Nicola Wurinaris Dr. Cheryl Huff English 111 October 21, 2018 The importance of single mothers receiving additional resources, so as to graduate college and provide a better life for themselves and their children. Last year, over 40% of babies born in the United States were born to single mothers, which is three times higher than the rate in 1960. (“Single Mom Statistics”) But despite ample evidence on the benefits of a college degree, a small number of single mothers enroll in college and even less graduate. Why is this happening, and how can colleges work with state and federal government to increase the percentage of single mothers leaving college with a degree? In this essay, I will propose that by initiating and extending additional resources to single mothers, colleges could help raise the rates of graduation for single mothers, which would improve the quality of life for both the mothers, and their children. The number of women who are parenting alone is increasing. In 2011, a U.S. Census Bureau report revealed that 62% of new moms in their early 20s are unmarried. The report also found that 36% of all moms were unwed, a number up from 31% in 2005. Additionally, in families with incomes of less than $10,000, that number goes up to 69%. (“US Single Parent Households”). Single mothers make up the vast majority of single parent households, and life can be very tough. A college degree is proven to increase income earning potential, rate of employment and consequentially an overall improvement in life. If more single mothers could achieve their degrees, it would reduce their risk of poverty, underemployment and low socioeconomic status. There are over 2 million single mothers in college today, 40% of which are black. Despite being in college to hopefully bring themselves and their children out of poverty, they face extremely challenging odds to finishing their degrees. In fact, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), compared to 50% of women who are not mothers, only 8 percent of single mothers who start college earn an associate or bachelor’s degree within six years. (IWPR “Graduation rates”) Ultimately, single mothers have much lower rates of getting a college degree over the course of their lifetimes- only 31 percent of single mothers ages 25 and older ever get a bachelors degree, compared with 54 percent of married mothers and 40 percent of women overall. (IWPR). But why is this happening? It can’t be because college isn’t worth the hardship, as the benefits of a college degree are consistently proven time and time again. The employment rate for female adults is highest for those with a bachelor's or higher degree (83 percent) which is double the amount of the lowest employment rate- the women who haven’t graduated high school. (42 percent). So, the only explanation must be that single mothers are forced to quit their schooling efforts because they are no longer able to continue. Without welfare programs to provide access to safe housing or adequate nutrition, most mothers are having to work as well as attend full time school simply to be able to make ends meet. Employment, coupled with trying to maintain good grades and be the sole carer of a child is almost insurmountable odds for some mothers to overcome. Because they cannot give up their income or child, the education is the first item to be dropped when the schedule or finances because too much to cope with alone. Schools could help ease this burden to make it less likely for mothers to drop out of school before achieving their goal of a degree. The effects of the federal, state and school level not recognizing this issue is vast. With a much lower employment rate and a dramatically different income level, many single-parent households are living in poverty. “Children are much more likely to be impoverished if they live in single-mother families than if they live in married-couple families. In 2016, 42 percent of children living in single-mother families were impoverished, compared with 8 percent of children living in married-couple families”. (“Children in Poverty”). Children living in poverty have fewer books and educational resources, and are much more likely to experience homelessness, stress and depression. Educationally, the high-school dropout rate is 7 times that of the general population, which can lead to an ongoing cycle of poverty. (“5 Ways Poverty Harms Children”). According to the IWPA, the high cost of daycare is the primary reason mothers do not complete college. Only 44 percent of colleges offered any kind of daycare in 2015. (“Hechinger Report”). There is a government funded program for college daycare called The Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program (CCAMPIS), which helps low-income single mothers who are in college and need childcare services. However, funding is always being cut to this and similar programs, and recently President Trump has called to abolish it altogether. Programs such as on-campus daycares, grants and scholarships cost money; and many colleges lack the funding to initiate or maintain them. Otherwise, there is very little availability of federal or state assistance specifically for single mothers attending college, leaving the burden on the colleges themselves. Separately of programs with a financial cost, there are also allowances that colleges could make that may not be as vastly helpful as daycare but still ease the considerable burden of trying to juggle full time academic enrollment and single parenting. Some examples of this would be additional time given for assignments, extended hours for testing, or fast-track pathways for things like financial aid and tutoring assistance. These would not cost any money to institute but could make a significance difference for single mothers who are struggling in their classes or feel like their only option is to drop out of college and give up their chances of obtaining their degree. Single mothers are a growing population, and yet are still not attending or graduating college on par with their non-parenting peers. Although their challenges are great, there are measures that could be taken at all levels- from federal funding down to individual Professors who have single mothers enrolled in their classes. With better access to daycare, financial assistance and additional resources such as tutoring or flexible deadlines, more mothers may be able to graduate from college and provide a better life for themselves and their children. Works Cited 1. Johnson, Emma. “Single Mom Statistics”: https://www.wealthysinglemommy.com/single-mom-statistics/ 2. “US Single Parent Households” http://lib.post.ca.gov/Publications/Building%20a%20Career%20Pipeline%20Documents/ Safe_Harbor.pdf 3. Kruvelis, Cruze, Gault 2017. “IWPR” Percentages of college graduation. https://iwpr.org/publications/single-mothers-college-growing-enrollment-financialchallenges-benefits-attainment/ 4. “Employment Rates”: https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=561 5. “Children in Poverty” https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/children-in-poverty 6. “5 Ways Poverty Harms Children” https://www.childtrends.org/child-trends-5/5-wayspoverty-harms-children 7. Krupnick, Matt. “Hechinger Report”. https://hechingerreport.org/number-student-parentsavailability-campus-child-care/
