Tarleton State wants to serve its student-parents better through data collection

Tarleton State University wants to better serve its student-parents, so it will start collecting data to understand their needs.

The public university with locations in Fort Worth, Stephenville and Waco was recently awarded a $118,450 grant to assess how it can develop resources and programs for its students who are balancing school, work and parenthood, university officials announced on Friday, Sept. 12.

The grant is part of the Data-to-Action for Parenting Students at Texas Colleges and Universities Grant Program, also known as D2ATX. The Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based research nonprofit, will partner with Tarleton State to collect the data. There are nearly one in five student-parents, or more than 3.1 million, enrolled in an undergraduate program in the U.S., according to 2023 data.

Tarleton State officials underscored the unique challenges of these students, who are dividing their focus between their children’s needs and their own. They noted student-parents often face heightened financial pressures because of academic expenses such as tuition and textbooks on top of basic necessities, including food and diapers. If time constraints don’t lead parents to refrain from academic endeavors, it can cause them to delay or drop courses or have limited participation in university activities.

“Prioritizing support for parenting students aligns with the university’s goal of helping all students achieve their academic and life goals, which benefits both the institution and the surrounding community,” Caris Thetford, the university’s assistant vice president for student wellbeing and dean of students, said in a statement.

High-quality data is a must when creating decisions, policies and processes, she added. As the university expands its professional and graduate programs, the number of student-parents has also grown.

“Supporting parenting students helps ensure that they can successfully complete their educational goals. This in turn benefits the broader community by fostering a stronger, more capable workforce,” Thetford said.

This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 2:40 PM.