Blog Series: Unpacking the Student Parent Policy Agenda
August 26, 2021
by California Competes
Topics: Affordability, Data Systems, Degree Attainment, Ed Equity, Online Education, Student Parents
Increasing the education level of student parents is vital to California’s future workforce and will enable parents to provide a living wage for their families. This blog series explores what is currently known about student parent participation and success at California’s higher education institutions and examines institutional, state, and federal policies and actions that can support student enrollment and success. The demand for college-educated workers is increasing and demographic projections indicate that the number of high school graduates will decline in the next decade. This combination is a recipe for economic trouble as the state will not have enough educated workers to meet demand. At the same time, the state is becoming more unaffordable for people in underpaid jobs. Increasing the number of parents with a postsecondary degree or credential can improve their economic stability while also meeting our state’s workforce demand.
Student parents face challenges to enrolling and achieving success in higher education. Barriers to success include finding affordable housing, access to affordable childcare, affording groceries and transportation, inflexible course schedules, demands on parental time from their own children, and working excessive hours. Currently, the state and institutions do not collect adequate data on student parents to understand the pressure points they face and what support systems would be the most beneficial.
Institutions can become more student-parent friendly by increasing the supportive services that are targeted at parents such as on-campus daycare, food pantries, and family-friendly housing. Colleges can also adopt more flexible pathways through education; making courses available on evenings and weekends, increasing the availability of online courses, and ensuring that transfer students do not have to repeat coursework are just a few examples of practices that support parents. State and federal policymakers also have a role in supporting student parents through policies like increasing the number of subsidized childcare programs, subsidizing wages for childcare workers, and reducing barriers to entry for federal and state assistance programs for low-income students. This series demonstrates that there are many ways to support student parents along their higher education journey and that this effort is an economic and social imperative for the state.
Student Parents Policy Agenda and Blog Series
A Policy Agenda for California Student Parents
California Competes |
August 26, 2021
As California’s public higher education system shifts to better address the needs of today’s college students, who are often juggling work and academic obligations, the segments must not overlook the growing number of student parents—which must also include pregnant students, students on parental leave, and others with dependent care responsibilities.
Expanding Pathways for Student Parents: A Policy Agenda to Meet the Needs of Student Parents
California Competes |
August 26, 2021
This blog post examines barriers student parents face to entry and success in higher education and argues that increasing their educational attainment can result in benefits to students and families and also to the state, since demand for college educated workers is accelerating. The post explores current data on student parents and what is known and unknown about their participation in each of the higher education systems in California.
The Landscape of Parenting Students: An Incomplete Picture of the Challenges Student Parents Face to Educational Success
California Competes |
August 26, 2021
This second blog post examines the current landscape of student parents in higher education, the role student parents can play in increasing educational attainment in the state, and the barriers they face to success. This post also highlights current data collection on parenting students and how enhanced data collection could help us better understand the needs of parenting students.
Institutional Changes to Ease the Path for Student Parents
California Competes |
August 26, 2021
The prior blog posts in this series outlined how student parents face barriers to entry and success in higher education and how inadequate data collection creates challenges in understanding their needs. This post examines institutional practices that can create a more student-parent friendly environment.
State and Federal Strategies to Improve Higher Educational Attainment of Student Parents
California Competes |
August 26, 2021
This last blog post in the series looks at actions state and federal policy makers can take to foster the inclusion and success of student parents. Holistically supporting parents as they complete their education will lead to better personal outcomes for students and their families and bolster the state’s economy by increasing the education level of the workforce.
This blog series was authored by Darcie Harvey and made possible by support from Tipping Point. We are grateful to the insight and many helpful suggestions provided by external reviewers: Carolina Ramirez, Ed Trust-West; and David Croom, Aspen Institute. All errors are our own.
