(J-383) Key Barriers to University-Enrolled Student Parents Enhanced by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction:: Student parents, both undergraduate and graduate, already face the difficult task of balancing their studies and raising children. The COVID-19 pandemic enhanced already present issues student parents face, such as virtual schooling, daycare costs and closings, staying home with sick children, and potentially not having a local support system, among others. Further, students who are performing laboratory research to fulfill their STEM educational requirements had their research progress come to a halt when the country locked down. This study aims to identify the struggles student parents faced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, what issues the pandemic exacerbated, and what new problems have since arisen.


Materials and Methods:: An IRB-approved survey was formulated with questions that focused on consequences of being a student parent during the pandemic, coping resources available to them, effects on mental health, and demographic information. The survey was disseminated via an email campaign to student affairs administrations and social media. Survey data was collected over 3 months at the conclusion of 2021 and beginning of 2022. Results were analyzed and contextualized within the social-ecological framework.


Results, Conclusions, and Discussions:: The COVID-19 pandemic presented many new challenges to student parents in addition to those they already faced. The results of our survey demonstrate a clear need for support and resources to help student parents navigate these unique challenges. The majority of student parents implore higher education institutions to establish procedures for flexible deadlines. The implementation of clear policies and procedures for flexible deadlines would help ensure that student parents can perform to the best of their ability in the case that childcare-related challenges arise. Further, student parents also suggest better clarity of the policies in place for student parents and that higher education institutions attempt to better understand the situations they face. Student parents also recommended that higher education institutions codify protections for student parents who need to miss class for childcare-related reasons. This protection would ensure that student parents are not at a disadvantage compared to their non-student parent counterparts due to circumstances outside of their control, such as a child falling ill. As student parents are a significant portion of the potential STEM workforce, protecting their retention through graduation and within their STEM field should be prioritized.


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