Five Facts About Student Parents
September is National Student Parent Month! Kids on Campus recognizes the nearly one in five undergraduate students who are also parenting as they work toward their academic and professional goals. There are many assumptions about parenting students and their needs. Let’s briefly highlight five facts and take a closer look at what’s possible when we support their success.
Student parents are a bigger part of the college landscape than most people realize.One in five undergraduates is a student parent, and nearly half of them are enrolled in a community or technical college. Far from a small percentage, student parents are a core part of the community college student body, and their success matters to the strength of that student body and college as a whole.
Student parents are persistent and work hard. Student parents are highly motivated and engaged in their studies, often performing slightly better than their peers without children. For many student parents, their educational journey doesn’t follow a straight line given their multiple roles and responsibilities. When circumstances force them to stop out of college. student parents reenroll to complete a degree or certificate at more than double the rate of their peers without children. This is a reflection of the determination it takes to balance coursework, jobs, and family and persist until they reach their goal.
Investing in student parents is a two-generation investment. When a parent completes their degree, the benefits extend to their children, too. Kids whose parents complete a degree are more likely to enroll in college themselves, and more likely to earn a degree. Supporting a parent’s education doesn’t just change one life, but can shift the trajectory of an entire family.
Early learning access can be the difference between staying enrolled and stepping away. For parenting students, finding safe, reliable, high-quality care for their children is often the single biggest barrier standing between them and their degree. When that barrier is removed — through partnerships like the ones Kids on Campus helps build between community colleges and Head Start programs — parenting students are better positioned to stay enrolled, earn their credentials, and move into higher-wage careers.
The return on investment reaches families, local economies, and the workforce. When mothers reenroll and complete a community college degree, they see meaningful gains in annual earnings — money that doesn't stay with one person. It strengthens families, fuels local economies, and builds a stronger, more skilled workforce.
Every one of these facts points to the same conclusion: student parents possess the ability and determination to succeed and are worth the investment for colleges to provide the supports needed to help them finish what they started. When they do, everyone benefits. This is the kind of work Kids on Campus is dedicated to every day. As a joint national initiative of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the National Head Start Association (NHSA), Kids on Campus connects community colleges with Head Start programs to give parenting students access to affordable, high-quality early learning — because when parents succeed, whole families thrive.
Additional Resources
About Kids on Campus
Kids on Campus is a national initiative led byACCT and NHSA that connects community colleges and Head Start programs to expand access to on-campus early childhood education for parenting students. The initiative aims to establish 50 partnerships by 2030. Learn more at kidsoncampus.org.
