28. Consider the value of caregiving in the admissions process.

Admissions 09.6.24

Here’s what the federal government can do:

  • The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research about the ways that caregiving for a sibling, parent, or other relative can lead to readiness for or create barriers to higher education for students.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should share updated best practices to support the academic success of pregnant and parenting students and protect pregnant and parenting students from discrimination in high school.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should ensure that higher education institutions have access to and an understanding of Title IX guidance on protections for pregnant and parenting students.

Here’s what institutional leaders can do:

  • Higher education institutions should audit their admissions criteria to include consideration of caregiving responsibilities. Higher education institutions should provide professional development learning opportunities to their admissions staff and faculty for this purpose.
  • Higher education institutions should ensure that information about Title IX protections and campus support services for pregnant and parenting students are shared in recruitment materials, catalogs, student handbooks, and on public websites.
  • Institutions should encourage students to share information in their applications about caregiving responsibilities they have had and how those experiences contributed to their readiness for higher education.

Students with significant responsibility to care for a sibling, parent, child, or other relative are also demonstrating vital skills that will help them to be successful and will contribute to the overall college experience. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly one-fifth of all college students are parents.[i] Women of color are more likely than other college students to be parents, with 47 percent of Black women, 39.4 percent of Native American women, and 31.6 percent of Latinas identifying as student parents.[ii] Weighing the significance of activities such as caregiving responsibilities of parenting students and students from multi-generational households may have the opportunity to create more equitable admissions for today’s students.

Students must have the power to make their own decisions about reproduction, including matters associated with contraceptive use, pregnancy, and childbearing. For more information and resources, see the National Women’s Law Center.

[i] Williams, Brittani. “Many Determined College Students Are Also Dedicated Parents: A Preview of the Student Parent Affordability Report,” The Education Trust, September 22, 2022. https://edtrust.org/resource/many-determined-college-students-are-also-dedicated-parents-a-preview-of-the-student-parent-affordability-report/.

[ii] Gault, Barbara; Reichlin, Lindsey; & Román, Stephanie. “College Affordability for Low-Income Adults: Improving Returns on Investment for Families and Society,” Institute for Women’s Policy Research. April 2014. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED556725.