Student parents face steep graduation gap as employers seek talent

More than 3 million U.S. college students are raising children while enrolled, a group that education advocates say is being left behind as employers struggle to find workers. Data cited by Enyi Okebugwu of Imaginable Futures shows the completion gap is large: only 18% of student parents earn a degree within six years.

Okebugwu, a senior program manager at the philanthropic organization, wrote in Fortune that the issue links higher education, child care and workforce policy. He argued that colleges and training programs are losing students who could help fill labor shortages if they had more reliable support.

Staffing Industry Analysts has reported that 69% of U.S. employers say they have trouble finding needed talent. Okebugwu connected that demand to students who start college or training while parenting but often leave before finishing.

Millions are enrolled, but completion lags

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research has found that nearly one in five college students are parents, amounting to roughly 3 million people. The American Council on Education has reported that 18% of student parents complete a degree within six years.

IWPR has also reported that 12 million parents nationwide have attended college but do not have a degree. The Urban Institute has said millions more parents are in job training programs without access to dependable child care.

Okebugwu wrote that those numbers matter beyond individual households because employers, communities and the broader economy lose out when students leave school with debt but without credentials. He also argued that automation and artificial intelligence will make repeat education and retraining more common, increasing the need for systems that can serve adults with children.

Child care and housing are key barriers

Research cited by Okebugwu points to child care as one of the clearest supports tied to completion. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that community college student parents with on-campus child care were nearly three times as likely to graduate or transfer to a four-year school within three years: 41% did so, compared with 15% of those without that access.

Housing instability also affects caregiving students, according to a 2026 survey by New America and Trellis Strategies. The survey found that nearly one-third of caregiving students who moved several times in a year did so because they could not afford rent, while nearly one-quarter moved because their housing was unsafe.

The same survey found that 73% of those students did not know they could ask their institution for more financial help. Among those who requested additional assistance, 3% received it, according to New America and Trellis Strategies.

Policy changes are emerging in states

Okebugwu called for colleges and training programs to build around the lives of working parents, including more evening, weekend and online options, stackable credentials, child care and other support services. He said many institutions still use a model built around traditional residential students with fewer outside obligations.

Employers also have a role, Okebugwu wrote, because IWPR data shows nearly 70% of student parents work while enrolled. He said flexible scheduling and paid internships could help parents stay on track academically.

On policy, Okebugwu pointed to Georgia and Oregon as states that have linked child care access with postsecondary persistence or adjusted subsidy rules to better account for students who are also workers. He also cited Maryland, Virginia and New Mexico as states taking steps to collect data on student parents so public resources can be matched to need.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.