Student Parents: How To
Serve
This Invisible Population
16th International
Conference on the First Year
Experience
July 7-10, 2003
Student Parents: How To Serve This
Invisible Population
Susan M. Warfield, MSW, LICSW
K. Giddings, Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of Minnesota
General College
Student Parent HELP Center
16th International Conference on the First Year
Experience: Outline
Information about this population
A student parent cultural group?
Ingredients for success
Other purposes student parent
programs serve
Best practices
Special considerations for this
population
Dreams for the future
So how do you do this?
Non-Traditional Students: Why the student parent
population differs
Children make the difference
Invisible on your campus?
Do you know they’re there?
Are you trying to find them?
What would you do if you did?
Non-Traditional Students: Why the student parent population
differs
HELP Center student parents...
Have an average GPA of 3.0
Are employed 20 or more
hours/week
Have one child
Are in their 20s
Are female
Spend an average of over $525 per
month on childcare
Non-Traditional Students: Why the student parent population
differs
Different needs, goals, life
experiences, responsibilities,
lifestyle
Self-select out of programs
(study abroad)
A Student Parent Cultural Group?
Culture:
The integrated pattern of
human knowledge, belief, and
behavior that depends upon
[a hu]man’s capacity for learning and
transmitting knowledge to succeeding
generations
the customary beliefs, social forms, and
material traits of a racial, religious, or social
group
A Student Parent Cultural Group?
Roles
Responsibilities
Living Environment
Socialization
Barriers to learning
Maturation/Life Phase
Language, communication
Community
“Culture is communication,
communication is culture.”
-Edward T. Hall
Ingredients for Success
Ingredients for Success: Support
Group
Own room
Care and Nurturing (more
jalapeno pizza)
Mentoring
Modeling
Empowerment
Student-Centered vs. Academic
Lecture
Ingredients for Success: Support
Group: Here’s what members say:
If you could sum up your feelings about
this group into one or two words, what
would that/those be?
Love
Great
Fun
Feedback
Helpful
Belonging and Acceptance
Family
Ingredients for Success: Support
Group: Here’s what members say:
What was the best part of this group for
you?
 Friendship with other parents.
 Meeting with people that have been in the
same situation I am in.
 Talking, venting, learning from other student
parents. Group is fun. The people are fun.
 Comradery with other dedicated parents,
excellent advice from staff members, a pace
to go where others understand the special
circumstances of being a parent in school.
Practical advice was great, too.
 Having a day during the week to relax…to
talk with other moms, learn something new,
enjoy a lunch.
Ingredients for Success: Support
Group: Here’s what members say:
How does this group make a difference in your life
as a student parent?
 It gives me a few hours a week to look forward to
destressing, commiserating, and sharing.
 From other members I can see what to expect about
being a student parent (from a pregnant mom).
 I have peers at school now—and a place to socialize
and learn with other parents—not kids right out of high
school who have no clue about the real world (not all
people in my classes are like this—just a few).
 This is one day a week I don’t have to worry about
lunch. I can feel connected here.
 Helps so you don’t feel estranged from the campus life
and not feel alone with different situations. Help with
finding financial aid and understanding it.
 I did not feel so alone anymore.
 I was able to face the rest of the week after I came
from group.
 Gives me community.
 It gives me important and useful feedback from group
providers as well as from other moms. I feel like I
BELONG here (U of M), since it can be overwhelming.
Ingredients for Success: Special Events
Special Events
Midterm events
End of semester parties
Parent’s Day Out (End of Year)
Ingredients for Success: Identification
Identification starts at home
You can’t find someone you’re not
looking for
Technology
Database
Ingredients for Success: Identification
Ingredients for Success: Identification
Ingredients for Success
Tracking, Outcome Measures,
and Program Evaluation
Research (sharing information
nationally, internationally)
Ingredients for Success: One stop shopping
One stop shopping
Advocacy (social work skills)
Facilities
Counseling and Advising
Ingredients for Success: One stop shopping
Resource and Referral
HELP Center: childcare grants,
emergency grants, group, computer
center, advising, etc.
Community: housing, child care,
community mental health centers,
clinics, shelters, food banks, etc.
University: child care, financial aid,
women’s center, learning resource
centers (multicultural)
Ingredients for Success: Networking
Outreach: local high schools, teen parent
programs
Partnership: university financial aid, office of
admissions, community food bank
programs, intern programs, family housing,
campus childcare, local housing programs,
orientation, university women’s center, first
year experience, work/life consortium, other
research programs
Volunteers: community and campus
Funding and Development: Coke grant for
group, child care grants, emergency grants,
other grants—research position,
scholarships
Other purposes of student parent programs
Educate
campus-wide
in the community
Advocate
Voice
legislatively,
administratively, within
classroom
(academically and
student services)
Visibility-physical, flyers,
brochures, events
National networking and
sharing of information
Best Practices
Grantwriting
Community building
Networking—outreach and partnership
Teaming
Cross training
Using intern programs—MSW
Fundraising (the financial outlook is
bleak, more and more necessary)
Counseling—child development, family,
parent/child
Triaging
Some special considerations
Crisis intervention
Mental Health
Domestic Violence
Substance Abuse
Family Violence
Homelessness
Financial Aid
Budgeting
Dreams for the future/model programs, etc
Integrate academic programming
(parent seminar)
Study abroad
Mo’ Money!
Increased collaboration among
student parent programs nationally
(first, more programs must exist?)
Formation of advocacy council:
specialized first year experiences
So how do you do this?
Evaluate your need (you may be surprised)
Look for friendly programs to house you
(women’s center, child care center, offices
of multicultural affairs, etc.)
Find student parent alums
Look for state funding that may already
exist CCAMPIS funds, state grants (usually
administered through financial aid or HESO)
Look for support through HR, work/life
consortiums, etc.
Research funding sources serving women
and children locally and nationally
Don’t overlook smaller donors (restaurant
gift certificates, donated food, used
computers, toys, books, etc.)
Look for organizations that already fund
academic scholarships