Welcome, Parents and Families!

The resources below will help you access key college resources, get involved with the college, and remind your student where to go for answers.

Have a question that isn’t answered here? Contact us at parents@bates.edu or 207-786-6242. Our working hours are 8 am-4:30 pm Eastern.

How does the Bates Parent Team work with families?

The Office Parent Giving and Engagement is part of the Office of College Advancement, and we work with families in three main areas:

  • Resource connector: As you work to support your student, we can help answer a number of general questions. If you have a specific concern or detailed question, we can put you in touch with resources in other areas of the college that help your students as they develop agency for navigating their life at Bates.
  • Volunteer opportunities: Current families are important members of the wider Bates network. Volunteering is a great way to build your own relationship with Bates and to connect with fellow parents. We’d love to help you find a role that is meaningful for you.
  • Giving to Bates: Many families choose to make Bates a philanthropic priority each year. We are happy to talk with you about how your support of the Bates Parents Fund is critical to the Bates experience, or about how you can support an area of Bates that is important to you.

What kinds of communication can I expect to receive from Bates?

Unless you have opted out, you will generally receive these electronic updates from the college or from our office:

  • Parent Email Updates – These emails go to current families about four times per year and highlight topics of particular interest to parents, such as supporting students in getting to and from campus, any changes to campus visitor protocols, and ways families can connect with one another. Each year, there are also class-specific email updates that go with more frequency to our first-year families (to help you know about upcoming deadlines that require action by your student) and to senior class families (as Commencement approaches).
  • Invitations to Bates events – Whether local, virtual, or large-scale campus gatherings, events are a wonderful way to stay connected to Bates and to build your own Bates network with other families. If you are interested in hosting a parent event, please let us know – we’d love to work with you.
  • Bates News – This weekly email update, produced by our colleagues in the Communication Office, is an informative, engaging look at all things Bates.

Depending on your connection to other Bates offices, you may also receive emails from the College Store about periodic sales, team updates from your student-athlete’s coaches, or a weekly overview of Bates athletics. You will also receive a range of mailed outreach from the college, including the popular Bates Magazine.

Will I get the same updates that my student does?

At Bates, the standard practice is to update the campus community – students, faculty, and staff – about events and routine happenings as well as about any unusual issues that directly pertain to moving around the campus. This gives students the agency to make the best choices for themselves in the moment – whether to attend a lecture or gathering, whether to avoid a particular route through campus, or whether to avail themselves of time-sensitive resources.

When there are issues that reflect broad changes in how Bates operates – such as our frequent pandemic-related updates to families during the last two academic years – the college communicates with families as well so they can provide guidance to students as they consider their options.

Staying in touch with Bates