The answer to improving retention is probably: give them more money.

Austin Community College has been running a support program for parenting students since the Fall of 2021, and last week Trellis Strategies, a national research firm focused on postsecondary education, released an evaluation of the effort. The results are impressive.

Trellis found that 95% of students in the program remained enrolled the next semester, compared to 75% for their peers who did not participate. Participants were also more likely to complete at least nine credits (equal to three quarter time attendance), were less likely to need emergency aid support, and borrowed $1,052 less per semester than their peers not in the program.

The Parenting Students Project is a partnership between United Way for Greater Austin and Austin Community College District. Staffing for the project is provided by United Way and Austin CCD, with funding coming from a private donor.

There are three million college students with kids working on undergraduate degrees, but they often take a long time to complete or drop out because of how difficult it is to go to college with kids in tow.

What Support Did Parenting Students Receive to Improve Retention?

To be eligible for the program, students had to be enrolled in at least nine credits, the equivalent of three-quarter time enrollment, and have one or more children under age 12. The program has supported 95 students and 137 children since it was started in 2021.

Students in the program receive a $500 monthly stipend while they are participating and meeting the enrollment criteria, as well as enhanced academic advising, mental health support, and if they applied, a scholarship to help pay for childcare.

How Was the Program Evaluated?

To conduct their research, Trellis compared the academic records of the 95 students who have participated in the program so far to the records of over 7,000 students with children enrolled over the same period. The researchers compared GPA, retention and completion rates, as well as interviewing participants about the non-academic benefits they experienced from the program.

Read the full article about improving retention for students with kids by Edward Conroy at Forbes.