Insights & Outlooks
Reimagining Higher Ed for Equity and Student Parent Success
“Was higher ed designed for minority students?” A student asked this question during a Temple University “Sociology of Education” class I spoke to this fall about parenting college students. My answer? “No.” The first college in the United States, Harvard University (then Harvard College), was founded in 1636, and its legacy and...
Time to Innovate: How We Can Harness an Unprecedented Moment in Higher Education to Better Serve Student Parents
Before the COVID-19 pandemic upturned how all of us work and learn, nearly four million student parents—more than a fifth of the entire U.S. undergraduate student population—faced near-impossible demands on their time and resources as they worked to juggle school and child care. Life before the pandemic was not working for most student parents....
Student Parents and the Opportunity to Support Multiple Generations of Families
For 14 years, I have been an Institutional Researcher at Monroe Community College (MCC) in Rochester, NY. On March 17, 2020, I filled the largest bag I owned with my work files and locked my office door. I then headed across the quad to pick up my five-year-old from MCC’s Richard M. Guon Child Care…
Centering Student Parent Families in COVID-19 Response
For the nearly four million undergraduate students with dependent children—including 2.7 million mothers—earning a college degree can make a life-changing difference in their family’s lifetime economic security. According to an unpublished Institute for Women’s Policy Research analysis of the Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Stu...
Student Story: Illise Ellsworth, University of Utah
Illise Ellsworth was transitioning from Salt Lake Community College to the University of Utah when the pandemic began. While finishing her last semester at Salt Lake Community College, her courses moved online.
The Way Forward in Higher Education
Six months ago, St. Petersburg College operated quite differently. Our ten campuses and learning sites were bustling with students hurrying from classroom to classroom while faculty prepared for vast numbers of in-person lectures and labs. COVID-19 and tragic occurrences of racial injustice have changed everything. Not only for us, but for people a...
Lack of Broadband Access is a Barrier to Our Pandemic Recovery
In Alabama, COVID-19 has our state colored red for a reason other than its political party representation. Our state is considered a ‘hot spot’ due to the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths. As our nation’s education system grapples with safe ways to re-open in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, communities where inequities…
Q&A with Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed, Louisiana Board of Regents
A Q&A with Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed of the Louisiana Board of Regents. 1. This is, of course, an unusual school year. What does the fall look like for colleges and universities in Louisiana? This academic year will be one of the most challenging we have ever faced—with a global pandemic, racial unrest, and significant…