When you picture a college campus, you might first think of young adults fresh out of high school whose primary job is academics. In reality, one out of five of those undergraduate students are in their mid-20s or older. They are also parents and they are less likely to complete their degree, compared to their peers without dependent children.

“Higher education spaces are starting to recognize that this population of students is present on their college campuses. But the policies and the supports, and the infrastructure, is not reflective of that yet,” says Lorena Aceves, Ph.D., research scientist at Child Trends, a nonprofit research organization focused on improving the lives of children and youth.

Hispanic and Latino students make up the fastest-growing population among undergraduates, particularly in Texas and California. While they are no more or less likely to be student parents, compared to other undergraduates, there’s an estimated 634,000 Latino student parents in the U.S. and 30% of Latino children in the U.S. have a parent with some college experience, but no degree. 

New research from Child Trends is turning a spotlight on how some colleges are looking at ways to adapt their campus environments to better support Latino student parents and boost degree completion. The conclusion is that these initiatives can be used to eventually help all student parents around the country.

Aceves is co-author of Elevating Latino Parenting Students in Higher Education. According to the report, a vast majority of Latino student parents are women in their late 20s and early 30s, are born in the U.S., and are citizens. Two-thirds have incomes below the poverty guidelines and more than half of Latino student parents have more than one child.

Navigating coursework while also working and taking care of your family – which in some cases can also include parents – can be a huge barrier to completing a college degree. Along with the need for childcare, Aceves say other barriers can include language and, in some cases, trust about sharing too much information, especially among immigrant families.

The report stresses the diverse backgrounds of Latino student parents. “In Miami, the Latino student parents they served were much more likely to be recent immigrants themselves.

“Whereas in New Mexico, their families had been in the U.S. before the U.S. was the U.S.. And, so huge geographical variation in terms of timing of entry into the U.S. as well as heritage and country of origin,” explains Renee Ryberg. Ph.D., senior research scientist at Child Trends and co-author of the report.

Schools are designing programs to better meet the needs of Latino student parents in their diverse communities. 

Family-Friendly Campuses

Santa Fe Community College, a Hispanic Serving Institution, is nationally recognized for its support of student parents, who make up 30% of its degree-seeking students.

“We have a family study room in our library so that parents can bring their kids in a space designed for kids to study. We also have play spaces all over campus. We are really working hard to make the environment family friendly to tell our parents that they’re welcome,” says Catron Allred, director of the Early Childhood Center of Excellence at Santa Fe Community College.

Its Kids Campus – which provides childcare and early childhood education to children under five years old – gives student parents priority placement. It’s also available to employees and the community and currently has a waiting list of 800, according to the school.

The college has a program in which student parents are provided one-on-one parent and academic coaching, as well as a community network. Allred describes it as an effort to bring together a population of students that feels isolated. 

“We’re just really trying to change those national figures that tell us that parenting students don’t graduate at the same rate that non-parenting students do. And we know that degrees and certificates lead to economic mobility that are making a difference for their kids,” explains Allred. 

Expanding Supports for All Student Parents 

The Child Trends report finds that single mothers in New Mexico who graduate with an associate degree earn $366,614 more over their lifetimes, compared to others like them who are high school graduates.

Allred says the school is now working with several other colleges in New Mexico to help them make their campuses more family friendly with the goal of spreading nationally to other higher education institutions. 

Child Trend’s Ryberg says better supports for Latino student parents can have a larger impact for all student parents. 

“In terms of thinking about solutions is the idea of universal design. Anything you do to improve supports for Latino student parents is going to make the community more inclusive for a broader group. There’s going to be ripple effects,” adds Ryberg. 

Aceves of Child Trends agrees and underscores the importance of lived experiences of different student populations. “They’re the experts in their lives. Let’s use that to actually create change that is effective and useful in, you know, helping them reach that goal of achieving their higher education.”