Family Programs
First Years Away from Home:
An EWU Handbook for Families
Upcoming Family Events
Save the Date!
Alumni & Family Day
February 15, 2025
Watch: EWU Family Panel
Hear from EWU experts at one of this summer’s Orientation Sessions. In this panel, consisting of EWU Police, PLUS Tutoring, EWU’s Dean of Students, and a current EWU family member, you will learn how to best support your student throughout their time as an Eagle.
We Want Your Feedback!
Your input as a valued family member and loved one of our current Eagles is important! Please take 10 minutes to fill out this brief intake form.
Eagle Family Hour Recordings
Join the Orientation & Family Programs office, along with Lisa Olson, a Clinical Supervisor in EWU’s Counseling and Wellness Services, and Dr. Russell Kolts, a Professor in EWU’s Psychology Department, to discuss the Winter Blues and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Learn why these conditions occur, how to recognize them, and how to help your student, while still empowering them to self-advocate. With time for Q&A at the end, you can feel confident that this conversation will be encouraging and worthwhile.
Join the Orientation & Family Programs office, along with Dr. Jeff Stafford, a professor in the Communications Department, and EWU’s Career Center to discuss how to support your student in their major exploration and career path journey. The hope is that you as a family member will gain skills to help your student, while still encouraging them to follow their passions.
Join us as we discuss all things credits! What does credit standing really look like? When do students transfer from central advising to being advised in their own college? Nikki Measor from EWU’s Records and Registration Department and Adrian Reyes from the Center for Academic Advising and Retention want to help you answer these questions, and more!
Join us as we discuss what global learning looks like! Kristina Guilfoyle, Director of Global Academic Programs, Gina Petrie, Director of the School of Global Learning, and a panel of students with various study abroad experiences want to answer all of your questions.
Move in days are just around the corner! Learn from Melanie Potts, the Director of Housing & Residential Life, what new students and families can expect that weekend. Also hear from our Orientation & Family Programs team about Welcome Week and how families can get plugged into campus.
Join us and EWU’s Dean of Students, Dr. Samantha Armstrong-Ash, as we hear about how to best support your Eagle this year. Topics include the flu clinic, how to help your student from afar, and when to get involved as a family member.
Consent is an important topic that all college students should be educated on. However, it can be incredibly awkward to discuss- especially with your parents or family. Join our group of panelists, including EWU staff, students, and parents, in a discussion centered around how to have this conversation.
FAFSA was due February 1st…but now what? Join us as we invite representatives from EWU’s Financial Aid office and Financial Wellness team to discuss FAFSA, budgeting tools to teach your student, and on-campus resources.
View our previous Eagle Family Hour conversations with campus experts and current EWU families.
Visiting Your Eagle? View Local Hotels
We can’t make hotel recommendations, but the ones listed below offer a special EWU rate if asked. For more options, head to the Visit Spokane website. Remember, ask about the EWU hotel rate!
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites (Cheney)
509.235.1100 / 800.315.2621
5 minutes from campus
Holiday Inn Express on the Rock (Spokane)
509.328.8505
30 minutes from campus
Northern Quest Resort & Casino
877.871.6772
25 minutes from campus; located in Airway Heights
Oxford Suites Downtown (Spokane)
509.353.9000 / 800.774.1877
25 minutes from campus
Subscribe to the EWU Family E-Blast
As a parent, family, or loved one of an EWU student, you deserve to be in the know! Sign up to get occasional emails from us regarding resources, events, and opportunities!
Our E-Blast will include a blog made to keep parents in the know and newsflashes emailed to you directly with the following information:
- News from the Office for Orientation and Family Programs
- Loved one information
- Information to pass on to your student
- Upcoming campus events
- And more!
Resources
Counseling & Wellness Services
Be WellStudent Accommodations & Support Services
Coordinate AccommodationsEmergency Text Notifications
Stay InformedFinancial Aid & Scholarships
Apply for AidMulticultural Center
Build the CommunityPride Center
Where to Find UsParent of a Greek Student
Information For YouStudent Care Team
Here For Our StudentsStudent Harassment
File a ReportSuggested Reading List for Loved Ones of a College Student
133 Ways to Avoid Going Cuckoo When the Kids Fly the Nest
By Lauren Schaffer and Sandy Feischl Wasserman
A practical and humorous guide to help parents cope with the realities of Empty Nest Syndrome.
Don’t Tell Me What To Do, Just Send Money
By Helen E. Johnson and Christine Schelhas-Miller
When children leave for college, many parents feel uncertain about their shifting roles. With humorous anecdotes and realistic dialogues between parents and students, this guide covers a wide range of issues including financial matters, academic concerns, social adjustment and postgraduate choices. The authors emphasize the importance of being a mentor to your college student.
Empty Nest… Full Heart: The Journey from Home to College
By Andrea VanSteenhouse, PhD
The author chronicles the tumultuous journey from the senior year of high school, through the challenging summer to the first year of college for students. Featuring an emphasis on the freshman experience, the author offers a lighthearted yet savvy look at this turbulent time.
I’ll Miss You Too
By Margo E. Bane Woodacre, MSW, and Stephanie Bane
Woodacre and Bane, a mother and daughter, journey hand-in-hand through the parallel joys and challenges of the college adventure.
Letting Go: A Parents’ Guide to Understanding the College Years
By Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger
This book leads parents through the period of transition that their student experiences between the junior year of high school and college graduation. The authors explain how to distinguish normal development stages from problems that may require parental or professional intervention. It features a resource guide that introduces parents to campus technology, useful websites and other organizations providing information on a wide range of topics.
Parents’ Guide to College Life
By Robin Raskin
This book provides straight answers to questions about what your student will face in the college years. The author talked with deans and other administrators from more than 90 colleges as well as financial advisors, health experts, college students and parents to find out what you should know before sending your student to college.
When Kids Go to College: A Parent’s Guide to Changing Relationships
By Barbara M. Newman and Philip Newman
This guide addresses topics including identity formation, values development, career exploration, social relationships, sexuality, alcohol and drug abuse, romantic relationships, personal freedom and depression, and offers insights regarding how to make the most of your student’s college years.
You Know You’re an Empty Nester When…: A Hilarious Look at Life After Kids
By Dianne Sundby, PhD
Humorously depicts “life after kids” through captivating illustration and incisive one-liners.
You’re on Your Own (But I’m Here if You Need Me)
By Marjorie Savage
This book helps parents identify the boundaries between necessary involvement and respect for their child’s independence.
Not an Eagle yet?
Connect with our Admissions Team to see what your student still needs to do!
Archived Publications
The quarterly newsletter provides parents with useful information to help your student(s) succeed, along with upcoming events and important dates.
- Winter Newsletter (Dec. 15, 2020)
- Spring Newsletter (Mar. 13, 2020)
- Winter Newsletter (Dec. 9, 2019)
- Fall Newsletter (Sept. 13, 2019)
- Spring Newsletter (March 25, 2019)
- Winter Newsletter (Dec. 21, 2018)
- Fall Newsletter (Sept. 13, 2018)
- Spring Newsletter (March 22, 2018)
- Winter Newsletter (Dec. 12, 2017)
- Fall Newsletter (Sept. 14, 2017)
Below is an archive of letters and messages sent to students, parents and families from university leadership.
- Letter to Parents: Thanksgiving and Winter Break 2020 (Nov. 18, 2020)
- Letter to Students: Holiday Break Updates (Nov. 18, 2020)
- Letter to Students: Thanksgiving and Winter Break (Nov. 17, 2020)
- Fall Update (Aug. 13, 2020)
- Letter to Parents & Students (June 2, 2020)
- EWU Career Center, Now and in the Future, We’ve Got You! (May 20, 2020)
- Distributes CARES Act Funding to Students (May 15, 2020)
- Staying Connected with EWU Friends and the Eagle Community (May 8, 2020)
- EWU Supports Your Wellbeing (May 1, 2020)
- Staying Healthy at Home (April 24, 2020)
- Update to Students (April 17, 2020)
- Student Engagement (April 13, 2020)
- Finance in the Time of COVID-19 (April 10, 2020)
- Student Services for Spring Term (March 30, 2020)