Stories & Case Studies
Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) is a large urban institution serving more than 30,000 students in the heart of one of Florida’s biggest metro areas. For the last two years, team members from FSCJ have participated in Moving From Data to Action — Scaling Support for Student Parents, a grant initiative aimed at helping a select cohort of colleges to design, implement, and assess supports that serve the needs of their parenting students.
With such a large student population served, one of the college’s key priorities has been to understand its parenting students better, so that everyone from leadership to faculty to advising staff is better equipped to meet this demographic’s needs. FSCJ already knew from FAFSA data and surveys like the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) that about 35% of its students are parenting, the majority of whom are women and more than half of whom are single.
But when FSCJ completed the ATD Student Parent Opportunity Assessment in the 2023–24 school year, the college gained valuable insights about its parenting students and learned a few surprising data points: “We learned that FSCJ’s parenting student population is nearly twice the size of comparable colleges, highlighting a significant and previously unrecognized segment of our student body,” said Karen Acevedo, associate vice president of strategy and transformation at FSCJ.
Photos courtesy of Florida State College at Jacksonville
A fall 2024 student climate survey gave college leadership further insights, especially when more than 300 parenting students volunteered to participate in focus groups. Acevedo said these focus groups revealed a few key themes about this population, including a strong desire for more environments that welcome children.
In response to this finding, FSCJ is reviewing and revising policies around children in campus spaces. The college hopes to reduce barriers that may hinder student parents’ full participation in campus life. FSCJ leaders have had collaborative discussions with campus leadership, faculty, and students and are committed to ensuring campus policies reflect the diverse needs of the college’s student population.
“By reexamining these policies,” Acevedo said, “we aim to create a stronger sense of belonging and improve academic and personal success for student parents.”
FSCJ isn’t doing this work alone. The college participates in a community of practice with the other members of the Moving From Data to Action cohort, and Acevedo said the sessions with this group were vital for sharing information and strategies. FSCJ has also presented on its work to support student parents at the last two DREAM conferences, not only sharing the college’s initiatives and successes but also gathering ideas and best practices from other institutions. “The resulting dialogue has fostered rich conversations and meaningful network connections, enhancing our collective efforts in student success and institutional improvement,” said Dr. Tara Haley, associate provost of baccalaureate, career, and technical education.
More than anything, Acevedo and Haley believe college leaders who want to improve their support of parenting students need a solid foundation of data about this population. “Start with a clear, evidence-based understanding of the parenting student population on campus before designing or expanding services,” Acevedo said. She added that launching FSCJ’s efforts with the Student Parent Opportunity Assessment has brough clarity, credibility, and a roadmap for sustainable change that builds both institutional capacity and student success.
