Around 20% of higher education students in the US are parents. According to NPR, more than 5 million student parents are attending U.S. colleges and universities. That is 5 million adults balancing parenting, school, and work.
Despite their workload, a majority of these student parents continue to score better grades than their peers who don’t have children. But for many, graduation continues to be a distant dream.
Their biggest hurdle?
Lack of affordable and flexible childcare
Studies show that without access to reliable child care, student parents are more than twice as likely to drop out before graduating, leaving them with debt but no degree.
Student-Parents and Their Rocky Path to Graduation
Meet the student parents of America.
A majority are people of color, and every 1 in 10 is a single mom. Almost half of them work longer hours than their peers and frequently attend community colleges. Most have children under five. Two-thirds receive no financial support from family, and they accumulate 2.5 times more student debt than students without children.
However, getting a degree is a game-changer. It is the key to a better life for themselves and their children.
A single mom with a bachelor’s degree can expect to earn around $625,000 more over her lifetime than a single mom with just a high school diploma.
But this dream depends on reliable, high-quality child care, which is just as crucial for student parents as it is for working parents.
Student parents commonly rely on trustworthy relatives, friends, or neighbors for childcare—an informal system known as relatives, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) care. This kind of care is an essential support system, particularly for parents of little children.
Another reason most prefer FFN care is that it provides them with the flexibility they need to handle erratic schedules that traditional childcare facilities frequently are unable to meet.
How Campus Childcare Can Improve Graduation Rates
Campus childcare can be a game-changer for student parents.
Not only does it offer a lifeline of affordable, convenient care right on or near campus, it takes away the stress of finding reliable childcare off-campus.
Carefully’s Community-Based Childcare
Carefully understands the importance of FFN Care and provides an innovative solution to one of the major hurdles faced by student parents: childcare.
By streamlining the organization, planning, and coordination of cooperative care, Carefully not only aids parents in balancing work and education but also enhances their overall productivity and well-being.
With Carefully, parents pursuing a degree can easily build a network of caregivers they know and trust to share care.
Carefully allows student parents to:
Easily manage and organize playdates, babysitting swaps, and group events
Sync calendars
Privately chat within the app
Make a Difference with Carefully
Carefully believes anchor institutions like colleges and universities are in a unique position to help people in their communities achieve economic mobility.
One small step is to provide childcare options to your students to help build a foundation for success.
Learn how innovative solutions like Carefully can help student parents find affordable and reliable childcare. Or connect with us to discover how access to reliable childcare can help improve graduation rates for your students.