Two-generation (2Gen) strategies aim to assist parents and their children advance together as a unit. The programs create opportunities that enable families to develop and benefit from each other’s advancements. The 2Gen approach requires that both parents and children receive affordable access to quality educational resources. When young parents pursue college degrees, it results in better job opportunities while providing their children with strong early learning benefits and encouraging higher education pursuits in the next generation, which enhances long-term family financial stability.
Today’s Student Parent Population
The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study indicates that 22 percent or one in five college students hold parental responsibilities. The student-parent population consists of approximately 2.7 million mothers, who represent 70 percent, and 1.1 million fathers, who make up 30 percent of the 3.8 million student-parents. In the 2015–16 academic year, colleges enrolled 1.7 million single student mothers, who represented 43 percent of the student-parent population. Single mothers make up 62 percent of college student parents, whereas married fathers represent 61 percent of college student parents. College fathers show a 1.6 times higher probability of being married than being single, while college mothers exhibit a 1.6 times greater likelihood of being single instead of married.
The proportion of college students who parented decreased by 15 percent from 2011–12 to 2015–16, while the total count of these students fell by 20 percent during those years. The student-parent population experienced a more precipitous decline than the overall undergraduate enrollment, which decreased by 6 percent during the same period.
Multiple factors contribute to the decline of parenthood among college students. The decline in unemployment after the Great Recession, together with escalating tuition rates and significant non-tuition expenses, including childcare, rent, and commuting fees, represent some key challenges. Parents experienced financial pressures that made full-time employment appear more attainable than a college education. The shutdown of more than 100 for-profit schools between 2012 and 2016 probably affected enrollment numbers for student parents. For-profit schools experienced a 39 percent decline in student-parent enrollment during this period which was the highest reduction across any institution type, while community colleges saw a 25 percent decrease, and public four-year schools reported a 12 percent decline.
The largest percentage of student parents choose to attend community colleges since 42 percent of them are enrolled in these institutions. Student parent attendance at private for-profit institutions stands at 18 percent, and public four-year institutions at 17 percent. The final group of student parents attend private nonprofit four-year colleges (13 percent) or enroll at multiple types of institutions (10 percent).
Student parents primarily attend community colleges, but their numbers differ across educational institutions. Forty-five percent of students at for-profit colleges are parents, while single mothers represent 39 percent of that group. Student parents represent 26 percent of the student body in community colleges.
Data shows that student parents are more frequently students of color when compared to students without children. Among non-parent students, 46 percent identify as students of color but student parents show a slightly higher rate, with 51 percent identifying as students of color. The highest percentage of college parents exists among Black students, who constitute 33 percent overall, while two out of every five Black women enrolled in college have children. Parenting rates for American Indian/Alaska Native students reach 29 percent, whereas Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students reach 30 percent, and over one-third of women in these groups have become mothers. Hispanic and White college students share a 21 percent parenthood rate, while multiracial students reach 20 percent, with Asian students trailing at 13 percent.
Student parents tend to be older in age compared to their peers who do not have children. Student parents have a median age of 32 which is higher than the 27 median age of independent students without children and the 20 median age for dependent students. Student parents who are 30 years old or older account for about 60 percent of the student-parent population. A quarter of student parents are aged between 24 and 29, while 15 percent fall in the 15 to 23 age bracket. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander student parents have the highest likelihood of being above 30 years old at nearly 75 percent, while Hispanic student parents maintain a median age of 30 years old. The median age of married student parents stands at 34, while single student parents have a median age of 30.
The majority of student parents, which accounts for 80 percent, have either one or two children. More than half of student parents (53 percent) have children who are preschool-age or younger. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian/Alaska Native student parents tend to have children who are six years old and above. Asian student parents demonstrate the highest likelihood of having younger children at 64 percent, which is followed by multiracial student parents at 56 percent, then Hispanic student parents with the same percentage, and White student parents at 53 percent.
High College Debt Among Student Parents
Family responsibilities and financial pressures lead student parents to accumulate greater debt than their non-parenting peers because they frequently enroll in for-profit colleges. Students who were parents during the 2015–16 academic year had a median debt of $6,500, which was over two and a half times higher than the $2,500 median debt faced by students who did not have children. Single mothers are the most frequent borrowers among mothers. Student mothers accumulated a median debt of $8,300 during that academic year, whereas single mothers incurred $9,500 in debt. Single mothers carried a median debt of $9,500, which was 2.7 times greater than the $3,500 median debt of women without children.
Black student parents among all racial and ethnic demographics accumulate the highest levels of debt. On average, they owe $18,100. The average debt load sits at $13,500 for students overall and decreases to $13,100 for White student parents and further to $10,400 for Hispanic student parents.
Student Parents Earn Better Grades than Other Student Groups
A large number of student parents attend higher education institutions with the goal of building improved futures for their offspring. Student parents tend to achieve higher academic results than their peers even though they experience significant challenges. One-third of students who have children maintain GPAs of 3.5 and above. Independent students who do not have children reach this academic level at 31 percent, while dependent students achieve it at 26 percent.
Promoting Student Parents’ College Success
The success of student parents who are students of color in college serves as a fundamental step towards achieving racial and ethnic equity in education. Achieving state and national educational targets requires an increase in the adult population with postsecondary degrees.
Student parents need access to both affordable and quality child care as the fundamental step to improving their college outcomes. Access to childcare services increased student parents' likelihood of graduating on time by more than three times, according to research findings. Other supports that make a difference include:
Academic coaching
Affordable housing for families
Emergency financial assistance
Mentorship and peer networks
Mental and physical health services
Student parents can complete their college education and establish long-term financial stability for their families through these combined resources.
Mary Watson
