More Than 1 in 5 College Students Are Parents

Research is continually being conducted nationally to better support the student parent population. This page will be updated with research and articles that provide important context to this important group, which makes up more than 20 percent of the college student population.

California State University

• Counted: Data Collection on Student Parents - To comply with a recent California bill, the CSU is now collecting data on student parents—which will help the university better serve this group.

Cal Poly Pomona Scholar Research

• Promoting Student Parent Success: Analyzing Resources and Support for Student Parents Across Various Universities (2/20/2020) by Olivia Bosek, Arielle Marino, and Talia Guiragossian (faculty advisor Giselle Navarro-Cruz)
• Generation Hope - Uncovering the Student Parent Experience (2/20/2020) by Olivia Bosek, Arielle Marino, and Talia Guiragossian (faculty mentors Brianne Dávila and Giselle Navarro-Cruz)
• It's Not Rational It's Complicated: Latina Mothers' Choices of Childcare (7/16/2020) by Dr. Giselle Navarro-Cruz, Early Childhood Studies Assistant Professor
• Parenting through Higher Education [video] (2/24/2021) by Rosalia Armas and Andrea Escobar Vara

California Competes - Higher Education for a Strong Economy

• A Policy Agenda for California Student Parents (PDF) (1/26/2023)

Institute for Women's Policy Research

• Student Parent Success Initiative
• Parents In College: By The Numbers Report (PDF)

 Also See

• News Article: 4 Tips for Parents and Caregivers who want to go to College (2/3/2022)
• The Pregnant Scholar: An Initiative of The Center for WorkLife Law
• California Alliance for Student Parent Success