UC Davis is more closely embracing part of the campus's family with the launch this week of a pilot project to strengthen communication and ties with the parents of freshman students.

The Aggie Family Pack includes a monthly newsletter distributed by e-mail, a supporting Web site with additional information and resources, and a new parents section in UC Davis Magazine. Prior to Monday's launch, the families of 898 students or 19 percent of the anticipated freshman class had joined The Aggie Family Pack.

"Parents play a critical role in their children's education," says Yvonne Marsh, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs. "We find that parents have become very involved in their student's decision-making around college, and we know from past experience that parents have an interest in supporting their sons and daughters in having a successful college experience."

The project is among proposals from five campuses to receive matching funds from the UC Office of the President in an effort to improve communication with key constituencies, including parents. The UC Davis project, supported by $12,500 from UCOP and $7,500 each from Student Affairs and University Relations, will test the effectiveness of e-mail and the Web in communicating with parents.

Maril Stratton, assistant vice chancellor for public communications, says the more than 4,700 families sending a first-time college-going child to UC Davis this fall may have just a cursory knowledge of the rich experience awaiting their students. "We would really like them and their children to make the most of their experience at UC Davis," she says. "We're hopeful The Aggie Family Pack will offer families the opportunity to connect in a way that hasn't happened before."

Under Stratton and Marsh's leadership, the project team includes representatives from many campus units, ranging from Student Housing and Advising Services to the Department of Athletics and Mondavi Center. Professor Jim Shackelford, director of integrated studies and professor of chemical engineering and materials science, is the academic representative on the team.

Bringing warmth and personal insights to the e-mail newsletter and the parents section of the UC Davis Magazine is writer Marion Franck of Davis, the mother of a college junior and a high-school senior. Currently a local newspaper columnist, Franck has worked closely with UC Davis students as a staff member and lecturer.

Stratton says the magazine section and e-mail newsletter will address timely topics of interest to parents - from educational opportunities such as undergraduate research and the selection of a major to alcohol use among UC Davis students and the housing search for the sophomore year.

The Web site, which, along with the e-mail newsletter, is being produced by staff members in Public Communications, brings together resources of special interest to parents including pages about visiting campus, safety and security, and health and counseling services. Other features include a list of frequently asked questions with answers; a special events calendar; and another calendar to remind parents of such things as deadlines for scholarship applications and residence hall closings for holidays.

Parents attending summer advising were invited to join The Aggie Family Pack, and brochures were mailed to the parents of all incoming freshmen in August. The project also will be promoted in housing areas this weekend when parents will be helping students move into the residence halls.

"I've been pleased to see the response that suggests the Web and e-mail hold promise as effective vehicles for communication," says Stratton, adding that e-mail and the Web can be produced more quickly and less expensively than printed materials.

The project will be evaluated with the assistance of Student Affairs Research and Information. A group of about 200 freshman parents will be surveyed early this fall and again at the end of the academic year regarding their knowledge of, sense of connection with and support for the campus. Their responses will be compared to those of a group of parents of 2001 freshmen, who will also be surveyed. Responses from freshman parents enrolled in The Aggie Family Pack and those who are not will also be compared.

Julia Ann Easley of the News Service is editor of the newsletter and Web site for The Aggie Family Pack.