Parents who pay the bills understandably feel they ought to be informed about their child’s academic progress. Further, parents are well aware that their sons and daughters are not yet quite grown up. However, assuming mature and responsible behavior from our students usually elicits mature and responsible behavior. The vast majority of our students succeed here and are forthcoming with parents about their progress and activities. Students’ controlling information about themselves and telling you in their way what is going on almost always contributes much more to their transformation into adults and produces much more useful family discussion than periodic reports from the college.
Advising deans in the Academic Advising Center are more than happy to answer questions about college policies or procedures, to help you understand information you have, or to sort out problematic situations. We cannot reveal a student’s record without his or her permission. If we in the college are aware and persuaded that a student is in such serious difficulty that parents should intervene immediately, we will call you. Such calls happen very rarely. If you receive one, please come quickly.
Consequently, for educational purposes, the student is the responsible party vis à vis Cornell. We correspond with individual students, not parents, about individual students’ progress and situations, even if the progress or situation is not good. Individual students’ curricula, performance, and grades are confidential; we release such information to no one except the individual student and her or his advisor without the student’s expressed permission.
So, you’ll hear very little from the college after the Parents’ Briefing during orientation and Family Weekend in the fall. Except for the twice yearly Arts and Sciences Newsletter, which provides (we hope intriguing) examples of faculty research and teaching, this handbook is, in fact, our greatest effort at communication.