Portland State has two childcare centers, and both are full. More than 1,000 students are on waiting lists for on-campus childcare, and many more don’t even apply, because they know there is no room. But, while few people picture an undergrad traipsing to class with a backpack, a diaper bag and a breast pump, times are changing. Universities are looking to meet the demands of a new type of college student.
According to the Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success’s 2011 report on non-traditional students, 39 percent of today’s college students are over the age of 25 and one quarter of undergraduate students are parents. The report projects that over the next 10 years adult college student enrollment will grow faster than traditional student enrollment.
In 2011, Portland State President Wim Wiewel commissioned a task force to determine how to make the university more family-friendly and accessible for students, faculty and staff. In the final draft of the report, the task force recommended that the university find a way to expand childcare services. Additionally, the university is looking to develop more family-friendly practices, increase visibility of services and transform Student Parent Services into a larger resource center.
Dean of Student Life Michele Toppe said that PSU is looking at successful programs at other campuses, like Oregon State University. OSU created a short-term program at its library specifically for drop-off childcare and created an online babysitting service that conducts background checks and verifies credentials for babysitters. Toppe explained that OSU gives awards to departments that create family-friendly environments. Things like this don’t cost anything, Toppe pointed out, but having a toy basket and allowing a student to bring their child to a meeting with an adviser shows that the school cares about students’ success.
According to Ruth Whited, office specialist at SPS, on-campus childcare is far less expensive than off-campus childcare. As a way to help low-income students pay for childcare services, SPS administers the Jim Sells Child Care Assistance Program, which specifically provides subsidies for students who need financial assistance for childcare services.
Toppe said the task force has approved reassigning the center to the student life office, where other student resource centers are managed. Moving the center will increase visibility and align resources for students with children, according to Toppe.
“Student-parents feel like having children is frowned on,” Toppe said. “We want to do everything we can to make it possible for students with children to be successful.”
It’s easy to miss the tiny, one-room SPS office located in the lobby of Smith Memorial Student Union. It contains two desks, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that house a lending library, and baskets of toys. In addition to providing financial assistance, the office is a place where students with children can go for emotional support and educational resources.
Whited, who is currently the only full-time employee at SPS, believes the office is there to help students with children navigate the challenges of juggling parenthood and college life. “One of the reasons parents come to this office is to melt down and release stress,” Whited said. “My role is to help build a bridge between the two worlds that student parents coexist in.”
The bottom line, Whited argued, is that high childcare costs can cause students to either drop out of school or reduce their class load. “Our office helps students stay in school by assisting them in navigating various issues, such as the high cost of childcare,” she said. “This trickles down to the child. Parents getting a higher education increases the likelihood of the child getting a higher education.”
The task force’s report also highlights this correlation. “One of the greatest barriers facing parents pursuing postsecondary education is obtaining affordable, high-quality child care,” the report said. “With so many parents attempting to balance work, school, and family demands, child care is an absolute requirement for many to be able to pursue postsecondary education.”
Dominic Paz, a PSU student who utilizes on-campus childcare services, is quoted in the report: “Childcare on campus has meant I can focus more on studies because my child is here. We are a first generation academic family (my wife attends community college)…I wouldn’t be in school if I didn’t have this child care—I am certain of that.”
With more than 1,000 students on wait list for childcare at PSU, one thing is very clear—for now, Paz is one of the lucky ones.