For Parenting Students, Campus Support Bolsters Outcomes

Title: Pillars of Support: Results from an Evaluation of the Parenting Students Project at Austin Community College

Authors: May Helena Plumb and Paige-Erin Wheeler

Source: Trellis Strategies

A new report from Trellis Strategies evaluates the impact of the Parenting Students Project (PSP) at Austin Community College (ACC), highlighting the challenges student parents face and the program’s efforts to support them. Data show that students who are parents have high rates of financial and basic needs insecurity. In addition to the demands of being a student with parental responsibilities, these students are more likely to be working.

As part of the United Way for Greater Austin’s PSP initiative, parenting students met monthly with each other, attended seminars about financial wellness and mental health, and received a $500 monthly stipend. Additionally, PSP participants received services in coordination with ACC, such as case managers and childcare scholarships.

The report highlights the positive impact on participants’ academic progress, including a 95 percent term-to-term retention rate and an increased likelihood of taking nine credit hours per semester. A second area of impact was financial wellness, as increased financial stability lowered borrowing and alleviated transportation insecurity through a more flexible schedule. Third, PSP empowered parenting students to be better parents, as well as provided them with scholarships for childcare. Finally, PSP bolstered mental health through an increased sense of community and belonging.

The report also identifies areas for growth and offers the following recommendations:

1. Refine program requirements so that they best support student success. While credit requirements are helpful in moving students forward, parenting students still need some flexibility in enrollment intensity. A participant suggested scaling the number of credits taken to correspond to the stipend so that PSP support is not all or nothing. Participants also expressed a desire to choose some of the seminar topics.
2. Consider areas of need. PSP participants indicated a desire for more flexible childcare options. Some also discussed other forms of support, such as housing resources, cooking classes, and diapers and toys for children. The needs will vary based on the group, so it is important to evaluate what students need.
3. Address different needs for fathers. There was a large disparity between the share of fathers who participated in PSP and the percentage of student parents at ACC who are fathers. While student fathers are more likely to be married and have access to childcare, they are also more likely to have specific mental health challenges and to stop out of college.

Click here for the full report.

—Kara Seidel