Parents Take Note: Cut the Umbilical Cord When the Kid Goes to College!

Specialness in the Registrar's Office today...

Phone Rings
Me: Registration Office, how may I help you?
Mom: Yeah, you have that my daughter hasn't taken the graduation exam. Her name is ...
Me: The exam will be taking place this week if she would like to sign up now.
Mom: She took it in July. I have it written down write here in her planner.
Me: We did offer the exam in July for our summer graduates. Oh, I don't see from our records from the testing center that she took the exam. I don't have any documentation. Did she receive the results in the mail?
Mom: Are you calling my daughter a liar?
Me: Ma'am, I am trying to get some information to figure out this situation. We want your daughter to graduate as much as she does.
Mom: My daughter doesn't lie. In fact, she told me that the test was about math and English. How would she know that without taking the test? You know, you people up there are ALWAYS messing stuff up. My daughter said that other students said you never write the names down of the students taking the test and then this happens.
Me: This is really something your daughter will need to work out with the college. I cannot give out a lot of information.
Mom: That's what her new college says too. But you know, nothing gets fixed until the parents get involved! That's when stuff gets done!
Me: We encourage students to work out any problems as they are now adults.
Mom: She is still my dependent. Now, do you have the date my daughter took the test.
Me: Ma'am, let me call you back and see what I can find out. If your daughter has any other concerns, she may call me.

This same student's father called me about a month ago. He asked why his daughter hadn't graduated. I told him (after stating this should be something between the student and institution) that his daughter applied to graduate the end of the fall term. He said she meant to graduate in the summer and we needed to retroactively graduate her. Hmm... if they had called in the summer, that could have given me some time to contact the daughter and work something out. He then proceeded to tell me that my little college didn't know what it was doing and big colleges don't make students apply for graduation. I responded that all colleges require an application for graduation and indeed it will be required at his daughters senior college. He hung up on me. This could have been resolved by the student without the confrontation.