Universities Offering Support for Student Parents

Colleges are rethinking how to support students by removing barriers to accessing resources. Traditional services often have limited hours and are spread across departments, making it hard for students to get help when needed.

Give Student Parents Time to Study

Student parents face time poverty, balancing classes, parenting, and work, which makes degree completion difficult. While childcare is often discussed, another major issue is finding uninterrupted study time.

The University of Louisiana System is testing a new model with StudyNPlay, a Louisiana-based program that provides supervised play for children, allowing parents to study in dedicated campus spaces while their children play nearby and within view. Nicholls State University and the University of Louisiana Monroe plan to launch similar dedicated spaces on campus next spring.

Katie Dawson, associate vice president for enrollment, innovation and talent strategy at the University of Louisiana System, said parents can currently use StudyNPlay’s off-campus study center in Baton Rouge, with new campus spaces coming next spring.

“Traditional childcare requires you to leave your child somewhere, but StudyNPlay lets parents study in a quiet space while seeing their children play under supervision,” Dawson said.

Offer Mental Health Care After Hours

Mental health support is often only available during traditional campus hours, which doesn’t work for students juggling multiple responsibilities. The Technical College System of Georgia is expanding 24/7 mental health access through a partnership with Uwill, a digital wellness platform.

Launched in August, the initiative covers 16 of 22 campuses, providing virtual counseling and crisis support anytime. Gwinnett Technical College began using Uwill in 2024, and about 35 percent of its counseling sessions occurred outside regular hours, according to Adam Ring, co-founder of Uwill.

“We wanted to remove barriers by letting students access support on their own schedule,” said Kim Ellis, coordinator of special populations and career services.

“We noticed students struggled with stress and anxiety, and many didn’t know how to get help.”

Make Essential Needs Easier to Handle

Students facing food insecurity, housing instability, or financial strain often struggle to handle campus resources. Temple University addressed this by opening the Christopher and Julie Barnett Essential Needs Hub in August, a 26,000-square-foot centralized space in the student center offering support for food, housing, transportation, clothing, health, financial aid, and technology access.

John Fry, president of Temple, said the hub’s prominent location was intentional to make services easy to find and to normalize seeking help.

“It’s a space that conveys respect, dignity, and welcome, not hidden away, but right out front,” Fry said. “Everyone has struggles, and this community will serve you.”

Give Student Parents the First Pick of Classes

Priority registration allows students to choose classes earlier, helping student parents align schedules with childcare and other responsibilities. A 2023 state policy requires institutions offering priority registration to any student group to extend it to parenting students.

Research from Trellis Strategies surveyed nearly 400 parenting students across 49 Texas colleges and universities in June and July. Despite the policy, 62 percent didn’t know if their school offered early registration, and 79 percent were unaware parenting students were eligible.

Only 18 percent received the benefit, but 94 percent found the process easy, and nearly 80 percent said it helped them align classes with childcare needs.

“For a parenting student, the right course at the wrong time isn’t a viable course at all,” said Allyson Cornett, director of research at Trellis Strategies. “This helps them fit school into the puzzle of their lives.”