Student Parent Ally Certificate

Across the United States, nearly 25% of college students are raising children while pursuing their education. Despite their determination and resilience, student parents often face systemic barriers that make navigating higher education significantly more challenging.

The Student Parent Ally Certificate, developed by Generation Hope, equips higher education professionals and nonprofit leaders with the knowledge, tools, and strategies needed to better support student parents and create more inclusive institutional environments.

This self-paced professional learning experience guides participants through six courses, exploring areas that influence the student parent experience:

• Intro to Student Parent Work: Build foundational knowledge about student parents in higher education and explore the importance of belonging, mattering, and asset-based approaches to support.
• Data:  Learn how institutions can make student parents visible through data collection and analysis, and how data can inform decision-making, advocacy, and resource allocation.
• Policy:  Examine how institutional policies can unintentionally create barriers for student parents and explore strategies for developing more inclusive and accessible policies.
• People: Identify and cultivate student parent champions across campus who can build momentum and strengthen institutional commitment to supporting student parents.
• Culture:  Explore how institutional culture shapes the experiences of student parents and how small shifts in practice and mindset can foster belonging and mattering.

The certificate culminates in a Student Parent Action Plan, where participants identify key stakeholders, opportunities for impact, and practical next steps they can implement within their role or organization.

By the end of the program, participants will be prepared to:

• Recognize systemic barriers affecting student parents
• Use data to inform advocacy and institutional decision-making
• Identify policies that influence student parent success
• Build networks of champions and collaborators
• Foster a culture where student parents are visible, valued, and supported