Tackling Time Poverty for Student Parents

For student parents, time poverty—the lack of discretionary time that comes from balancing classes, parenting and, in many cases, work—can make completing a degree more difficult.

When colleges seek to address the competing demands on student parents, childcare often dominates the conversation. But while access to care can help parents attend class, it doesn’t necessarily address another key challenge: finding uninterrupted time outside the classroom to study and complete coursework.

The University of Louisiana System is testing a new approach to give student parents dedicated time to focus on their coursework while keeping their children nearby. Nicholls State University and the University of Louisiana Monroe have partnered with StudyNPlay, a Louisiana-based program that provides supervised play for kids to free up study time for their parents. Parents can study in a designated space while a caregiver watches their children play nearby and within view.

Katie Dawson, associate vice president for enrollment, innovation and talent strategy at the University of Louisiana System, said student parents can currently use StudyNPlay’s existing off-campus study center in Baton Rouge, while Nicholls State and ULM plan to launch dedicated spaces in partnership with StudyNPlay on their campuses next spring.

“Traditional childcare or babysitting requires you to leave your child somewhere, be it at home or at someone else’s house or facility,” Dawson said. “What StudyNPlay has created is a model that is inclusive of parents having quiet study areas, but also the ability to see their children playing with a supervisor within their own reach.”

“Parents are never actually leaving the location where their children are, which is also a very big differentiator between this and childcare,” she added, and that benefits both the parents and the institution. “Part of what attracted us to this resource was the fact that it wasn’t creating a burden or a risk for our campuses because now they’re not assuming the total care of a child through this model.”

Unlocking study time: At StudyNPlay, student parents sign up for two-hour time slots during which their children spend time in a designated play area while they remain on-site to study. 

Stephanie Styles, executive director of StudyNPlay, said the spaces operate from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the understanding that student parents often don’t have time to focus on coursework until after traditional school or work hours. Styles developed the program in part based on her own experience as a student parent.

“My son was 5 months old when I started law school, and I recognized that there was a gap in support that really focused on families,” Styles said. “When I spoke with other student parents and families, I saw that my experience was not individual.”

To date, the program has served more than 200 student parents and their children, Styles said. In addition to supervised play and learning opportunities for children, student parents have access to tutoring, coaching and other resources intended to support their own academic success.

“We don’t replace childcare, we complement it, and technically we’re parent care, too,” Styles said. “We give everything that the parent needs in order for them to be successful and for them to complete their [coursework].”

The program relies on a mix of philanthropic funding, university contributions and fees paid by participating students. For students who pay out of pocket, costs are determined on a sliding scale, with a base rate of $25 per hour for two children, Dawson said. She noted that the university system is exploring additional philanthropic funding and industry partnerships to ensure that cost does not prevent student parents from participating.

Dawson met Styles about three and a half years ago and said visiting the StudyNPlay location helped her see how the model could be expanded to campuses across the university system.

“I looked at her and I said, ‘Stephanie, this is amazing. Like, what do you want to do with this?’ and she looked back at me and she was like, ‘Katie, this should be like libraries. We should have these sorts of resources everywhere,’” Dawson said. “It’s a structure that can be easily duplicated and something that really will help maintain our focus on lifelong learning, giving families and parenting students in particular an advantage that they currently don’t have.”

Filling the gaps: Nicholls State University is adding the StudyNPlay pilot to a broader set of supports already available to student parents. The university has been a leader within the University of Louisiana System in developing resources for this population, Dawson said.

Michele Caruso, vice president for student affairs at Nicholls State, said the university offers access to reserved parking for pregnant students, free supplies for parents and their children, family-focused food security initiatives, and an annual student parent graduation celebration. Those efforts are guided by the university’s student parent task force.

University of Louisiana System

Caruso said the StudyNPlay partnership addresses a gap that can remain even when student parents have access to childcare.

“It’s quite significant because securing day care, while challenging in and of itself, is usually a normal part of the package,” Caruso said. “But then that ends at 5 o’clock or whatever time the childcare center closes or a family member is no longer available. But that’s when the real work with school begins, like writing their papers and doing their group projects.”

Caruso said Nicholls State has seen an uptick in its population of student parents and adult learners, and the addition of StudyNPlay has been well received not only by students but also by faculty and staff.

“Most [students] have a student parent in their class, so they’re happy for that additional service and support for their peers,” Caruso said. “The response from faculty and staff who hear about it as well has been very positive. They recognize the work that they’re doing every day, and the number of parenting students they see, and where they see those gaps.”

Rethinking student support: Dawson said both Nicholls State and ULM have signed memoranda of understanding with StudyNPlay. Once the centers are up and running, the goal is to expand the model to the University of Louisiana System’s six other campuses.

“I’m very hopeful that once those two centers are established, we not only have two to three more campuses, but potentially all six campuses within the system raise their hand and say, ‘We can see this being part of the resources that we use to support our students as well,’” Dawson said.

Caruso said institutions need to be willing to adapt their support structures to the different needs of student parents.

“Every student parent’s journey is slightly different, so we have to remember that we can’t just slap on a blanket program or make assumptions,” Caruso said. “We really have to do the work to understand what that is and be willing to adjust all of our structures. Traditional higher ed is not structured for student parents, and now that we recognize what a strong population our student parents are and the importance of supporting them to reach their goals, we have to be able to do that.”

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