GREENSBORO, N.C. — More than one in five college students are student parents that's according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
Being a parent and a college student at the same time can be a challenge. The University of North Carolina Greensboro saw the need among their student parents.
Their Child Care Education Program or CCEP recently received a $224K dollar, four year federal grant to go toward helping student parents learn and have peace of mind that their kids are doing the same.
The CCEP program director Christie Tongier says the four year grant will go to fund 'Project Access' and how it will do that is it will create parenting programs for Pell Grant eligible students.
Plus while student parents are learning in the classroom so will their children.
"It will also allow us by partnering with other organizations on campus and other organizations in the community it will allow us to provide a positive parenting program, financial literacy workshops, and other resources for student parents," Tongier said.
What the program does is it provides childcare to student parents by creating a new opportunity for these students to succeed while pursuing a degree and raising a family.
The program goes beyond conventional childcare services by providing parenting programs, financial literacy workshops, and invaluable resources aimed at nurturing student parents’ academic success.
Program Requirements
- Pell Grant Eligible Students
- Undergraduate or Graduate
- Single-Parent Household (Targeted) or Two-Parent Household
- Full-Time or Part-Time students
- Graduate students on student assistance
Interested applicants are encouraged to apply by emailing CCEP@uncg.edu with the words "Project ACCESS" in the subject line. For more information, click or tap HERE.
WFMY News 2 recently spoke with a student parent in UNCG's 'Project Access' program about their experience.
First-year doctoral student, Jennifer Aikey says her and her family recently moved to Greensboro from Atlanta, Georgia.
Aikey says being a parent and a college student at the same time proved to be difficult as she had to juggle her busy class schedule as well as her family's day to day.
She says through project access she was able to go back to school knowing her daughter was not only being cared for but also got an opportunity to learn.
"There's a lot to think about when you're going back to school and you have a family. I'm actually the second person in my family to kind of go this route my dad went back to school in his thirties when I was a young child. Just knowing that this is here and it's so accessible and the teachers are wonderful you just can't ask for anything better," Aikey said.