A Leadership Imperative: Postsecondary Success for Parents Launches Its Next Phase

David Croom | September 29, 2022 | Aspen Postsecondary Success for Parents

More than half of the nearly 4 million student parents in the U.S. are students of color, with Black, Native, and Latino students among the most likely to be raising children while in college. In fact, one-third of all Black college students in the U.S. are parents. When higher education is not designed with parents in mind, these are the students – and potential students – who are most affected. 

David and his grandmother, Anne Marie, at Jackie’s college graduation.

Since joining Ascend at the Aspen Institute to launch the Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative back in 2018, I‘ve been motivated by my immediate family and their journey. I grew up in the back of a college classroom, tagging along as my mom worked to get her degree. My mother, Jackie Croom, decided to go back to school after I was born. She was a secretary at a large information technology firm and wanted something more. As many student parents do, she started at community college – Miami Dade (Community) College – and then transferred to Florida International University to get her bachelor’s degree in business administration.  

Although student parents like my mom are a large and diverse group, they all have one thing in common: a desire to make a better life for themselves and their families. Student parents are distinctly aware of the difference attaining a college degree can make in their family’s future. Whether in individual stories or in surveys, student parents consistently demonstrate their determination to complete a degree, often evidenced by achieving better grades than students without children. But despite their talent and commitment, less than half of student parents get the credentials that they seek.

Either due to resource constraints or a lack of awareness, higher education institutions often leave student parents behind. And for institutions working to improve access and equity, neglecting student parents makes their task impossible.

Taking Action to Increase Student Parent Success

Since 2018, we’ve worked to make the case that not only are student parents worthy of investment, investing in their success is key to a better future for all of us. Now, we’re launching our next, expanded phase of work to achieve systemic change for student parents.

In this next phase, our main goal is to establish a shared priority within and across postsecondary systems to increase attainment rates for parents through solutions that are parent-informed, have potential to scale, and will lead to high-quality learning and family well-being. With an expanded agenda focused on effective movement building, engaging parent expertise, shaping institutional practice, and pursuing systems and policy change, we want to channel increasing interest in addressing the needs of student parents toward concrete action that give parents a better chance of success.

Building on Progress: Why the Moment for Student Parent Success is Now

Here’s what we have learned about achieving change for student parents that lights our path ahead:

Postsecondary systems need an imperative – a deeper understanding, more resources, and a specific attainment goal – to support parents. One of the biggest hurdles in making the case for more support for student parents is a lack of data. Most institutions don’t track the parenting status of their students, a practice that quite literally renders student parents invisible. Encouraging more institutions to capture data on their parenting students has been a key priority for the broader movement – and we are beginning to see real impact. Oregon was the first state to require all of its postsecondary institutions to track parenting data, an effort driven by Ascend Parent Advisor and student parent advocate Michaela Martin. Illinois has since followed suit, with more states expressing interest. (Listen to Michaela share her story on the 1 in 5 podcast.)

Although COVID-19 wrought havoc on parents’ ability to stay enrolled, the pandemic also brought newfound attention to parenting and caregiving. Relief and recovery bills sent a significant infusion (billions) of federal resources into colleges. These funds – often aimed at supporting first-generation students, students of color, and those with low-incomes, groups that are also disproportionately student parents – can and should be targeted to student parent success. 

Increased attention to racial inequities in higher education creates an opening to center student parents in equity conversations. Due to the events leading up to and after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, many systems, such as higher education, have been revisiting their histories and connections to perpetuating racial disparities. Student parents are primarily women of color – 40% of all Black women in college are mothers – and investing in their success addresses entrenched gender and racial inequities that many institutions have committed to tackling. With three in four Black mothers serving as breadwinners for their families, investing in Black women is an investment in future generations.

A broader sector of postsecondary providers need to see themselves as part of the student parent equation. Currently, student parents are seen narrowly as an “access” population  which offers a limiting frame for understanding such a large and diverse group of students. Although the majority of student parents are enrolled in community college, nearly one in three attend a four-year college or university, a number that has increased over time. Community colleges know that many of their students are parents, and have demonstrated a deep desire to support their success, but more selective institutions drive the media and policy attention that can generate the investment needed to redesign higher education to be more family friendly. In addition, parents are highly motivated to develop critical skills so they can enter careers that allow them to make a better future for their families, but workforce development programs are often not designed with them in mind.  As so many higher education institutions confront enrollment and completion challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, broadening the frame on parents can help more selective institutions and workforce providers see student parents as a priority population.

Harnessing this Moment: Our Strategy to Transform Higher Education for Student Parents

Building on PSP’s growing field-level momentum, trusted relationships, and track record, our work is an explicit, unwavering, and unapologetic call to action for parents’ postsecondary success and economic mobility. 

Here’s how our expanded commitment to student parent success will advance change for student parents:

Movement Building – We will move the field toward a more explicit focus on attainment for student parents by establishing an imperative. We will also continue to produce useful resources that equip student parent champions with the tools they need to make the case for action and investment, including Season 2 of Ascend’s highly rated “1 in 5” podcast, which explores the compelling, multidimensional stories of student parents as they navigate school, work, parenting, and life. (Listen to season one and subscribe now.)

Systems and Policy Change – We will push the federal government, key state agencies/legislatures, counties, and cities to take concrete action. Through the Ascend Policy Acceleration Partnerships, public entities representing various cities, counties, and states commit to increasing economic mobility and well-being for students who are parents.

Parent Engagement and Expertise – Parent stories, voices, and experiences will continue to be the foundation for our movement. Our new cohort of 11 Parent Advisors, will help shape Ascend’s expanded agenda to improve higher education policy and practice for student parents. From New York City to North Dakota and beyond, these Parent Advisors reflect the varied experiences and dreams of the one in five college students raising children. Parent Advisors will also have decision-making roles in the Parent-Powered Solutions Fund, a student parent-led fund dedicated to advancing the work of organizations and initiatives that support student parents’ postsecondary success.

Institutional Practice – We will elevate student parent success among college leaders while prioritizing resources for the most under-resourced institutions. The Black and Native Family Futures Fund is a newly launched capacity building fund that will provide financial support and expert technical assistance to selected Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) campuses that are committed to improving the success of their student parents. We will also release an institutional playbook from our Postsecondary Leadership Circle in the coming months. 

When a student parent succeeds, we know that the ripple effects echo for generations. As Angelina Kerry, a student mother from Boston, said, “When I sat down with my kids and I told them, mommy’s planning to go back to school…I said, the same way you guys are learning, mommy is going to learn and, show you guys that if mommy can do it, you guys can do it.” I know she’s right because that was my story too – and the story of many children, who pursued college because their parents showed them they could.

Together with parents and partners, we seek no less than the transformative change that student parents show us on a daily basis that they deserve – and that we all will benefit from. 

Related Posts

Photo of Generation Hope's Nicole Lynn Lewis with her five children
Today, Nicole Lynn Lewis is an accomplished author, CEO of Generation Hope, and mother of five. But she didn’t always feel a sense of stability and pride. When she arrived on campus with her three-month old daughter, she instantly felt out of place and didn’t know who to turn to for help. Her feelings of …

‘1 in 5’ Season 2 Episode 7: Learn About Generation Hope Read More »

Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsMarch 28, 2023
Today, Ascend at the Aspen Institute (Ascend) released the second season of “1 in 5,” its highly rated podcast that explores the multifaceted lives of the one in five college students raising children.
Press ReleasesMarch 20, 2023
Photo of Dominique Baker seated with her two sons outside their home
Dominique Baker married her high school sweetheart and planned to pursue a degree in social work, but her first semester in college proved to be both financially and mentally exhausting. As her family grew and Dominique took stock of the things she wanted for herself and her two children, she made the decision to leave …

‘1 in 5’ Season 2 Episode 6: Meet Dominique Baker Read More »

Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsMarch 19, 2023
Today, Ascend at the Aspen Institute announced that eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) have joined its Black and Native Family Futures Fund.
Press ReleasesDecember 13, 2022
Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin was taught to always take care of those around her, but didn’t always see education as a way of doing so After dropping out of school and later finding herself incarcerated and pregnant, Yolanda became determined to change the course of her life. Once she was released, Yolanda focused on establishing a relationship …

‘1 in 5’ Season 2 Episode 5: Meet Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin Read More »

Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsDecember 1, 2022
Drayton Jackson experienced homelessness for almost 20 years. Today, Drayton utilizes his lived experience to advocate for others in a similar position—but it wasn’t always easy adjusting to having a seat at the table. Drayton, now the father of eight, is setting boundaries and goals for himself to achieve a healthy work-life balance. Along with …

‘1 in 5’ Season 2 Episode 4: Catching up with Drayton Jackson Read More »

Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsDecember 1, 2022
1 in 5 Student Parent Podcast
Soren’s interest in higher education has always been rooted in an interest in the environment, even from childhood. As an adult, after struggling with their own mental health, Soren became interested in psychology, and pursued jobs in the medical field, but was soon discouraged by the for-profit medical system. Soren went through challenging transitions in …

‘1 in 5’ Season 2 Episode 3: Meet Soren Read More »

Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsDecember 1, 2022
Ignacio Angel has decided to define for himself what success looks like as a college student and father of four. The for-profit trade school he went to, which was later investigated for preying on vulnerable students, never delivered on promises of a job, and landed him in debt. With Lilly’s help, he found a support …

‘1 in 5’ Season 2 Episode 2: Meet Ignacio Angel Read More »

Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsDecember 1, 2022
Dr. Daria Willis brings her extensive education and her own experience as a student parent to her role as president of Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. Daria had her daughter, Lyric, during her first year in college. She shares how keenly she felt the social stigma of being a single parent. It took a …

‘1 in 5’ Season 2 Episode 1: Meet Daria Willis Read More »

Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsDecember 1, 2022
Today, Ascend at the Aspen Institute (Ascend) released the second season of “1 in 5,” its highly rated podcast that explores the multifaceted lives of the one in five college students raising children.
Press ReleasesDecember 1, 2022
1 in 5 Student Parent Podcast
The 1 in 5 podcast vividly profiles students who are parents pursuing their education while raising a family and working. Today, more than one in five college students (22%) are parents. The experiences of students who are parents should not be unfamiliar or unheard, especially on college campuses. They’re in classrooms and clubs, working jobs and managing finances just like their peers.
BlogDecember 1, 2022
In an op-ed written for Early Learning Nation, 2023 Ascend Parent Advisor, Mikah Jorgensen, shares her personal experience and expertise offering 5 ideas and recommendations for postsecondary institutions to make higher education more supportive of parenting students.
Media MentionsOctober 6, 2022
Today, Ascend at the Aspen Institute (Ascend) announced that 11 new Parent Advisors have joined its Postsecondary Success for Parents initiative (PSP) to help shape Ascend’s expanded agenda to improve higher education policy and practice for student parents.
Press ReleasesSeptember 29, 2022
In an op-ed for Philanthropy News Digest, Ascend founder and executive director Anne Mosle highlights the power and potential in listening to and honoring the expertise of parents and caregivers.
Media MentionsAugust 22, 2022
In an article for Lumina Foundation's summer 2022 Focus magazine, Ascend's David Croom offers insight into the power of student parents' commitment to success for themselves and their families.
Media MentionsAugust 3, 2022