1. Get on the family channel
The Porter Family newsletter covers academic dates, housing and financial milestones, and conversations worth having at each point in the year. Encourage your student to activate their Porter email — it is the official channel and staff cannot substitute for it.
2. Understand privacy
Federal law (FERPA) limits what employees can share about a student's record without the student's written consent. Staff can still explain policy, hear a concern, and connect a family with emergency resources. Your student can set up authorized access in MyPorter.
3. Know the pressure points
Expect wobbles around the sixth week, midterms, registration, and the first long break. The most useful thing you can do is encourage your student to contact resources — advising, the counseling center, the dean's office — directly and early.
Start here
Who to talk to
Parent & Family Programs
Founders Union 210 · (715) 555–0134 · families@uwporterfalls.edu
Dean of Students
(715) 555–0234 · deanofstudents@uwporterfalls.edu
For anything not listed, the full directory has every office.
Common questions
My student won't tell me their grades — why can't you?
By law we need the student's written consent to discuss their record. They can grant you access in MyPorter; the conversation about doing so is a good one to have together.
Who do I call if I'm worried about my student?
The Dean of Students office. They can do a welfare check and connect your student with support even when they cannot share details back.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. The offices, steps, dates, and contacts described here are invented; nothing on this page is a real process you can complete.