and to university life,” said Richard Yates, vice president of the Dads Association. “If I wanted to help the University in other ways, I don’t know what those ways would be.”

And the organizations have helped. Over the past year, the groups have made contributions to the University police department to install more security cameras on campus. The associations have also helped to fund other safety measures around campus, including: improved lighting; patrol vests for SafeWalks, a nighttime safety escort service; and Nala, the police department’s bomb-sniffing dog.

“They have given back to the University over the years very generously,” Galardy said, noting that the Moms Associations’ tuition drawings and Dads Associations’ scholarship funds have financially benefited students.

While the parent organizations have had a palpable impact student life, Yates and Jansen differentiated them from a typical middle school or high school PTA.

“Our job isn’t so much to provide input to the school, which I think a PTA does. We are there really to assist the parents in adjusting and adapting to University life. We are a service to the parents,” Yates said.

“By joining something like the Moms and Dads Associations, because you go to more football games and basketball games, you’re just on campus more,” Jansen said. “When (students) talk about stuff going on, you can just relate to them more and they can relate to you.”

Yates and Jansen said time commitment to the organizations wasn’t overly burdensome, as members of the Moms and Dads Associations typically attend four or five meetings on campus, volunteer for a few events and communicate via e-mail.

Galardy said parents interested in getting involved with the organizations should volunteer for an event, like the Illini Parent 101 workshop the organizations sponsor in September.

“That’s a good first step, to kind of get their feet wet and find out what kind of events we do and what the associations are all about, and then maybe they might consider serving on the board of the directors of the Moms or the Dads Associations,” Galardy said.