Two and Four-Year Institutions Come Together to Support Student Parents

Breaking ground on the Cleveland Scholar House in June 2022.Cuyahoga Community College has fourteen separate centers and campuses near and in Cleveland, Ohio. Locally known as Tri-C, the institution provides affordable access to a college degree from the urban downtown to the sprawling suburbs. Yet despite its many locations, Tri-C, like the majority of community colleges in America, does not have any dormitories or residences.

But that’s about to change.

In partnership with nearby four-year institution Cleveland State University (CSU), Tri-C and CSU have begun construction on the Cleveland Scholar House. Once completed in late 2023, the Scholar House will offer 40 single and parenting students an affordable residence within walking distance to Tri-C’s downtown campus and CSU. Residents will receive wrap-around support like on-site high-quality childcare, a computer center and study room, access to academic counseling and financial advising, and more.

“The motto for the Scholar House is about the living and learning community—they will live together as peers, and the programming will help them persist collectively,” said Dr. Angela Johnson, vice president of access and completion at Tri-C. “We’re excited about the opportunity, looking at this from retention and helping students deepen their endeavors.”

Across the country, students at both four-year and two-year institutions are facing basic needs insecurity, struggling for consistent access to food and housing. A fall 2020 survey conducted by The Hope Center, a research center working for greater equity in higher education, found that 52% of students at community colleges experienced a form of housing insecurity in the previous year, including not being able to pay full rent or feeling unsafe in their home. Forty-three percent of students at four-year colleges reported the same.

Dr. Phillip A. Cockrell, vice president for campus engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion at Cleveland State University.Dr. Phillip A. Cockrell, vice president for campus engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion at CSU, spoke about helping students by meeting Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the pyramid of requirements that must be met in order for anyone to succeed and thrive. At the bottom of that pyramid are physiological needs like food, clothing, and shelter.

“If Maslow’s basic needs are not met, students won’t do well in college,” said Cockrell. “We don’t want our students to even have to think about that. We want to eliminate barriers.”