Parents and Families
Welcome to the Highlander Family! Student Affairs partners with families to support your student's holistic development and academic success. We invite you to get involved in the University and stay informed.
Parent and Family Resources
In the event of campus closures or emergencies, the Campus-Wide Notification System (CWNS) allows NJIT to communicate important information on an expedited basis with students, faculty, staff, and non-NJIT personnel via text message, phone and email. Your student can register up to four devices and three email addresses to receive notifications which would allow family members to receive the same notifications.
Concerned About Your Student?
There are a number of resources within Student Affairs to refer your student to if you are concerned about their well-being. The CARE Team and Center for Counseling and Psychological Services provide online resources that you and your student can easily access, as well as reporting options for more urgent concerns.
As a parent or guardian to our newest Highlanders, you will continue to play an important role in your student’s personal development and academic success. Through New Student Orientation, you are invited to participate in Family Orientation prior to your student starting class.
We invite all family members to join us for NJIT’s annual Homecoming festivities in October. Online registration typically opens in August each year.
Request to join the NJIT Parents Facebook Group to engage in dialogue and ask questions about your student's experience. Join here.
NJIT is easily accessible by bus, light rail, rail and air with options for on-campus parking.
Helpful Tips
Keeping Informed
As students transition from children to adults, how do you keep abreast of what is going on in their lives, especially if they aren’t very communicative? It is common for parents to inquire about their student’s well being.
- Before you contact university staff members, consider the following:
- When students take on the legal status of “adults”, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), governs how NJIT deals with student records. This federal law does not allow us to share any part of a student’s record with anyone without student’s written consent. This includes student conduct records, academic records, and any records pertaining to student housing. The only exception is in an emergency.
- It is important for your student to be the primary source of the information that you receive. Encourage them to communicate openly and honestly with you about issues involving their education. This is a critical skill to develop and helps build trust and respect between parents and students.
- Be knowledgeable of NJIT resources so you can encrouage your student to also be informed and connected to campus.
Emotional Support
- College can be frustrating. For many, it is a time of confusing relationships, redefined friendships, and transition. Many have a hard time at first.
- Students have a tendency to communicate with parents when they are having an emotionally difficult day. Many choose to share positive experiences with their friends and a higher proportion of the negative experiences with parents.
- You can provide a listening ear for negative and positive experiences by making a point to ask about the good things that are going on.
- Be open to difficult conversations as your student navigates through new situations, relationships, and challenges they may encounter.
- Trust your instincts though and encourage your student to seek additional support through the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services or their academic advisor if you're concerned.
Room for Mistakes and Growth
- Students will make mistakes as they negotiate what it means to be an adult. Some mistakes are more detrimental than others, and many will be important life lessons.
- The natural inclination is to correct a student when they head toward an unwise choice. While this is understandable, the end result may be that the student does not learn how to make that decision independently.
- We encourage parents and family members to allow room for students to make their own decisions. By making the wrong choice and dealing with the consequences, students learn to make better choices in the future.
Trust
- Issues of trust often come up. Parents who have been involved in their children’s lives are no longer involved on a daily basis. Parents wonder what the student is doing when they haven’t heard from them. In addition to safety concerns, they worry about choices being made in other areas.
- Our experience indicates that students occasionally make unwise choices, but most maintain their value system and the skills necessary to make smart decisions.