ACUHO-I News Blog

Virginia Tech will now notify parents of students under 21 who are disciplined for any alcohol violation. Previously, the institution only notified parents in serious instances (drunken driving, hospitalization due to excessive drinking) or after two violations. Some parents complained of being caught off-guard when  second incident resulted in sanctions, as they had been unaware of the first violation. Now any drug or alcohol-related violation will lead to an unpleasant conversation with the folks back home.

Virginia Tech officials say the move is welcomed by parents, as partners in their student’s well-being, but, shockingly, students aren’t happy about it. While the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act restricts how much an institution can tell parents about their adult children, there’s an exception for drug- and alcohol-related incidents for students under 21. In these instances, institutions can set their own policies.

How does your institution manage this tricky situation? Have you made changes to your policies because of parents’ requests or legal issues? Are you considering doing so?

Tags: Alcohol

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 8:00 am and is filed under Students. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.