MSC06 3600
University Advisement & Enrichment Center, Rm 280
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Phone: 505-277-3361
Fax: 505-277-0370
nso@unm.edu
Below are some of the common questions that we receive about the Family Connection Program. If you have a question about this program that is not addressed below or elsewhere on the Family Connection website, please contact Lisa Lindquist, Family Connection Coordinator, at ldelgado@unm.edu or 505-277-3361.
Yes. According to one parent, “This program helped relieve any anxiety I might have had, and actually got me excited to share this college experience with my daughter.”
Research has shown that family is the primary source of encouragement in pursuing a college education and is a big source of motivation for finishing a degree. With college pressures such as finances, maintaining grades, and taking exams, students will need your moral support. Over 99% of those attending a Family Connection program in the past five years said they would recommend this program. Don’t miss it!
Many things have changed on the UNM campus in the last couple of years. Not only do we have a new president and provost, but we also have many new buildings and new programs. Make sure to check out the growing number of choices available through Freshman Academic Choices, a new program specifically aimed at your student succeeding in their first semester.
No. After check-in, students and parents are separated. Therefore, you should discuss important issues such as class selection and major exploration before the Lobo Orientation program begins. Academic advising will be accomplished with the student, the academic advisor, and the Lobo Orientation staff. Family members will not be involved in the selection of classes. You will see each other briefly at an information fair on Day One and you rejoin your student at the end of Day Two during the final lunch.
Students should arrive to our check in area with all necessary information and overnight materials in hand.
Yes. Siblings, aunts, uncles, guardians, and grandparents are all welcome. However, siblings and others under 18 quickly become bored with our detailed presentations. We strongly recommend that children under 12 not attend.
The program is not designed for the student’s best friend, girlfriend/boyfriend, or spouses; therefore, they will feel out of place in the Family Connection Program, and will not be allowed to participate in the student program.
Please let your student know that you want to attend the Family Connection Program. Your student can sign you up as a "guest" on his/her online Lobo Orientation reservation form. If they have already signed up without you, they can still add you onto their reservation by logging back in and modifying their reservation.
Click here for more information about registering for the Family Connection Program.
Yes! All you have to do is ask your student to go back online and modify the reservation. They can add your Family Connection reservation to their reservation by updating it online in the "guests" section. Be sure to select a payment option after you are added as a guest. Below is a screen shot of the reservation screen for you to see:
You can review the advisement and placement exam information and encourage them to take their placement exams (if needed) before orientation. Another great way to help your student prepare is to have an open conversation about your expectations of each other. Encourage your student to think about goals that he or she wants to accomplish in school. Thinking about future career goals will also help in determining potential majors for the student. Using this time to truly listen to your student will be a useful exercise in preparing for the upcoming transition that you are about to experience.
Parents can attend the orientation program as a tag team so each parent will attend one day each. The program is also very flexible in case parents have to leave for a meeting, go to the office or just run a few errands.
Students and family members will go through separate programs and therefore only see each other during check-in, in the afternoon of Day One and on Day Two at end of the program during Lobo Lunch. Remind your students that you are there to support them, not to interfere while they are at orientation.
Although we cannot offer on-campus housing to family members or other guests during our program, we have partnered with nearby hotels that offer discounted rates for our participants. Guests from out-of-town can stay at our partner hotel at a discounted rate, at another hotel, or with friends or relatives. The Family Connection Program will recess at 5:00 p.m. on Day One so families can explore Albuquerque. Students will stay late during Lobo Orientation, so they will not be available until the next day (except for Sessions 11 and 12).
Click here for a map of UNM's Main Campus. Look in the mailbox after your student has reserved a spot in orientation for a map specifically for orientation.