Philadelphia University

Innovation Grant Award
Funding will be provided for a limited run of calendars to be distributed at the 2007 Summer Family Orientation.

Overview
Parent programming is an integral part of Philadelphia’s new student summer orientation. This is particularly significant as the majority of those attending Philadelphia University are first generation college students.  As part of orientation, parents attend seminars on a variety of topics, including emotional adjustment to college life and the potential impact on families of children leaving for college and entering adulthood. Jointly developed by Counseling Services and Student Development, A Year in Their Life, a 12-month calendar, will feature mental health information and suggestions for how parents can support their children from a distance in addition to listing academic and social events.

Program Activities
Each month of the calendar will contain information about a specific issue, including signs and symptoms of common mental health disorders, tips for communicating with their children, and how to obtain professional help.  Parents will also be able to access an electronic version of the calendar, which will include additional information such as content adjustments based on emerging issues and parent feedback.

Philadelphia University will also disseminate A Year in Their Life to administrators and mental health professionals from other universities. Other universities will have access to an additional electronic calendar that can be customized to reflect academic and social events on their campuses.

Evaluation Plan
Pre-Distribution Evaluation 
Philadelphia University hosted sophomore and junior class parents at focus groups to assess response to the calendar content prior to printing and distribution.

Post-Distribution Evaluation
A Year in Their Life will include both a tear-off, mail-in survey for parents to complete and return, as well as a link to an online survey on the university’s website.  Monthly data on parent and student use of counseling services will be collected.  Following completion of this project, Counseling Services will collate all data to determine whether the calendar has increased parent interaction with and student use of Counseling Services.  Philadelphia University will record the number of schools to which they disseminate the calendar and will solicit their feedback on calendar content and adaptability.

Contact Information
Please contact Emily Simmons for additional program details.