By: Dr. Louis Frisenda, Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs Enrollment Initiatives, Marymount University
The Family Playbook: Practical Ways to Improve Attendance, Participation, and Completion
Quick message: Families can boost student success by reinforcing routines, early help-seeking, and a simple recovery plan for missed classes—without taking over.
Key takeaways for families
- Your role is to reinforce routines and help-seeking—not to do college for your student.
- Early intervention (weeks 2–4) is far more effective than late intervention (end of term).
- A standard recovery plan for absences prevents minor issues from becoming completion issues.
A helpful tool for families
Discuss the value of a FERPA waiver: A FERPA Waiver is a student’s written permission that allows the university to discuss certain parts of the student’s education record (like enrollment, grades, or progress) with a designated parent/guardian or other trusted adult.
Purpose and value: It helps families support students more effectively by allowing clear communication when questions come up about academic progress, registration, deadlines, or needed resources—while still keeping the student in control of who can receive that information.
The Family Playbook: 10 practical moves
- Make “attend unless truly ill/emergency” the default expectation.
- Ask about process before you ask about grades (attendance, due dates, start times).
- Use the 48-hour help rule: if confused for >48 hours, get help.
- Encourage one early office-hours visit (weeks 2–3).
- Help your student draft short, respectful emails to instructors when needed.
- Normalize participation options for quieter students (posts, small group, after class).
- Protect study time like a work shift (consistent weekly blocks).
- Watch early warning signals (avoidance, missed small work, repeated “catch up later”).
- Support autonomy: ask for the student’s plan and offer targeted help.
- Keep encouragement steady after a rough week—focus on the next step.
When to encourage an immediate support step
- Missed 2 classes in a row (or 3 total early in the term)
- Multiple missing assignments
- Ongoing stress that is preventing attendance or studying
- Considering withdrawing without talking to advising first
- Email the instructor (short, respectful, action-oriented).
- Check the LMS for announcements and due dates.
- Get notes/materials from a classmate.
- Schedule a 30–60 minute catch-up block within 24 hours.
- Confirm attendance plan for the next session.
- Attended all classes (or used the recovery plan)
- Checked the LMS for due dates and announcements
- Started the next assignment 48–72 hours before it is due
- Participated at least once (question, small group, post, office hours)
- Identified the “hardest class” and named the next support step
References
- Credé, M., Roch, S. G., & Kieszczynka, U. M. (2010). Class attendance in college: A meta-analytic review of the relationship of class attendance with grades and student characteristics. Review of Educational Research, 80(2), 272–295. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310362998
- Robbins, S. B., Lauver, K., Le, H., Davis, D., Langley, R., & Carlstrom, A. (2004). Do psychosocial and study skill factors predict college outcomes? A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 130(2), 261–288. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.2.261
- National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). (2020). A NSSE Data User’s Guide: Sense of Belonging. Indiana University. (Accessed December 22, 2025)
- Ratelle, C. F., Larose, S., Guay, F., & Senécal, C. (2005). Perceptions of parental involvement and support as predictors of college students’ persistence in a science curriculum. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(2), 286–293. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.19.2.286
