Veronica Sera calls her parents three times a day, at least.
The pre-business freshman, who came to ASU from Maryland, said she talks to her mom about everything from family drama and old neighbors to her sorority and STDs.
"I'm always calling her back to say, 'Oh, I forgot to tell you this...,'" Sera said.
But the one thing she doesn't like to talk about is her academic business, which her dad inquires about often, she said.
"It really bothers me," she added. "All my dad says is, 'If you don't do well, you'll pay for it.'"
But no matter how involved parents try to be in their students' college education, it's ultimately up to students how much they can know, thanks to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Kathy McBride, associate registrar at ASU, said the Registrar's Office occasionally receives phone calls from parents concerned about their kids' grades.
ASU is not allowed to disclose information on students under FERPA, which protects the privacy of education records for all schools that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
But FERPA does not protect Jeff Schaninger -- a computer systems engineering freshman who lives at home -- from his mother's interrogation.
"I get the nagging a lot," he said. "It's non-stop."
Schaninger said he usually completes his homework before his mom gets home from work, but she still questions him about it.
"She asks me three times in 30 minutes, 'Have you finished your homework?' 'Are you hungry?' And then it starts all over again," he said.
Schaninger said his mom's constant inquiries into his academics bother him, but it's the only aspect of his college career his family is involved in.
McBride said many parents play a large part in the orientation process for their kids.
To ensure new students make their own decisions, orientation leaders separate parents and students as students register for their first semester of classes, she said.
"We have different activities for parents to do, so students take responsibility for meeting with their advisors," McBride said. "It is different from high school where parents are more involved."
Sera said she and her parents discussed her possible career paths before she trekked to Tempe. But Sera's dad, an investment banker in Chicago, picked her major for her, though she didn't mind.
"He told me that I could have his business if I majored in business," she said. "That's worth it. Besides, what else would I major in?"
Dave Bryan, president of ASU's Parents Association, a group of parents that advocates for the University and awards scholarships, said he has had two children at ASU.
Bryan's son, who graduated last year, and his daughter, a current sophomore, were wary of their father becoming too involved in their lives on campus, Bryan said.
"They were actually concerned mom and dad would be coming on campus and interfering with their lives," Bryan said. "But that wasn't the case at all."
While it is important for students to be independent as they make their way through college, it is also imperative for them to be able to rely on family, Bryan said.
"As a student, you are leaving home and being independent," he said. "But it's still important to know that your parents are behind you."
Sera agreed and said she relies on talking to her mom.
"If I didn't talk to my mom every day, I'd be lost," she said.
Reach the reporter at tara.brite@asu.edu.
