Summer orientation/registration is a staple at flagship (and other public) U’s. I don’t remember if they had a parent version at UW (Madison) back in the early '70’s because I came from a suburb. It was worth it to do the parent version with son despite frequent trips to campus over the years and my experiences. Non-helicopter parents (kid wouldn’t let us if we tried). Saw U of M-twin cities example in that article. Highly recommended for all parents- especially since they gave out info kids would never tell parents that was good to know. SOAR was separate for students and parents- even the same dorm housing and most meals were far apart.
This is related to the dumb things parents do when dropping off kids thread. How long to stay does depend on whether all events are at that time or if parents had the summer visit to see the campus et al. It also relates to where the majority of students come from- a drive or nee4ded flight.