Online learning courses give student parents the flexibility they need to further their education and career. The following is the personal testimony of Chassity Brown, a special education teacher at the Bismarck School District in Bismark, Arkansas.
Before I became pregnant at 16, I had the whole world in my hands. I was top of my class, on track to be valedictorian, and looking forward to going to college. But becoming a teen mother changed everything. Before long, my husband joined the military to support our young family, which soon grew to include two more children. I was essentially a single mom for months at a time. While I immediately loved my kids more than life itself, it was painful to watch my dreams of going to college slip away.
That all changed when I discovered online courses that allowed me the flexibility I needed to fit coursework into my busy schedule—and at a price my family could afford. One course led to another until I had built up enough momentum to earn both a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in special education at Henderson State University, where I also received an educational examiners endorsement. Today, I am a special education teacher. I feared that going to college would somehow harm my family but, in fact, the opposite turned out to be true. While my time in college was difficult, it not only led to a career that improved our financial situation, it showed my children just what was possible. My eldest daughter is now nearing her own college graduation and will soon attend medical school.
I’m proof that when institutions give student-parents the flexibility and support they need to succeed, the impact can transform families and cross generations. At a time when more and more students are questioning the value of a degree, it’s perhaps never been more urgent for colleges and universities to invest in the success of these learners.
The research backs up my story, with studies showing that children of parents who graduated college are far more likely to earn a degree than students whose parents never attended college. But students like me face many hurdles on their way to the finish line. Nearly one-third of first-generation college students have dependents, and two-thirds of first-generation students work while they are enrolled. In total, about four million students are parents. Compared to students who are not caretakers, student-parents are 10 times less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree within five years. And a startling 90 percent of first-generation learners from low-income backgrounds do not graduate within six years.
The biggest barriers these students encounter are challenges related to time and money. Many first-generation college students are from low-income families, and two-thirds of student-parents live at or near poverty line. Student-parents also struggle with what researchers call “time poverty.” Working student-parents of preschool-aged children, for example, can spare just 10 hours a day to care for themselves. Within those 10 hours, they must somehow squeeze in eating, sleeping, and all of their coursework. Institutions should work to redesign the student experience with flexibility as a guiding principle.
Time moves differently for student-parents, busy first-generation learners, and other so-called nontraditional students. They need the ability to complete coursework, view lectures, or access student support services whenever it is most convenient. They also need greater flexibility around the transfer process, allowing them to accumulate credits in ways best suited to their hectic schedules and tighter wallets.
I was only able to gain the momentum necessary for completing my two degrees after taking 10 courses through an online course platform called StraighterLine. The courses, which were more affordable than traditional courses and came with a high degree of flexibility, were critical to my success. But if the institutions I graduated from hadn’t accepted the courses for credit, my college experience very well could have stalled out early. It is entirely possible I would not have the career I do today. My family might not be living in a nice house on 15 acres of land instead of our old single-wide trailer. My husband would likely not have later enrolled in online courses himself.
Most difficult to think about, my children may not have had the environment they needed to thrive and begin their own educational journeys.
When institutions thoughtfully design academic opportunities around the diverse needs of their students, there’s really no limit to what those learners can do. Student-parents demonstrate that every day. If colleges and universities can meet these learners where they are and provide them with the flexibility they need to succeed, whole families stand to benefit for generations.
Chassity Brown is a special education teacher at the Bismarck School District in Bismark, Arkansas and lives in Friendship, Arkansas with her husband and three children.