A national audio conference will be held tomorrow for all faculty about the increased involvement parents have in their children’s lives.

They are called helicopter parents, according to Higher Ed Hero, a division of Progressive Business Audio Conferences that specializes in high-quality conference programs for higher education professionals across the United States. By hovering over their college students’ lives in dorms, classrooms and administrative offices, parents are more involved in their children’s’ lives than ever before, according to Higher Ed Hero.

The conference is open to all faculty from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.

Pat Somers, associate professor of higher education at the University of Texas at Austin, and Jim Settle, vice president for student affairs at Shawnee State University, will speak about how to handle helicopter parents and how to manage difficult questions and concerns. They will also address ways for faculty to encourage positive parent behavior.

Once the speakers complete their portion of the conference, faculty members across the country will be able to take part in a question and answer session. A reservation is not necessary for faculty to attend.

Greg Jarvie, associate vice president of student affairs and dean of students, said this is a generation of parents who are actively involved in their son’s and daughter’s lives.

“We need to understand this relationship and work with parents and students regarding this phenomenon,” he said.

Jarvie said this concept of increasing parent involvement has become popular in the last couple of years.

“I’m excited because I think this is something we all need to get a handle on,” he said. “We need to understand as college administration the dos and don’ts.”

Contact student life reporter Brittany Wasko at [email protected].