Single Mother Students in Higher Education: Removing Obstacles to Student Success

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Running Head: SINGLE MOTHER STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION 1
Single Mother Students in Higher Education: Removing Obstacles to Student Success
Wendy S. Dunst
Stony Brook University

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Abstract
Single student mothers are a growing population in higher education. There were nearly 2.1
million single student mothers pursuing an undergraduate degree in 2012, representing 11% of
the undergraduate population. The population of single mother students in college doubled
between the 1999-2000 and 2011-12 school years. This paper will discuss the demographic
characteristics of single mother students, the challenges they face when pursuing higher
education and the interventions higher education professionals can implement to improve
retention, persistence, and success. Practical issues are supported by theoretical underpinnings
and contextualized within the larger issues faced by higher education institutions.

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Introduction
Single student mothers are a growing population in higher education. The Institute for
Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) published a briefing paper about this population
in September 2017. According to the IWPR, there were nearly 2.1 million single student mothers
pursuing an undergraduate degree in 2012. This represented 11% of the undergraduate
population and a doubling of single student mothers in college between the 1999-2000 and 2011-
12 school years [CITATION Ins17 \n \y \l 1033 ].
Student affairs professionals have an obligation to facilitate success in this population for
three main reasons:
Financial: The number and share of single student mothers is trending upward. While
degree attainment is low among this population (31 percent among those 25 and older),
this fact highlights an opportunity for higher education institutions to become student-
ready for this population and to potentially increase campus revenue.
Equity and access: Because women of color are more likely to be single student mothers,
student affairs professionals must help this population succeed in order to increase higher
education access and equity.
Personal and societal benefits: Single mother degree attainment confers benefits to the
student and her children, her community, and society. Single mothers with college
degrees are more likely to find stable work with benefits and higher wages they would
without college degrees. They engage more with their communities. Their children are
more likely to go to college. Their families contribute to the economy.
I will discuss these reasons more in depth later in this paper and discuss ways higher
education institutions can facilitate success in this student population.

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Single Student Mother Demographics
Goldrick-Rab and Sorensen (2010) use the term “fragile families” to describe “families in
which the parents were unmarried when the child was born” (p. 180). They use this term because
the data they use come from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal study
following a cohort of 5000 children born between 1998 and 2000, about three-quarters of whom
were born to unmarried parents [ CITATION Abo192 \l 1033 ]. Goldrick-Rab and Sorensen use
this data, in part, to research the role higher education plays in the lives of students who are
single parents during their college years. The research is commissioned by The Future of
Children, an organization that “translates the best social science research about children and
youth into information that is useful to policymakers, practitioners, grant-makers, advocates, the
media, and students of public policy” [ CITATION Abo191 \l 1033 ].
While Goldrick-Rab and Sorensen focus on single parents regardless of gender, my paper
will hone in on single mothers. My reasons are two-part: First, I was a single mother when I
began college; second, more unmarried mothers than fathers choose to pursue a college
education, making this population easier to study and offering the possibility for higher
education professionals to make a larger impact.
More than two-thirds of the increase in unmarried college students between 1999 and
2012 were single mothers. In addition, the population of single student mothers can represent a
substantial segment of specific student populations, with African American, Hispanic and Latino,
and Native American single students making up a larger percentage of their total student
population than their white or Asian American counterparts do. [CITATION Gol101 \p 181 \y
\t \l 1033 ]. Thus, policy and programmatic interventions can serve to improve outcomes for the

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single mother student population in general and can improve retention, persistence, and success
factors in minority populations.
Challenges Single Student Mothers Face
Single student mothers face several challenges that can negatively affect their higher
education persistence, academic success, personal development, and degree attainment. Among
these are time constraints, financial considerations, and difficulties in attending classes because
of inflexible work or parenting duties. Student affairs professionals must identify the challenges
their single student mothers face, eliminate or weaken obstacles to success, and provide
programming and procedures designed to increase retention, persistence, and degree attainment.
Time Constraints
Single student mothers face time constraints from a number of different areas. Parenting
is unquestionably a major challenge for single students, with a significant amount of time needed
to simply provide a child’s basic needs; unfortunately, the amount of time needed for parenting
does not decrease as the child gets older. Single student mothers often work and they certainly
shoulder the majority of domestic chores. Finally, single student mothers may be caring for a
sick loved one or elderly parents. Crispin and Nikolaou (2019) used data from the American Use
Time Survey to determine how much time student-parents, as they termed the population,
allocated to life activities. They measured the amount of time student-parents spend on class
time, homework time, paid work time, and extracurricular time, and compared that to the amount
of time non-parent students spend on these activities. Predictably, student-parents spent less time
on homework and extracurricular activities than students who are not parents and more time on
paid work.
Financial Considerations

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Single student mothers experience financial hardships that students who are not parents
do not experience. Traditional undergraduate students are usually dependent on their parents or
guardians while single student mothers have at least one person financially dependent upon
them. Goldrick-Rab and Sorensen (2010) report that 59 percent of single student parents make
less than $10,000 a year and 38 percent earn less than $5000 a year [CITATION Gol101 \p
183 \n \y \t \l 1033 ]. These students know that they need to work in order to take care of their
families, even though working makes it harder for them to succeed in college.
There is no safety net that would allow single student mothers to spend less time on paid
work and more time pursuing their academic goals. In fact, as Goldrick-Rab and Sorensen (2010)
highlight, sometimes student fail to realize how their paid work affects their financial aid. Due to
the complicated vagaries of the American financial aid system, a student who is eligible for
substantial financial aid can have their Pell grant (the main needs-based aid program in the
United States) decreased or eliminated. This is because up to half of the student’s income is
counted toward the expected family contribution toward college. This “work penalty” is
damaging because these students are really working to meet their “unmet need,” a term that
refers to the gap between their college expenses and the aid that can be applied to those
expenses, not earmarking part of their salary for tuition. In effect, these students are being doubly
penalized [CITATION Gol101 \p 184 \n \y \t \l 1033 ].
Inflexible Work or Parenting Arrangements
Single student mothers are more likely to miss classes or class activities because of work
or parenting obligations than their non-parent classmates are. Single student mothers expend a
great deal of energy in planning the practical aspects of working, raising children, and attending
college, often attempting all these without adequate childcare options. Any unexpected

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complication – a sick child, being called into work – can result in missed classes or class
meetings.
Inflexible working arrangements are also a problem without a good solution. Yakaboski
(2010) highlights the difficulty in accessing federal assistance programs, calling the process a
“vicious cycle” [CITATION Yak10 \p 466 \n \y \t \l 1033 ]. Welfare reforms tie eligibility for
aid to work and education, meaning that women must be enrolled in school and working in order
to receive assistance such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). I experienced this vicious cycle in 1986 when I tried to
access aid as a nineteen-year-old single mother struggling to stay in college. Due to poor
advising, I was taking a heavy course load. I had recently moved out of my parents’ house and a
chaotic family situation and I was living on my own for the first time and trying to support my
son and myself. I was working almost thirty hours a week and I did not have time to meet my
academic obligations. I was offered a full-time position at my workplace and I knew I would not
be able to stay in college if I took the job. I hoped I could maintain my previous schedule or
reduce my hours in order to concentrate on my college work. I went to the welfare office, filled
out the requisite forms, and met with a counselor. She told me that I had to be working full-time
or looking for work in order to qualify for benefits. Further, if I was offered a job that conflicted
with my college schedule, my obligation was to take the job or forego benefits. I decided not to
apply for benefits, took the full-time position, and dropped out of college.
Benefits of Higher Education for Single Student Mothers
As I stated earlier, single mothers who attain a college degree find better-paying jobs, are
more engaged with their communities, and have children who are more likely to attend college.
Goldrick-Rab and Sorensen (2010) point out that this correlation is not straightforward, stating

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“college-going does not result in uniformly positive benefits” [CITATION Gol101 \p 185 \n
\y \t \l 1033 ]. From an economic standpoint, although the link between college attainment and
income level is well-established, current factors deserve consideration. Higher education is
becoming more expensive and students are facing increases in tuition and the cost of college
course materials. In the meantime, single student parents are working hard but failing to cover
living expenses. Aid programs are inadequate and difficult to access. These factors
disproportionally affect students with lower socioeconomic statuses, including single mothers,
and change the calculus about the short- and long-term benefits of attaining a college degree.
A second IWPR briefing report explores the link between college attainment and poverty,
finding that poverty rates for single mothers decreased at each education level attained. In fact,
only thirteen percent of women with bachelor’s degrees lived in poverty in 2016 compared to
single mothers with a high school education, forty percent of whom lived in poverty in 2016.
However, the IWPR analysis points to a potentially larger impact, pointing out that “if one
quarter of single mothers with only a high school diploma or some college in 2016 had earned an
associate or bachelor’s degree, poverty among all single mothers would have declined by eight
percent—more than three times the rate seen over the last decade” [ CITATION Ins18 \l 1033 ].
Higher education institutions need to remove obstacles to success and increase access to services
to positively affect degree attainment rates for single mothers.
Higher Education Policy, Programming, and Best Practices
Financial Aid and Institutional Support
It should be clear that policy, programming, and practice serving single mother students
needs to be reformed at every level. Goldrick-Rab and Sorensen advocate for high-level changes
in the way data about this population is gathered and analyzed, the way federal aid is allocated

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and dispersed, and how the federal financial aid application is organized. Their goal is to refine
the data collected so policymakers can make informed decisions and implement impactful
reforms.
Higher education institutions could create more financial incentives for single mother
students to persist in their college career. The University of Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak
Community College Flying Solo scholarship program was designed to assist single parent
students to succeed, “where success is defined as progress toward completion (i.e., credit
accumulation), academic achievement, and degree completion” [ CITATION Car18 \l 1033 ].
The Flying Solo program is offered to students in sophomore status with at least a 2.5 cumulative
grade point average who commit to completing 24 credit hours per year. The program offers
social, financial, and institutional support to help students complete their degrees.
A key benefit of the Flying Solo program is its flexibility, allowing recipients to use funds
in whatever way they need without limitations. The colleges underpin this financial support with
“non-pecuniary support in the form of training in personal finances, life coaching, networking,
and links to community resources” [CITATION Car18 \p 115 \n \y \t \l 1033 ]. Carpenter II,
Kaka, Tygret, & Cathcart (2018) used regression modeling to test the efficacy of the Flying Solo
program. They found that Flying Solo scholars were almost twice as likely to complete their
degrees as single parents not participating in the program. Additionally, Flying Solo scholars
accumulated more credits and had higher GPAs than single parents not participating in the
program (p. 122).
Cost of Living and Childcare
Cost of living and childcare expenses are among the immediate concerns for single
mother students and meeting these obligations has implications for these students’ higher

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education success. As previously stated, more than half of single parent students live in poverty,
making the support of their families a top concern. Yakaboski’s 2010 study illustrated the
complexity of single mother students’ situations. Many of the women in Yakaboski’s study had
relocated from urban areas because of the lower housing costs in non-urban areas. However,
relocating meant these women lost important support networks that could help when childcare
became an issue [CITATION Yak10 \p 471 \n \y \t \l 1033 ].
Higher education institutions can mitigate these negative effects by instituting family-
friendly policies and programs. Initiatives that single mother students have expressed an interest
in include on-campus childcare offered on a sliding-scale fee structure, on-campus family
housing, and after school activities. In addition, a campus that is committed to serving the single
parent student population will find ways to make these students feel as if they belong in college.
Single parent students report – and I experienced this myself – feeling isolated and as if they did
not belong. Higher education institutions can help students feel like they matter by building a
caring community and offering family-friendly events. This can be as simple as providing
childcare for campus events or in study spaces but, ideally, institutions will find ways to
celebrate and include families and make student parents feel that their lives and multiple
identities are valued.
Cultural Support and Programming
Brown & Nichols (2012) draw attention to the ad hoc nature of single mother institutional
support, finding that “most policies and resources provided [were] informal and decided on a
case-by-case basis” [CITATION Bro12 \p 504 \n \y \t \l 1033 ]. Single mother students would
benefit from formalized policies clearly communicated and institutionalized resources and
programming. Higher education institutions should publish (in whatever media format makes the

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most sense for their student population) a directory that details policies, procedures,
programming, and resources for student parents. Current technology advances in college
viewbooks allow prospetive students to personalize their viewbook using their interests and
needs as filters. Providing a way for single parents to filter information about policies,
procedures, and resources into a personlized guide would emphasize the institution’s
commitment to student parents.
The most important component of providing cultural support is to implement a caring
community based on empathetic listening and a commitment to finding or creating resources to
address concerns and obstacles of single mother students. Higher education institutions must
recognize that intersectionality will be at issue and that single mother students will be dealing
with the complexities of navigating gender and race or sexuality (among other identities),
making college navigation potentially harder. Creating a caring community grounded in student
development theory can help foster trust between students and faculty and staff and guide higher
education professionals in best practices.
Resources for Single Mother Students
The two organizations I have referenced in this paper are the Institute for Women’s Policy
Research (IWPR) and The Future of Children. The IWPR “conducts and communicates research
to inspire public dialogue, shape policy, and improve the lives and opportunities of women of
diverse backgrounds, circumstances, and experiences” [ CITATION Our19 \l 1033 ]. The Future
of Children “translates the best social science research about children and youth into information
that is useful to policymakers, practitioners, grant-makers, advocates, the media, and students of
public policy” [ CITATION Abo191 \l 1033 ]. It is crucial for higher education professionals to

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identify and monitor sources of current research and to apply it to the creation of policy and
programming.
Research sources are important to higher education professionals and policy makers, but
student resources can make an immediate impact on a single mother student’s life. Two resources
I have found helpful are the Association for Nontraditional Students in Higher Education
(ANTSHE) and the American Association of University Women (AAUW).
ANTSHE’s mission is “to provide scholarship opportunities, academic resources, and
motivational support for non-traditional students, and to celebrate, and to build on the network of
faculty, administrators, and advisors that work with and inspire non-traditional students to
succeed” [ CITATION Ass18 \l 1033 ]. ANTSHE provides opportunities to attend their annual
conference, network with other nontraditional students, and access educational funding. This
association also provides an opportunity for single mother students to contribute to research in
the field by sharing their own experiences. Part of positive student development in college is
making meaning and ANTSHE allows nontraditional students the opportunity to do so.
The AAUW is “the nation’s leading voice promoting equity and education for women and
girls” [ CITATION Who19 \l 1033 ]. AAUW offers memberships to women pursuing
undergraduate or graduate degrees and publishes research in several areas affecting women
college students. The AAUW advocates for equity and access to higher education and offers
several fellowships and grants to help women advance their education.
The most important resource for single mother students is a robust and responsive
network and this is where higher education institutions can make a significant difference in these
students’ lives. Connecting single mother students with one another can help them form
relationships that can be long lasting and sustaining. Ideally, this network would be able to help

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single parent students with seemingly intractable situations. For example, parents in the same
network can coordinate childcare for sick children, with one parent watching the sick children
while the other parent gets class notes or takes care of administrative tasks.
Conclusion
Single mother students are a growing segment of the undergraduate population, adding to
the nontraditional student population, which itself has been a growing segment of the
postsecondary population for decades. Changing demographics in the United States will shift the
student population even further and higher education institutions will need to examine their
missions and decide what they will do about this shift. Where once it might have made sense to
create success centers to serve different segments of the student population, it is becoming
increasingly clear that the campus culture itself will have to change.
Lastly, the most important reason for higher education institutions to intentionally engage
and serve this population is that doing so well will increase access to higher education for more
people and will improve equity in college degree attainment. It is the responsibility of higher
education institutions to do the former, and it benefits individuals, families, and society to do the
latter.

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