by Alison Griffin
One in five college students is a parent, according to an Aspen Institute initiative on postsecondary education.
These learners are balancing two demanding worlds: the challenge of managing coursework and classroom deadlines while also meeting the needs of their children, often with little sleep and few breaks.
Even in the open access, low-cost community college sector, it is difficult to retain students with childcare responsibilities. A 2023 studyconducted by New America and Lake Research Partners revealed that students with children face challenges with work and caregiving that threaten completion of a credential. Those student parents who are successful are often provided financial support, child care access, and connections to basic needs programs. For student parents, leaving higher education before earning a credential has shown to have a detrimental effect on economic mobility and the creation of a college-going culture in families.
Student parents navigate a complex balancing act that demands new attention from policymakers, higher education leaders and community advocates to ensure they – and their children – can successfully navigate a future that includes postsecondary education success.
The Hidden Struggles of Student Parents
Nearly 4 million students, or 22% of all undergraduates, are raising children while attending college, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. A deeper look at the student-parent population reveals that women make up more than 70% of student parents and just over half, 51%, are Black, Hispanic or Native American.
Yet, the needs of these students often remain overlooked or unresolved in traditional campus settings.
Last spring, Three Frame Media released a docuseries entitled, “Raising Up: A Student Parent Film Series,” which investigates the barriers student parents face when pursuing higher education and profiles the campus and community leaders who are supporting them and helping to create generational impact.
“By elevating the personal stories of student parents, as well as the ways in which many forward-thinking institutions are taking action to support these learners, we wanted to highlight the path forward for policymakers and institutional leaders eager to ensure that the promise of higher education is within reach for student parents and their families,” said Jaye Fenderson, a former college admissions officer, award-winning filmmaker and co-director of Raising Up.
As Fenderson found during her interviews with student parents, the challenges faced by this cohort of learners are multifaceted. Balancing coursework with childcare responsibilities, managing financial pressures, and dealing with time constraints are just a few of the hurdles student parents must overcome. Many of these students report feeling isolated on campus, struggling to find peers who understand their unique situation.
“Student parents are some of the most driven learners you’ll find, but the lack of institutional support makes it incredibly difficult for them to thrive, and they often feel like they exist in the margins of campus life,” said Amber Angel, program officer at ECMC Foundation, which launched a five-year $10 million Single Mother Student Success Initiative in 2021 and recently announced its updated grant-making strategy for single-mother student parents. “Many institutions aren’t even aware of how many student parents they have on campus because most colleges aren’t collecting the data. That sense of invisibility only compounds the struggles these students already face and reinforces the perception that they don’t belong.
The Impact of Supportive Policies
Research shows that when provided with adequate support, student parents not only succeed but often outperform their peers. Their motivation, coupled with the right resources, can lead to impressive academic achievements and improved outcomes for their families.
However, the current support systems in many colleges and universities fall short. Childcare facilities on campuses are often limited, non-existent or under-resourced. Financial aid packages often do not account for the full cost of raising a child while studying. Inflexible class schedules and attendance policies can create additional stress for those juggling parental duties with academic responsibilities.
“We know student parents are facing barriers to entry that are challenging, but not insurmountable,” said Chastity Lord, president and CEO of Jeremiah Program, a nonprofit that has been advocating for a two-generational strategy in support of student parents for 27 years. “For example, we found at one institution, student parents – mostly mothers – who declared a major in the sciences were required to participate in labs. Those labs started at 7:30 in the morning. Do you know what is not open before 7:30 in the morning – most childcare centers. Those student parents are changing their majors from a pathway that leads to a high salary profession because of an outdated campus policy that keeps them from being able to leverage childcare.”
Calls for Change: What Can Be Done?
To address challenges faced by student parents, policy leaders and higher education administrators need to implement comprehensive strategies that recognize and support student parents.
The Today’s Students Coalition (TSC) is a group of the nation’s leading policy and advocacy member organizations, affiliates and student advocates united to champion federal policy changes that better serve today’s students. For the last four years, TSC and its member organizations have supported a Congressional Resolution that recognizes September as Student Parent Month. This year, U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced a resolution honoring and recognizing the millions of student parents on college and university campuses.