[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-584349-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-584349-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","policy-fact-sheet-june-2026-student-parents-in-community-college","Policy Fact Sheet - June 2026 - Student Parents in Community College","","Policy Fact Sheet examines how student parents are represented in colleges, especially community colleges, and why completion and transfer are more difficult for them. About one in five undergraduates are parents, with nearly half enrolled in community or technical colleges and many living near or below poverty. It highlights barriers such as limited childcare, underuse of counseling and job placement, and lower completion outcomes, then outlines policy considerations focused on childcare, basic needs, and better data collection.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/policy-fact-sheet-june-2026-student-parents-in-community-college/584349/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/policy-fact-sheet-june-2026-student-parents-in-community-college/584349.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"WPS_1786070896","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What share of undergraduates are student parents, and where are they enrolled?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"About one in five undergraduates are parents, and nearly half of them are enrolled at community or technical colleges.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"Why do student parents face challenges completing college?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"They often balance work and caregiving while dealing with financial strain and limited support services, especially affordable childcare.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"Which policy supports are emphasized to improve student-parent completion?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The sheet stresses affordable, reliable childcare, help with basic needs like food and housing, and more systematic data collection to track student parents and determine what support they need.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},584349,1792924156,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & 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a fifth of undergraduates in college are parents.1 A disproportionate share of student parents attend community colleges, which have more flexible programs that cater to adult students.2 Though parenting students often have clear goals for what they want out of college—usually related to employment—they face challenges that nonparenting students do not, including financial needs and caregiving responsibilities that can make completing a degree or transferring to a bachelor’s program difficult.3  \nWhat the Research Tells Us  \nMany college students are parents, and they disproportionately attend community colleges. They are often very low income.  \n• Roughly one in five undergraduates—or 3.1 million students—are parents, and nearly half are enrolled at community or technical colleges. 4 5  \n• Nearly 23% of public two-year college students have dependent children, compared with 11% of undergraduates at public four-year colleges.6  \n• More than three quarters of parents attending community colleges are women.7  \n• Nationally, over a third of student parents at public two-year colleges live below the federal poverty level.8  \nCollege students with dependent children  \n23%  \n11%  \nPublic two-year students Public four-year students  \nStudent parents often balance work and caregiving responsibilities while going to college, likely contributing to low persistence and completion rates.  \n• Student parents are more likely to enroll part-time (59%) than nonparenting students (41%). At community colleges, 43% of student parents work 30 or more hours per week.910  \n• Twenty-six percent of parenting students at community colleges attend courses exclusively online, compared with 13% of nonparenting students.11 Research suggests that community college students who take online courses tend to have lower grades and lower persistence than their peers who take in-person courses.12 13  \n• Twenty-seven percent of students who are parents when they enroll at public two-year colleges earn a degree or certificate within six years, compared with 41% of nonparenting students. Eleven percent of parenting students are still enrolled in college six years later; 62% leave without a credential, compared with 44% of nonparenting students who start at public two-year colleges.14 15  \n• Undergraduate student fathers are more likely to stop out than student mothers.16  \n525 West 120th St. , Box 174, New York, [NY 10027](NY 10027 | ccrc.tc.columbia.edu | @CommunityCCRC | 212.678.3091)[ |](NY 10027 | ccrc.tc.columbia.edu | @CommunityCCRC | 212.678.3091)[ ccrc.tc.columbia.edu](NY 10027 | ccrc.tc.columbia.edu | @CommunityCCRC | 212.678.3091)[ |](NY 10027 | ccrc.tc.columbia.edu | @CommunityCCRC | 212.678.3091)[ @CommunityCCRC](NY 10027 | ccrc.tc.columbia.edu | @CommunityCCRC | 212.678.3091)[ |](NY 10027 | ccrc.tc.columbia.edu | @CommunityCCRC | 212.678.3091)[ 212.678.3091](NY 10027 | ccrc.tc.columbia.edu | @CommunityCCRC | 212.678.3091)  \nMany colleges lack services for student parents, or students don’t use them. Affordable childcare is a particular challenge.  \n• In one survey, more than half of parenting students (56%) in community college cited career change as their main goal in attending college, and 77% said they enrolled in college to obtain or update job skills.17 Despite these aims, 60% reported never using career counseling services, and 88% said they never used job placement assistance.18  \n• Only 38% of public two-year colleges offer on-campus childcare.19  \n• Many college financial aid offices fail to consider the financial needs of student parents, including reliable childcare. One estimate put the out-of-pocket cost at more than $7,500 more per child annually in California.20  \n• In a survey, more than half of parenting community college students who stopped out said affordable childcare would help them return to college.21  \n• Over 60% of parenting stude","cbCaiaovChCQ4Mug","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaovChCQ4Mug","pdf",345239,"English","# What the Research Tells Us\n## Enrollment patterns and outcomes\n## Barriers and service gaps\n# Policy Considerations\n## Childcare and basic needs supports\n## Data collection priorities","[{\"question\":\"What share of undergraduates are student parents, and where are they enrolled?\",\"answer\":\"About one in five undergraduates are parents, and nearly half of them are enrolled at community or technical colleges.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do student parents face challenges completing college?\",\"answer\":\"They often balance work and caregiving while dealing with financial strain and limited support services, especially affordable childcare.\"},{\"question\":\"Which policy supports are emphasized to improve student-parent completion?\",\"answer\":\"The sheet stresses affordable, reliable childcare, help with basic needs like food and housing, and more systematic data collection to track student parents and determine what support they need.\"}]","Policy Fact Sheet - June 2026 - Student Parents in Community College | PDF",1792050753]