UNA Launches Family Portal
Aug. 10, 2023
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – Family members of University of North Alabama students have a new resource available this fall: the UNA Family Portal. The online portal is designed to offer resources and information to families that can be used to help their students succeed academically, grow personally, maintain their health and well-being, and, ultimately, graduate and feel prepared to enter the workforce. The Family Portal is a personalized one-stop shop for information about the University that also includes important deadlines and dates as well as campus resources.
“UNA is entrusted to be a partner with families in their student’s experience, and our new initiative is based on research of top national trends in family engagement,” said Dr. K.C. White, Vice President for Student Affairs. “More than 300 institutions have used this resource and have found that having a communications plan that sends timely, informative content to families on a regular basis aids in having the knowledge of resources, activities, and services to support students.”
The start of the academic year, which begins Aug. 16, brings with it lots of new information, which can feel overwhelming, especially to first-year students. White said the portal provides details and insights that are valuable to family members who want to help their student succeed.
“Student retention is higher with family engagement, and the ultimate goal is to become a UNA graduate who is actively engaged during their experience and upon graduation,” she said. “Our collective work will aid in that goal.”
Martina Winston, a parent of a first-year UNA student, Jada, said the portal is already proving to be a valuable resource as she gets and stays connected with the University.
“I’ve loved learning about the upcoming events and activities to keep students active and engaged,” she said. “It definitely helps to provide parents with a sense of comfort knowing that the University has options for students to meet new friends and get plugged in. As a very involved parent in the past, the parent portal keeps my mind at ease knowing that the University has taken a proactive approach to help keep parents connected, and I love that.”
Family engagement is critical to student success, according to Minnette Ellis, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students and Interim Chief Diversity Officer.
“Family engagement and creating a partnership with family members is an integral part in helping students reach their definition of success,” she said. “The UNA Family Portal is a cross-campus collaboration that hopes to connect family members to UNA resources. UNA strives to provide a network of resources to students, and, by engaging students in those resources, we how to provide them with wraparound support.”
Family members/guardians of enrolled UNA students can get involved in a variety of online communities based on their and their students’ needs. The portal can be joined at una.edu/family.About The University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering credential, certificate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs in the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. The first-choice University for more than 10,000 on-campus and online students, UNA is on a bucolic campus in Florence, Alabama, part of the historic and vibrant Shoals region. Lions Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I’s ASUN Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/