Faculty/Parent day still alive

By Scott Ammons
Senior Staff Writer

Student retention and student privacy are two separate issues joined by one common thread - the student.

The UNCP Board of Trustees voted in February to support a parent/professor conference day at UNCP. The faculty senate was to have met March 2 to hear and discuss Dr. Breeden Blackwell’s idea for parent/professor conferences at UNCP.

This issue first surfaced in September 2004, when Board Trustee Breeden Blackwell presented his idea to the SGA.

Blackwell told the SGA his idea would attempt to improve parental involvement in students’ learning and increase the university's retention rate; he asked for their feedback and support - he received both. Although SGA Vice-President Anthony Hunt believes it should be limited to freshmen and sophomores, Hunt said, “The conferences would help students adjust to college life and the freedoms that come with it.”

While the Board of Trustees and the SGA believe this is good for the university, Junior Kyle Orozovich from Waldwick, N.J. believes it demoralizes the entire college experience. He said, “It takes away the students identity and privacy, after all it's about trust.”

Federal laws prohibit discussion of an eligible student’s academic record without their written consent. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guarantees students academic privacy.