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September 2019
Student Parent Success Initiative (SPSI) Update
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NEW IWPR RESEARCH AND RESOURCES:
Voices of Student Parents: “I have a responsibility to keep paving the path for those that come behind me”
More than one in five college students are parents, but student parents are often under-recognized on college campuses. A new post on IWPR’s FemChat blog is the first in a series highlighting the experiences of student parents, including the challenges they face, and the resources and supports that help them succeed. "Education for me is not only upward mobility, but is what allows me to discover and explore a world beyond the one right in front of me."
Briefing Paper: Making “Free College” Programs Work for College Students with Children
In June 2019, IWPR released the briefing paper “Making ‘Free College’ Programs Work for College Students with Children.” The paper provides recommendations on making free college programs equitable and inclusive of student parents given parents’ greater likelihood of attending school part time and their high financial need. Recommendations include: removing restrictive program requirements related to age or full-time enrollment; ensuring that promise programs are helping students meet the full cost of attendance (including non-tuition costs); and providing students with supportive services such as child care assistance, prior learning assessments, and coaching.
Building on this briefing paper, IWPR wrote a blog post for Ed Trust’s Equity Lens Blog highlighting the free college proposals made by several of the 2020 presidential candidates and recommending how they could include students with children.
Selected Coverage:
OpEd: Support Single Mothers in College to Make Education More Equitable for All
IWPR’s Barbara Gault and ECMC Foundation’s Jennifer Zeisler wrote an OpEd for the Stanford Social Innovation Review addressing opportunities for colleges, communities, foundations, and policymakers to increase educational opportunities for single mothers. Educational attainment plays a critical role in promoting economic success and building a more equitable society. Single mothers, however, struggle to access and complete postsecondary education given that 90 percent of single mothers in college have low incomes. To help single mothers in college succeed, Gault and Zeisler recommend considering parenting costs in financial aid and student support strategies, community partnerships, removing work requirements for public assistance, better data collection, and policy change.
Report: Bridging Systems for Family Economic Mobility: Postsecondary and Early Education Partnerships
IWPR released a report providing recommendations for states and institutions to align early and higher education systems for improved student, child, and community outcomes. Written by IWPR’s Barbara Gault and Lindsey Reichlin Cruse, and Rachel Schumacher, independent Early Childhood Policy consultant and former Director of the Office of Child Care for the Administration for Children and Families, the report provides a framework and examples of how institutions, policymakers, and local agencies can implement promising strategies that benefit families, early education systems, higher education institutions, and communities.
Selected Coverage:
Parents in College: By the Numbers
In collaboration with Ascend at the Aspen Institute, IWPR released a fact sheet with updated data on the student parent population. As of the 2015-2016 school year, there were 3.8 million student parents, making up 22 percent of all undergraduates. Roughly 2.7 million (or 70 percent) of student parents are mothers and 1.1 million (or 30 percent) are fathers. Student parents are more likely than students without children to be students of color. The fact sheet also finds that despite facing substantial time demands related to balancing school with parenthood, and serious financial insecurity, student parents have higher GPAs than their counterparts without children.
Selected Coverage:
- One sign the economy is getting better: Fewer parents are going to college, MarketWatch, April 21, 2019
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STUDENT PARENT POLICY UPDATES:
The Basic Assistance for Students in College (BASIC) Act
On July 23, Senator Kamala Harris introduced the BASIC Act to help students afford day-to-day necessities. Co-sponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Elizabeth Warren, the BASIC Act would establish a $500 million competitive grant program to help higher education institutions identify and meet students’ basic needs. The bill includes child care as one of the basic needs that could be covered by the competitive grants.
Pennsylvania Allocates $2.5 Million to a Pilot Program for Single Mothers
In June 2019, Pennsylvania enacted the Parent Pathways Initiative, led by the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Department of Education (PDE), which seeks to establish comprehensive community-specific models to support access to and success in postsecondary education and training for single parents. The departments are currently exploring criteria for distributing the $2.5 million in implementation funding, and plan to award grants through competitive requests for applications in two phases.
Cal Grants for Student Parents
California’s 2019-20 state budget authorizes almost $280 million toward programs to make college more affordable, including $96.7 million in new funding to support student parents. Low-income student parents are eligible to receive up to $6,000 in Cal Grant aid to help cover non-tuition costs including living costs and expenses associated with college enrollment or child care.
New York Pilot Program for Single Parent Intervention
New York’s 2019-20 state budget includes funding for a pilot program to provide tailored supports to single parents attending City University of New York (CUNY) and State University of New York (SUNY) community colleges. The three-year pilot intervention will provide support to 400 student parents through on-campus child care, intensive personalized advising, and educational supports including tutoring, career counseling, and assistance in transitioning to bachelor’s programs.
Selected coverage:
- New York wants to pilot free child care at community colleges, EducationDive, February 26, 2019
- Gov. Cuomo proposing child care program to help single parents attending community college, WKBW Buffalo, February 22, 2019
- Cuomo to Propose Statewide Child Care Program at Community Colleges, Diverse Education, February 22, 2019
- Governor Cuomo Announces 2019 Women's Justice Agenda Proposal to Launch Family Empowerment Community College Pilot Program, governor.ny.gov, February 21, 2019
4 colleges to test expanded resources for single moms
In March 2019, four community colleges were selected for a six-year pilot project by the nonprofit Education Design Lab (the Lab) to explore innovative ways to help single mothers obtain postsecondary credentials. The community colleges selected for the project include: Central New Mexico Community College, in Albuquerque; Delgado Community College, in New Orleans; Monroe Community College, in Rochester, New York; and Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana. Funded by the ECMC Foundation and the Lab, colleges will receive up to $50,000 to implement and launch their project. The project seeks to help increase degree attainment among single mothers at the colleges by 30 percent by 2024.
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OTHER RESEARCH & RESOURCES:
Higher Education: More Information Could Help Student Parents Access Additional Federal Student Aid
On Thursday, September 12, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an extensive report on student parents called, “Higher Education: More Information Could Help Student Parents Access Additional Federal Student Aid.” The report, completed at the request of Senators Patty Murray of Washington and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, finds that, while student parents represent a sizable share of the college student population, they often lack access to affordable child care and other supports that could help them complete school.
In IWPR’s statement on the report’s release, Study Director Lindsey Reichlin Cruse commented, “College students with children make incredible sacrifices of time and money to go to school, but many do not graduate. Ensuring that student parents have the opportunity to receive adequate support for the high cost of attending school while raising a child is vital to meeting national workforce and economic demands, and will benefit future generations of workers, students, and children.”
Selected Coverage:
- Colleges Could Do More To Help Student Parents Pay For Child Care, Watchdog Says, NPR, September 12, 2019
- Federal watchdog: Colleges could do more to help parents pay for child care, Education Dive, September 12, 2019
- Achieving the Dream Convene Stakeholders to Discuss Student Parent Report, Diverse Issues in Higher Education, September 12, 2019
Bridging the Gap: Examining Child Care’s Intersection with Postsecondary Education and Workforce Development
With support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Ford Foundation, the Urban Institute recently published three briefs that examine how child care intersects with postsecondary education and workforce development for low-income parents. “Helping Parents Access Child Care for Education and Training,” offers a framework for state policies and practices around the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). “State Child Care Assistance Policies for Parents in Education and Training” analyzes CCDF state eligibility requirements for parents pursuing education and/or workforce training, finding that the majority of states have additional requirements parents must meet to qualify for CCDF funding. “Do Parents Get Child Care Assistance for Education and Training?” provides the proportion and characteristics of CCDF subsidy recipients who use them to support education and/or training.
No Matter What Obstacle is Thrown My Way
In July 2019, the National College Transition Network released a report documenting program models, service strategies, and institutional and public policies in community college settings to support single mothers and increase their persistence and completion. The report, is part of the Single Mothers’ Career Readiness and Success Project funded by the ECMC Foundation.
College and University Basic Needs Insecurity: A National #RealCollege Survey Report
The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice recently released a report describing the results of the 2018 #RealCollege survey administered at 123 two- and four-year institutions across the United States. Nearly 86,000 students participated in the survey, and the results indicate that parents are more likely than other students to experience basic needs insecurity. Of the 15,093 student with children surveyed, 53 percent faced food insecurity, 66 percent faced housing insecurity, and 16 percent faced homelessness. Among survey respondents overall, 45 percent were food insecure, 55 percent were housing insecure, and 17 percent were homeless in the previous year.
Policy Toolkit: Today’s Students
Higher Learning Advocates published a toolkit that provides policymakers and higher education leaders with recommendations on making federal policy work better for today’s students, who are more diverse in age, race, and income level than any previous generation of college students. The proposes strategies to support students who are working full- or part-time, raising children or caring for family members, or attending college as a first-generation student. To better serve student parents, Higher Learning Advocates recommends that institutions pursue campus child care partnerships and that policymakers increase investment in programs like the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG).
“Keeping us in our place”: Low-Income Moms Barred from College Success
A recent article by Dr. Lisa Dodson and Dr. Luisa S. Deprez, published in Contexts, describes the challenges experienced by single mothers in college. Based on 25 life-history interviews conducted with low-income parents attending college, the authors find that mothers face controlling state policies and university cultures of exclusion that bar them from achieving social mobility. They recommend that aligning state policy and higher education institutions, combined with community resources can help student parents succeed in college.
Back in School: How Student Parents Are Transforming College and Family
A new book by Dr. Fiona Pearson, a professor of sociology at Central Connecticut State University, looks at how students with children navigate cultural norms and access institutional resources, including child care, tutoring, and financial aid. Published by Rutgers University Press, the book also explores how institutional and government policies affect student parents’ access to resources.
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STUDENT PARENTS IN THE NEWS:
IWPR Student Parent Research in the News:
- Federal watchdog: Colleges could do more to help parents pay for child care, NPR, September 12, 2019
- 9 ways student debt is one more thing that's worse for women than men, Business Insider, August 9, 2019
- A Hand Up for Single Mothers, Community College Daily, June 4, 2019
- Universities that are recruiting older students often leave them floundering, The Hechinger Report, May 29, 2019.
- Soon-to-be nurse earns one of the first degrees in Fargo-Moorhead single mother program, West Fargo Pioneer, May 25, 2019
- 'Do They Kick Out Pregnant People?' Navigating College With Kids, NPR, May 2, 2019 How to Pay for College as a Single Mom, U.S. News & World Report, May 2, 2019
- Little Support in the U.S. for College Students Raising Children, PBS News Hour, May 19, 2019
- What’s Really Behind Employers’ Interest in Education? Chronical of Higher Ed, April 23, 2019
- What Single Moms Need to Succeed in College, Inside HighedEd, February 22, 2019
- Single mothers and the assistance they receive from Kent State, Kent Wired, February 9, 2019
The Need for Student Parent Supports:
- The Class of 2019 are more likely to be older and have children, MarketWatch, February 4, 2019
- Demand for Campus Child Care Is Growing. Choosing How to Provide It Can Be Fraught. The Chronical of Higher Education, July 2, 2019
- Colleges Must Do More to Support Nontraditional Students, Noozhawk, June 14, 2019
- Opinion: On-campus child care is a must-have for every university, The Tacoma Ledger, May 15, 2019
- Are Student-Parents Getting the Financial Support They Need? EducationDive, May 14, 2019
- Challenges Facing Student Parents Alleviated by Child Care Services, Xpress, May 14, 2019
- Duckworth Proposes Increased Funding for On-Campus Child Care,The DePaulia, May 13, 2019
- Just 13 percent of child care assistance goes to student parents, The Hechinger Report, May 10, 2019
- Student parents ‘end up feeling like college isn’t for them.’ Here’s the plan to change that,The Fresno Bee, March 6, 2019
- U of I parents balance academics and childcare, NewsChannel ABC 20, February 22, 2018
- Food, Housing and Childcare: Colleges Addressing Basic Needs Are Boosting Success. EDSurge, February 21, 2019
- Ph.D. in Progress, Inside Higher Ed, February 8, 2019
- EDITORIAL: Sac State needs to do more for student parents, The State Hornet, January 23, 2019
Campus Child Care:
- Coverage of CCAMPIS Grantees around the country, including at: Anne Arundel Community College, University of Louisiana at Monroe, and Eastern Kentucky University.
- Gateway to Offer Free Child Care to Students, River City News, August 4, 2019
- PCC parents gain new campus care options for their children, PCC News, July 2019
- SMUD, Sac State, UC Davis partner to open new East Sacramento child care center, The Sacramento Bee, July 24, 2019
- Northeast Iowa Community College offers free day care to students, News7 KWWL, July 18, 2019
- SUU secures final funding for child, family development center, St George News, April 26, 2019
- Children's Place Learning Center at Western Michigan University closing for good, WWMT, April 19, 2019
- Philanthropy makes possible new facilities at Pines of Sarasota, YourObserver, February 26, 2019
- Day care costs more than a house for many parents, if they can even get a spot, NewsBug, February 25, 2019
- UCC may close on-campus daycare center: 'It just totally throws a wrench in everything', 13 KVAL, February 20, 2019
- Clemson University breaks ground on child development center after 46 years of discussions, Independent Mail, February 8, 2019
- New childcare program beneficial to college students, Hilltop Views, February 5, 2019
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