Two Central Coast Universities selected for parenting students research grants
CENTRAL COAST REGION, Calif. – Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and CSU Channel Islands are two universities selected nationwide to receive a $60,000 grant from the Urban Institute as part of the research group's Data to Action Campaign for Parenting Students.
The research grants are intended to inform policymakers in Sacramento and Washington D.C. in designing support programs for students who are also parents.
At CSU Channel Islands, the grant will be used by a select committee to conduct research for the next two years on the challenges unique to parenting students.
“The purpose of this initiative is to get a more accurate picture of the student parents we have at CSUCI,” said CSU Channel Islands Basic Needs Associate Director Julia Rose. “We now have over 1,000 students at CSUCI who have dependents and we know that from our FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), but that doesn’t account for all of the student parents.”
One of those parenting students, Studio Arts major and Aubry's dad Alex Davis, shared that he spends almost as much time commuting on the 210 freeway as he does in class.
“My daughter comes to the dorms with me on weekends and holidays,” explained Davis. “One of the biggest problems with being a parent and a student is the commuting while meeting your child’s needs. Not just getting her to school, but dentist and doctor’s appointments and making sure she’s fed.”
More than 5.4 million college students in the U.S. are raising children, which represents almost a quarter of undergraduates and nearly a third of graduate students detailed CSU Channel Islands.
Despite that outsized share of students, the varied and unique challenges for parenting students remain a notable gap in research and analysis.
In response, California passed AB 2881 in September of 2022 requiring all campuses across all three public education systems to provide priority registration to student parents.
Davis plans to graduate in the Spring of 2024 and as exciting as that is for him, his most important subject is his daughter's future.
“She really is my world and I want to be that dad who sits there and listens to find out what she wants to do in life,” Davis said. “I want her to know it’s all about making the right decisions and that she can always come back to me.”
