On Tuesday, November 6th, the University of Minnesota hosted its third annual Student Parent Visibility Day. High school student parents from around the metro area gathered in the St. Paul Student Center Ballroom to participate in the event. Student Parent Visibility Day is put on by the Student Parent HELP Center and co-sponsored by the Student Parent Association. The purpose of this event was both to recognize the student parent population on campus and to familiarize high school student parents with life as a student parent at the university.

Student Parent Visibility Day included a resource fair with 20 participants from both the U of M and the surrounding community. Organizations ranging from community colleges to childcare programs to student parent housing programs set up tables, representing a sample of the options available to student parents at the collegiate level. The event also featured presentations by current and former student parents from the University of Minnesota who spoke about their experiences and successes in raising children while getting their bachelor’s degrees.

The first Student Parent Visibility Day was held in 2005, when 20 students from the AGAPE program in St. Paul visited the university. By the next year, word had spread about the event, and the turnout grew to 103 students from four programs around the Twin Cities. This year, 187 student parents from six metro area programs were in attendance. Susan Warfield, director of the Student Parent HELP Center, believes that the event will keep expanding in years to come. “The first year, we couldn’t get anyone to return our phone calls,” she recalls. “But the teachers [of the high school student parent alternative programs] now see this event as having value, and are speaking to their colleagues.”

Programs that used to bring only their high school seniors are now bringing their youngest students so that these student parents will be aware of their options sooner. Jerri Clark Wagner, coordinator of Student Parent Visibility Day, thinks that the atmosphere of the University of Minnesota makes an impression on the students who attend the event. “They are awestruck by the appearance of the university,” she says. The most influential and engaging part of the day for the potential college student parents is the time when the experienced university student parents speak. “You can see it in their eyes,” says Ms. Clark Wagner. “They all cheer when the speakers give their GPA or talk about overcoming their struggles as student parents.”

The Student Parent Visibility Day event builds awareness for the presence of student parents on campus, which is important in fighting against student stereotypes. “At most four year universities, the focus is on the typical student,” explains Ms. Warfield, “but the truth is that there will be more and more nontraditional students at universities in years to come, and there needs to be continual efforts to recognize the presence of student parents on campus to avoid losing them in the shuffle.”

The Student Parent HELP Center, located at 24 Appleby Hall, serves student parents enrolled in any undergraduate college of the University of Minnesota, with priority placed on those seeking their first B.A. The center was founded in 1967 by the General College as part of a campus organization that served multiple underrepresented campus populations, and in 1984 became a center that served exclusively students with children. Now housed in the Office for Student Affairs, the SPHC is currently serving approximately 400 student parents registered with their office, a majority of which are single mothers. The center conducts student parent outreach throughout the year, which culminates in Student Parent Visibility Day.

The Student Parent HELP Center offers a range of academic support and financial assistance programming for the undergraduate student parent population, including child care grants, assistance with applications for admissions and financial aid, referral to both university based and off-campus resources, and a weekly Student Parent Group. The center is founded on a social work model, and its staff are all either licensed social work professionals or Graduate Studies in Social Work interns. The office features a computer lab and a family-friendly lounge. Interested student parents are encouraged to contact the center as early in the term as possible in order to be eligible for grant money. To become registered with the Student Parent HELP Center, call (612) 626-6015 and request an intake appointment. Walk-ins are accepted from 8am to 4pm.