Student Parent Success Initiative
Meeting the demands of an evolving economy requires a skilled workforce that is adequately prepared to fill in-demand jobs. Earning a postsecondary credential is, therefore, more important than ever for families to achieve economic security and mobility. For the roughly four million college students who are parents of children under 18—70 percent of whom are mothers—earning a degree or certificate is a pathway to a better life for themselves and their families. These student parents, however, are often overlooked on college campuses and in the broader system of higher education, and lack access to the supports, such as affordable, high-quality child care, that they need to successfully graduate.
IWPR’s Student Parent Success Initiative conducts research and policy analysis, provides technical expertise and assistance, and communicates its research and builds partnerships to lift up the voices of students with children and increase equity in higher education for student parents and other underserved student populations.
Understanding the Student Parent Experience: The Need for Improved Data Collection on Parent Status in Higher Education
Data on students’ parent status would help campuses, higher education systems, and policymakers assess needs, target supports and services, understand student outcomes, and measure what works to promote student parent enrollment, persistence, and completion.
Head Start College Partnership to Promote Student Parent Family Success: A Roadmap for Collaboration
Collaboration between colleges and Head Start programs holds promise for promoting the educational and economic well-being of college students with young children.
Prioritizing Student Parents in COVID-19 Response and Relief
Nearly four million U.S. undergraduate college students are parents or guardians of children under the age of 18. These student parents, who already faced immense financial, child care, food, and housing insecurity before the COVID-19 pandemic, are now dealing with multiple new barriers, including school closures, lay-offs, and child care disruptions, among other challenges.
Bridging Systems for Family Economic Mobility: Postsecondary and Early Education Partnerships
DOWNLOAD REPORT About this Report Promoting family economic security and mobility requires collaboration across key systems that serve families. This report describes opportunities for the early childhood and higher education systems to support each other’s key goals for system advancements to increase economic [...]
STUDENT PARENTS IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: Heightened Need & the Imperative for Strengthened Support
Nearly four million undergraduates, or more than one in five college students, are parents of children under 18. These student parents face—in normal times— disproportionate economic insecurity, difficulty meeting basic needs, and significant time and caregiving demands. Yet, in spite of these challenges, they are also incredibly resilient.
Improving Success in Higher Education through Increased Access to Reproductive Health Services
Pregnancy and childbearing have implications for a number of economic and social outcomes, including educational attainment (Sonfield et al. 2013). Yet young people are often left without the knowledge and tools to make informed reproductive health decisions. The majority of adolescents and young adults are sexually active but many hold incorrect or limited information about how to effectively avoid unintended pregnancies.