Dr. Autumn Green will share findings from her research on student-parent programs in higher education
There are 4.8 million undergraduate students in the U.S. who are raising dependent children, according to a 2014 report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. So, what are colleges and universities doing to support those non-traditional students, and what can they do better? This topic will be explored during the program, “On-Campus with Kids: Supporting Student Parents in Higher Education,” hosted by the Wellesley Centers for Women on Thursday, October 4, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in room 413 of the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center at Wellesley College. This program is part of the Centers’ biannual Lunchtime Seminar Series.
The Title IX effect
Since 1972, when Title IX guaranteed access to education regardless of pregnancy or parenting status (among other protections), college campuses across the U.S. have added family-friendly services like childcare centers, women’s centers, specialized programs, and some expansion of existing family housing. Despite the prevalence of student-parent programs across the country, very little research has been published about them. In this presentation Autumn Green, Ph.D., a research scientist at WCW, and her former student research assistants Sarah Galison and Nicole Parsons, Ed.D., will present findings from the first comprehensive research study on student-parent programs including: a national database of family housing programs and comprehensive data on campus-based student-parent programs in 14 states in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the South. The lecture will include a discussion of best practices for promoting college access and success for student parents and for higher education institutions seeking to embrace the full spirit of Title IX. Presenters will also share and discuss the collaborative student parent driven research process that drove the design and implementation of this project.
BYO Lunch
The Lunchtime Seminar Series at the Wellesley Centers for Women is free and open to the public. Guests are invited to bring their lunches, and the Centers will provide tea and coffee. For accessibility questions, contact Disability Services at Wellesley College at disabilityservices@wellesley.
For those who are unable to attend in person, the program will be streamed live on the Wellesley Centers for Women Facebook page (@wcwonline). Recordings from past seminars are posted online at wcwonline.org/video.
The Wellesley Centers for Women is the largest academic, women-and gender-focused, social-change-driven, research-and-action institute in the United States, located at Wellesley College. Scholars at the Centers advance gender equality, social justice, and human wellbeing through high-quality research, theory, and action programs. Areas of work include: Education, Economic Security, Mental Health, Youth and Adolescent Development, and Gender-Based Violence.
