Dear Parent,

Congratulations on getting your son or daughter this far! You’ve worked hard to bring them to this point in their lives, and you want them to enjoy doing well. Your intuition tells you they should focus solely on their classes and academic work. But our experience teaches that students who find a way to get connected outside of the classroom enjoy a greater degree of overall success as university students.

One of the things we know about first year students is that those who make multiple connections in their first six weeks of college life experience higher success rates. They stay in school and graduate in higher percentages than those students who do not make connections.

Connections can mean many things: from joining a student organization (whether it’s social, cultural, academic, religious, or sports), participating in a leadership program, attending a multicultural presentation, writing an article for the university newspaper or planning a Campus Activities Board program. Connecting in this way usually leads to learning new skills and putting theory learned in the classroom into practice. One thing is certain: it almost always means making lifelong friends, feeling less homesick and more connected to the university, and succeeding both in and outside the classroom.
We know you’re proud of your college student and that you wish for them the very best. Student Activities professionals desire that too. Our programs are designed to help your student make positive connections at the university, with lots of opportunities — whatever their interests.

With best wishes for your student’s success,


Marcia Kennard Kiessling
Director, Office of Student Activities

P.S. If you’re so inclined, a presentation of our “Get Connected” research is available at http://www.uncc.edu/stuaffairs/research.htm