Every Fall, school buses are once again a part of our morning commutes. Less obvious are the parents joining in the back-to-school rite of passage alongside their children.
Several decades ago, I witnessed this with my Aunt Bobbie, who enrolled in college while her kids were in grade school. In addition to being a college student, she was a wife, mother of three, executive assistant, and an involved auntie. On school nights, she and her kids (with me, too, sometimes) would gather around the kitchen table to do homework.
Throughout September, National Student Parent Month, we celebrated the accomplishments of student parents and the efforts of those colleges, universities, and organizations that faithfully serve. To ensure these parents succeed, we should highlight year-round the practices and policies that support their needs, including access to childcare, family-friendly campuses, and flexible course schedules.
But to truly put student parents and their families on the path toward financial security and economic mobility, the quality of the college they attend and the value of the programs or majors offered are critically important. Students achieve value from college when they are better off for having attended. They attain quality and affordable credentials, avoid unsustainable debt, earn a living wage when they enter the workforce, and are able to contribute to the wellbeing of their communities.
Dr. Michelle Asha Cooper
While ensuring that every school and program confers value is essential, we know that student parents are more likely to attend for-profit colleges, where outcomes are dubious at best. Compared to other institutions with similar programs or majors, the debt and default rates are higher and the workforce outcomes are worse.
Lawsuits and analyses highlight predatory for-profit college practices and the targeting of vulnerable students, including parents. Twenty percent of undergraduate student parents attend for-profit schools compared with 5 percent of those without dependent children. Almost one-third of Black student parents attend for-profit schools compared with 9 percent of Black students without children.
