Supporting parents in college from application onward

In honor of Student Parent Month, Common App hosted a webinar featuring a panel discussion with Dr. Theresa Anderson, Principal Research Associate at Urban Institute; Dr. Brittani Williams, Director of Advocacy Policy & Research at Generation Hope; and Dr. Joisanne Rodgers, Director of Contemporary Services at George Mason University, a Common App member. The webinar highlighted their work advocating for student parents in higher education. The panel, led by Batanya Gipson of Common App, discussed the need for data on parenting students. They explored how members can use that data to support their students and how Common App can help.

According to Batanya, supporting student parents is aligned with Common App’s Next Chapter work.  The need for support is acute for parenting students who are statistically more likely to be single, female, minority, and fall below the national median household income. At Generation Hope, Dr. Brittani Williams works with student parents to ensure they have opportunities to succeed, experience economic mobility, and build wealth. Dr. Williams says many barriers exist to parenting students' college degree completion.

In the U.S., at least 1 in 5 undergraduate students are pregnant or parenting dependent children. Those are the numbers we can count. Limited data sources are available to give an accurate count of these students.  Dr. Theresa Anderson is researching the need for data on student parents in higher education. The FAFSA is a common source to identify student parents. But, Theresa says, "only about 60% of students complete it. So, it was always partial but better than nothing." As a result, colleges may lack the info to support this population. Anderson says more states are reacting to the need. “We see that state legislatures are agreeing that supporting student parents really, really matters. We've seen student parent data collection legislation and other student parent supports become mandated across different states.” Several states, including California, Illinois, and Texas, have passed laws that require colleges to collect data on student parents. In 2023, lawmakers proposed federal legislation to collect this data. As a result, many colleges are trying to identify data sources to help them capture their student-parent population.

According to Batanya, some Common App members use the household question in the Common App as a data source to identify their parenting students. The question asks, “Do you have any children?” and, “How many?”. Answers to these questions can be enlightening. It has revealed that over 48% of the 12,402 applicants identified as having children in the first-year Common App in AY 2023 live in ZIP codes below the median income, and 69% are first-generation. Dr. Joisanne Rodgers explained how access to this data helps her work in the Office of Contemporary Studies at George Mason. “We all know there's power in data. We get a clearer picture of who our students are so we can better meet their needs. About 90% of first-year applicants apply to Mason via Common App, but there are other pathways to apply to Mason. The effects in all of that and with our partnership with Common app is that we're doing better at tracking and knowing who our students are and what they need. And this puts us in a position to intentionally and purposefully amplify the student, parents, and caregivers as well as positioning us for opportunities like grants and the FamilyU Seal.”

Common App is exploring ways to support student parents better. We also want to help more students who create accounts to create applications. We use data to better understand parenting student behavior in the application and identify opportunities to support them best. Until recently, the household question was only part of the first-year Common App. Starting AY 2024–2025, the Common App will include it for transfer. Our newly launched Transfer Resource Center connects student parents to childcare resources and resources informing them about their rights as students. Common App is proud of our work in supporting student parents. We will keep partnering with groups that support parenting students. These efforts will help all students reach their higher education goals.

View the webinar in its entirety here. 

About the panel

Dr. Theresa Anderson is a Principal Research Associate at the Urban Institute, where she focuses on promoting education access and success across all stages of life. She is particularly interested in holistic family well-being and mobility through education. With a social safety net research background and a passion for supporting parenting students, she draws on her professional expertise and personal experience as a mother of two to advance her work. Connect with Dr. Anderson on LinkedIn.

Batanya Gipsonis the Director of Community College and Transfer Student Engagement for Common App. Batanya has over 15 years of experience working with academic, workforce, and continuing education students at the community college and baccalaureate levels. She is focused on promoting access and equity for community college and transfer students and is dedicated to helping identify and develop pathways for all students through higher education.

Dr. Joisanne Rodgers is the Director of Contemporary Student Services at George Mason University, a Research I Minority-Serving Institution in Fairfax, Virginia. She comes from a background in research focused on removing barriers for post-traditional and contemporary students. Connect with Dr. Rodgers on LinkedIn.

Dr. Brittani Williams is the Director of Advocacy, Policy, and Research at Generation Hope, a national nonprofit supporting student parents. With over fifteen years of experience in higher education, she brings her journey as a mother of three and former student parent to her work in advancing economic mobility and success for student parents. Connect with Dr. Williams on LinkedIn.