Single Moms in Higher Ed Lift as They Climb, Federal Policies Should Lighten the Load

Nearly 10% of all undergraduate students (about 1.7 million) in the U.S. are single mothers. Student moms are hard workers who make many sacrifices to balance the intense demands of raising children, providing for their families, and managing their academic coursework.

Single moms have a lot to balance, and meeting basic needs, such as child care, food, and housing, can be difficult. Almost 9 in 10 single student moms have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty line, and according to the 2019–20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 38.7% of single parents reported experiencing food insecurity in the past 30 days, compared with 23% of undergraduates overall. The data also revealed significant gender disparities, showing that overall women reported higher levels of food insecurity (24.3%) than men (19.7%).

So, women and children first? Maybe not. In order to protect some of the most vulnerable students in higher education we must take a hard look at our existing federal policies and make critical improvements that will enable these students to succeed during their studies and beyond. How do we get this done? To start, Higher Learning Advocates supports reforms to SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and federal financial aid rules; stronger investments in child care resources; increased need-based federal financial aid via the Pell Grant; and expanded tax credits.

Reduce barriers to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

SNAP is a federal program that offers nutrition assistance to eligible low-income individuals and families. However, many students, including single student mothers, often struggle to access these benefits even if they meet the income requirements due to complicated eligibility rules and insufficient outreach. Technically, low-income students attending college more than half time are excluded from receiving SNAP, unless they meet one of several exemptions, along with the income requirements.

Some single mothers qualify for the exemptions, which are tied to having a child younger than 12. For instance, parents caring for a child under 6 years old, as well as single parents enrolled full-time and caring for a child under 12 years old, qualify for exemptions to the student rule. Those parents caring for a child aged 6 to 11 and lacking the child care necessary to attend school and work 20 hours a week or participate in work-study are also exempt from the student rule. Single mothers who care for children between the ages of 12–18 are left behind by these restrictive barriers.

Changing eligibility rules to include those single mothers would go a long way in supporting their postsecondary and career aspirations. Moreover, the complexity of current SNAP rules require targeted outreach efforts to single moms in college to ensure these students and their children have the knowledge about the resources they need to — avoid hunger — and be successful.

Increase funding for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program

Higher education institutions can use federal CCAMPIS grant funding to establish and expand on-campus child care services, which many single moms depend on to complete their education. While federal funding has increased in recent years, there are simply not enough resources to meet the current demand for services. To support our nearly 4 million college students with dependent children, including the 1.7 million who are single moms, CCAMPIS funding must continue to grow. An annual allocation of $500 million would scale up the program allowing CCAMPIS to reach 100,000 more Pell-eligible students with young children (ages 0–5), greatly improving their chances of postsecondary success.

Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC)

The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit allows adults with dependents, including some student parents, to claim a credit for expenses such as child care or household costs associated with taking care of dependents while working or attending higher education full-time. While single moms who are enrolled full-time can take advantage of this tax credit, mothers who are enrolled part-time are not eligible to receive this benefit. Many single mothers who are balancing work and family attend college part-time. During the pandemic, the CDCTC was temporarily made refundable, allowing many more low-income families to receive a tax refund even if their tax bill was zero. To better meet the needs of single student moms, expanding the CDCTC to part-time students and making it refundable once again should be a top priority.

Reform Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policies to improve financial aid access

When a student encounters obstacles out of their control that disrupts their academic progress, they may fall short of SAP requirements. If a student fails to maintain SAP, they must navigate an institution’s often complex and onerous appeals process, or they indefinitely lose access to their federal financial aid. This barrier to financial aid contributes to the growing 40 million adults with some college and no credential, of whom approximately 12.2 million are parents. An automatic SAP reset after two years of non-enrollment will enable single moms who are “SAP’d out” to return to school and finish their education.

Increase federal support for the recognition of credit for prior learning (CPL)

Single moms often bring with them a breadth of knowledge and skills gained through prior life and work experience that can translate into academic credit, thus reducing the time to completion of a postsecondary program. Many higher education institutions offer evaluations of such experiences, commonly known as credit for prior learning or prior learning assessments. However, these assessments come at a direct and often burdensome cost for students, as federal financial aid cannot be used to cover the CPL assessment.

Continue to support emergency aid grants beyond the pandemic

Unexpected emergencies, such as an employer conducting layoffs or a car breaking down, can arise for students at any time. However, for single student moms, an emergency of this magnitude, on top of already juggling school, child care, and nutrition expenses can easily lead to a decision to drop out of school. Emergency aid grants provided to students during the COVID-19 pandemic were instrumental in keeping many enrolled, but emergencies continue to happen outside of the national public health emergency. To help single moms stay enrolled and complete their education, implementing a permanent federal emergency grant aid program is of vital importance.

Single moms in higher ed already juggle many responsibilities to ensure the success of themselves and their families. But despite the uphill battles they face in pursuit of an education, they adapt to a system that overlooks their needs — in an effort to secure the training they need to build a brighter future for their families. Building a higher learning system that supports their determination by meeting their basic needs through nutrition assistance, accessible child care, and federal financial aid is the least we can do. As we celebrate National Student Parent Month, we encourage our federal policymakers to enact policy changes that meet single student moms where they are. As stated by Yoslin Amaya, a student mom of two from the University of Maryland, “student parents are not looking for a handout, they’re looking for a hand up.”