The report details the wide array of supports college administrators and staff members designed based on student feedback.

Ivy Tech, for example, launched a pilot program called Ivy Parents Achieve Success with Support, or I.PASS, on four of its campuses this fall. The program supports a cohort of single mothers by enrolling them in a free course on academic success career planning strategies. Students can also choose weekly whether to take classes virtually or in person. The pilot program includes a weekly study hall, with meals and enrichment activities for children provided, and social events for single parents.

Delgado Community College created an orientation course specifically for single moms, among other specialized supports, to help 2,000 mothers get through their academic programs.

Central New Mexico Community College developed the Luna Scholars Program, a $1,500 scholarship for single mothers, which comes with designated coaches to provide guidance on course selection and the transfer process, and career and skills building. The college also has a single moms Facebook group to create a sense of community among students and to provide them information.

The Facebook group is “a safe environment for single moms who are going through things,” LaToya Turner, an academic coach at Central New Mexico, said in the report. “It was great during the pandemic to get insights from single moms on how to handle virtual schooling for them and their kids.”

Monroe Community College partnered with Child Care Council, an organization which connects single mothers with local childcare options.

The campus has a childcare center, but students who are parents also need these services when the center is closed in the evenings and on weekends, said Kim McKinsey-Mabry, acting vice president of student services at the college. She said one student planned to drop out earlier this month because she lacked childcare but ultimately stayed with the help of Child Care Council.