Two-parent households are dwindling in the United States, with four out of 10 children being born to a single mother, according to a new report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). Between 1999 and 2012, the number of single mothers attending college has nearly doubled.
“Because single mothers are a growing share of the population, we shouldn’t be surprised to see a growing share of college students raising kids alone,” said Dr. Barbara Gault, the IWPR executive director. “Single mothers’ economic situation requires that they maximize their human capital so that they can earn a living wage and support their families. College is a great way to do that.”
Nearly 2.1 million students, or 11 percent of all undergraduates, are single mothers, the majority of whom are women of color. Close to half, or 44 percent, attend community college. Of those attending community college, 43 percent say that they are likely to drop out due to the struggle to balance caring for their family with school attendance.
Coming in second behind community colleges are for-profit schools, which account for 30 percent of enrollments among single mothers. It should be noted that the IWPR report evaluates data from 1999 to 2012, meaning that the proportion of single mothers currently attending for-profits and community colleges may have shifted. Both sectors have seen declines in enrollment in recent years.
The high number of single mothers enrolled in for-profits was no accident, according to Gault. “For-profits specifically recruit single mothers,” Gault said.
Early on in the Obama administration, for-profits started running online ad campaigns targeted at mothers. Some ads claimed that the president wanted mothers specifically to attend college and had created grants aimed at that demographic. Text from one 2009 third-party ad ran, “Obama Asks Moms to Return to School.” The ads were not endorsed by Obama or the Education Department.
Critics say the ads relied on the implied endorsement of the federal government to bolster the credibility of the school by linking to information about existing federal programs, such as Pell grants. “[For-profits] can rely on the fact that the government is providing the money to let someone assume that their tuition is a reasonable value, because otherwise why would the federal government provide the grants and loans for it?” said Robert Shireman, senior fellow at the Century Foundation and former deputy undersecretary of ED during the Obama administration.
