Just in Case

Maybe it will be a recent phone call or after the quick weekend trip home for a laundry run that ended with your son or daughter very matter-of-factly informing you about a situation they’ve experienced or heard about at school. Whether it was a big deal to them or not, it definitely made an impression on you and made you think to yourself, “Hmm, well, that’s not good.”

So now what?

Well, before we get into that, let me say upfront that it is not my intention to try to tell parents how to parent. As a parent myself, I just want to affirm a few things we all already know. I’m sure we can all agree that one of the indicators of wise parenting is good decisions. We’ve made thousands of decisions over the years regarding our families and have many more to look forward to in the coming years, so I will leave the ratios to you. However, you are obviously already pretty good at decision-making because your son or daughter is a student at The Master’s University, and here you are currently reading an article from the latest TMUfx Parents Newsletter!

So, no matter how information about TMU comes to you (whether formally or informally), there may be times when you’re unsure what to do with that information. Should you just do what Mary did and ponder these things in your heart (Luke 1:29; 2:19) or become one of the Sons of Thunder and proceed directly to DEFCON 3! (Mark 3:17; Luke 9:54) In other words, “How do I know when it’s time to reach out to someone? And when it is time, who do I contact?” Great questions… I’m glad you asked.

I suggest the answer to that question will typically be based on the situation/issue. The “what” will drive the “when.” For example, potentially harmful or dangerous situations require urgent and immediate actions. Examples of less urgent issues that are still just as important to us would be those related to minor health, safety, and well-being type issues. More contemplative issues would be family personal issues, spiritual challenges, financial challenges, academic challenges, and the like. We definitely do not want to leave out the suggestions, feedback, and ingenuity we receive from all of you that we thrive on for innovation and progress.

“Ok, so, when it is time, what do I do, and whom do I contact?”

Here are some thoughts:

1. First, because we are part of the body of Christ, we trust that all actions will be bathed in prayer.
2. Second, visit TMU’s website to look for information regarding the situation. Use the FAQ sections. Use the search box. These great tools created just for you to use will help you navigate the site and hopefully lead you to answers and information on all things TMU.
3. Third, call our help desk at 1-800-568-6248. Our team members serving there are a wealth of information.
4. Fourth, still no joy? Contact me, and I will help you get to the right place. One of my most important responsibilities is to be a fail-safe for you. After you have exhausted all the steps necessary to resolve your issue, if there is still a challenge, one of my roles is to advocate on your behalf. My phone number is 661-362-2254, or you can email me at . (And even if you want to skip all the above and contact me directly, that’s fine as well 😊.)
5. Finally, one of the most important things you can do is the following: If you have not signed up for the FERPA Exemption, do so now. Remember, by law, we are limited in the conversations we can have with you about your student and the sharing of your student’s information without their permission. So, to learn more, go to our FERPA page and discuss gaining this vital access with your student.

Remember, during your student’s tenure at TMU, information will probably come to you from different sources. As mentioned earlier in this article, that information could come during a phone call from your student, or when they’re home for a weekend, it could be an email from the school, it could be overhearing a conversation from others at church, it could even be something on the news or a social media posting, or maybe just plain old fashion gossip.

Whatever the case, here at The Master’s University, we want you to know that you and your family are precious to us because you are precious in the sight of our Lord and Master (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). So, hopefully, going forward, whenever the thought “What are they doing over there?” pops into your mind, this article will help you gain access to the information you seek so you can continue to be the best mentor to your student.