Student Parents’ Access to Campus Child Care Continued to Decline in 2015

The 4.8 million parents enrolled in college perform a complicated balancing act.1 According to new IWPR analysis, availability of campus child care continued to decline in 2015, with just under half of public four-year institutions providing campus child care services, down from a high of 55 percent in 2003-05 (Figure 1). At community colleges, where the largest share of parents are enrolled, only 44 percent report having an on-campus center, down from over half (53 percent) in 2003-04 (Figure 1).2 Given the importance of higher education to a family’s economic security and their children’s future success, ensuring that student parents have access to affordable, quality care must be a priority for educational institutions, higher education advocates, and policymakers.