In partnership with Family Care Office, the Innovation Hub will explore the needs of students who are also parents, as they navigate their multiple roles and responsibilities while studying. The data collected will inform future programs and services for student parents at the University of Toronto.
Our Findings
We found that students who are parents offer meaningful and distinctive viewpoints to academic conversations and diversify the University of Toronto student population. The student parents we spoke with expressed eagerness to fully engage with campus life, but experienced feelings of isolation and were overwhelmed while balancing their responsibilities as students with those of parenting. Becoming a parent expands one’s worldview, and students who are parents bring invaluable knowledge, dedication, and thought leadership to the academic community.
Our vision for the project is that a family-friendly university empowers student parents to fully contribute to academic life.
Our findings play out in three themes:
- Both a Student and a Parent
- Parent-Friendly Resources
- Healthy Boundaries
- Reflect
Student parents bring impactful experience, skills, and values to the University of Toronto community. While student parents want to involve themselves in the opportunities provided at the university, they struggle to feel fully present on campus because of the commitments to academics and family they need to balance. When university programming and services acknowledge student parents’ needs and make structural changes to address them, they can engage in academic life. A family-friendly university empowers student parents to fully contribute to academic life. Learn more by accessing our report, which is linked below.
