Three out of four schools likely will have a parental-notification policy within a year, said Joel Epstein, senior attorney for the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. No longer are the policies only being adopted by religious and private colleges. Now bigger schools are getting involved. Congress amended federal confidentiality laws two years ago to give universities the option of telling parents about campus-code violations. Before, schools contacted parents only when drinking or drugs caused serious injury.
Some students question whether colleges are going too far.
They say they should be treated like adults in all aspects of campus life, and that there is no need to involve parents. It's about growing up and dealing with being an adult.'' Anthony Torio, a graduate student at Toledo, agreed that students should be prepared to deal with the consequences and not their parents. A Bowling Green State University study found that notification policies have cut down on alcohol violations, vandalism and other alcohol-related trouble at many campuses. Researchers surveyed nearly 200 colleges and universities and half said notification policies led to a slight or significant reduction in alcohol violations. The survey also found that about one-third of the schools don't tell parents until there is a second offense, said professor Donald Gehring, who conducted the study.