My niece went to uni 2 weeks before Ds, my sister said the house was so quiet and she was grieving the loss. It did not help but it did prepare me. Dh was a wreck, I won't lie. He was upset privately for months. We are very close as a family, spend a lot of time chatting and watching stuff together.
I suppose it comes down to how close you are as a family. "I would not expect daily contact! Once a week if you're lucky" well my niece face times her Mum pretty much daily, is only 1 hour away by train and travels back home loads. It isn't about her not coping and missing home. She is having a very social time at uni, doing great academically but they are close as a family ie my sister, BIL and nephew. But they are also hugely close as a wider family, loads of siblings for BIL, he is one of 6! So massive get togethers all the time.
How it went for Ds, he was happy to text the first week but did not want to speak to us as too homesick and our voices would make it worse. He happily admitted he hated freshers, not a party boy and was eager for actual uni work to start and the routine of it. We have a family discord channel and a me, Dh and Ds1 channel. We update that with what is going on at home ie anything from decorating or things we have watched, just our usual interactions we would have, Ds2 telling him about stuff that happened in school etc so he was kept in the loop. We facetimed every week on a set day at a set time. It was us 3 with Ds for about an hour. We have done this for 2 years. We communicate throughout the week anyway, me and him, him and Dh, him and Ds2. He and Ds2 also game together and chat over headsets.
He comes home once a semester as it is an easy train ride. We have been up to him once which was an emergency situation and we were glad he was so close. I know some parents who don't hear from their children unless they want money. It is very sad especially if they had a close relationship before they left.