Meredith Hetzer and Miles Verban, “Supporting University Students through Family Engagement”
Mentor: Rachael Jurek, Journalism, Advertising, & Media Studies
Poster #59

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s 2030 Action Plan, a multi-step campus improvement plan, establishes a commitment to supporting students’ academic and personal journey. To uphold this commitment, the UWM 2030 Action Plan team suggests coordinated messaging for student attraction, recruitment, and retention efforts among multiple student support offices and UWM’s Division of Marketing, Communications & University Relations. Robust communication with families of current and prospective students can bolster student support. At some institutions, family communication efforts have contributed to increased recruitment and retention. UWM communicates relevant, non-emergency information to parents of current and prospective students through an online platform called CampusESP. Understanding the capabilities of the platform and the preferences of the people who use it can help UWM decide how to leverage it to support students and their families. Parents of current and prospective UWM students will be surveyed about their communication preferences and knowledge of CampusESP. An analysis of other schools’ use of CampusESP will be conducted. The information collected will inform a report suggesting best practices for supporting students through family communication. The survey will be sent to parents of UWM students via email and the CampusESP platform on April 1, 2024. It is expected that parents will indicate an interest in receiving weekly emails from the university and information about important dates and support services for their student. Analyzing the platform will help in understanding its features and identifying popular content. UWM and other institutions may use the information presented in the report to shape how they engage with students and their families to support the student journey.