STUDENT PARENT GUIDE
Starting College
Get the guidance you need to balance family, work, and education, with tools that help you leverage campus resources and community support.
STUDENT PARENT GUIDE
Starting College
Get the guidance you need to balance family, work, and education, with tools that help you leverage campus resources and community support.
Starting College
Learning Together
Balancing family, work, and school may seem daunting, but there are many other parents who have been successful in the journey. Remember everyone at your college wants you to succeed. There are many resources at your college to support you and the staff and faculty members will be available when you need support and to cheer you on.
There are things you need to do before you go back to school, like finalizing your financial aid, looking at the outlines and schedules for your classes, buying books, and accessing your student email. Check out this checklist and plan. Also look at your college’s website to see if they have a new student checklist, or ask your academic advisor about next steps when you meet with them.
Learning Together
Balancing Student and Parent Roles
This is a big and exciting change in your family’s life! Remember, just like this is a change for you, it is a change for your kids, too. Talk to them about what college will mean—how their routine might change because you’re in school. Take them to campus and show them around. Talk to them about what you will study. This is a learning opportunity for the whole family.
One of the toughest parts about being a parent and going to school is balancing school, family, and work. Life happens, and your best plans may go sideways, but there are ways to plan ahead to continue making progress toward your goals.
Student Story
“Something that really helped me know what I needed to do was talking to an academic advisor. I had no idea where to start and chatting with them really helped me know what I needed to do next. The academic advisors were also good at emailing, so after I met with them I could email them questions when they came up.”
ORGANIZING Together
Make Plans
Work with your family and friends to make plans about schedules, study time, child care and set up backup plans for school, work and study time.
Organizers/Calendars
Use a planner/organizer or a calendar: Think about whether you want a physical or virtual planner and calendar (or both). Online calendars, like Google Calendar, allow you to share a calendar and coordinate schedules.
Block out time for studying. This does not mean you must block out a full eight-hour day for studying—you can get a lot done in as little as 30 minutes of focused time. Try short, focused blocks instead of marathon study sessions, which can be hard to find time for with small children.
Here are some ideas for when study time can happen:
- Between classes if you are on campus
- When your children are in child care
- After your children go to bed
- Before your children wake up
Make a plan with your co-parent, a friend, or a family member to take care of your children while you study and plan for study time on your calendar or planner.
Backup Plans
Despite your best plans and scheduling, child care falls through or your child gets sick and you’re not sure if you can get to class or work.
Backup plan strategies:
- Child care backup plan: Before the semester starts, go through your class schedule with your co-parent, friends or family. Identify who can help you take care of your children if child care falls through or your child is sick.
- Let your faculty member know that you are a parent and might need support during the term. Establishing a relationship with your instructors before anything happens is important. Here is an email template that you can use for communication.
- Ask if you might be able to bring your child to class in an emergency.
- Ask about the potential to make up a missing class or assignment due to family issues or emergencies
- Ask about attending online if it is an in-person class
- If you do miss class, email your professor as soon as you can, ideally before the missed class. Let them know why you missed class and make a plan to go over any classwork you missed.
- Get to know people in your classes in case you miss class and need notes.
- If you are taking courses online, make a technology backup plan in case your internet isn’t working or your computer breaks.
- Is there a library nearby?
- Campus computer lab?
- A friend’s house with a computer and internet?
- Can the college lend you a computer and/or a hot spot?
Child Care
Ensuring that you have child care during the time that you have school, and work is essential to success.
There are many types of child care and most student parents use a combination of home-based care, center-based care, public schools, family/friends/neighbors, or parental care. Go to the Child care guide for more information and how to quality for free child care in New Mexico.
If you need care, make an appointment for a tour and put your name on the waitlist. Many campus child care centers give preferences to students!
Learning Together Tip
When arranging child care, don’t just have child care during class time. If you can, give yourself about 2 extra hours on campus for study time either in the library or your college’s tutoring center.
Learning Together Tip
If your kids are in elementary, middle, or high school, they will benefit from using a planner and scheduling their time for school, activities, homework, and fun. For younger kids, try a visual calendar. Together you can plan for:
- Work schedules
- Class schedules
- Assignments and Exams (Tip: For bigger assignments, break this down into smaller pieces by entering deadlines for outlines, drafts and feedback before the final assignment is due.)
- Appointments for yourself or your family
- Study and Homework Time
- Anything else that is important and needs dedicated time
Learning Together Tip
Sitting at the table studying together is a great way to spend time working together on your family’s educational goals. Make sure to ask open-ended questions about what your child is learning or doing and incorporate new vocabulary into your questions.
Open-ended conversation starters:
- Tell me about your day.
- What are the new things that you learned today?
- What is the most interesting thing about your class/homework/hobby?
- What are you grateful for? What made you happy today? What are you excited about for tomorrow/this week?
- What do you enjoy about school? What do you not enjoy about school?
- How can I support you?
Student Story
“My son comes with me to school on days when he doesn’t have class and I don’t have child care. He’s 13, so he uses this time to work on independent study work for school. During breaks, we meet up for lunch and talk about our lessons and what we’ve been working on. Often, our conversations deepen and we talk about the future, our dreams, and what we’d like to accomplish. There was a time when my son disliked and struggled in school, and tagging along with mom to campus was a chore. Now he talks about what college classes he’d like to take as soon as he’s able. Being on campus with me has not only fostered his independence, but has inspired him to think about his future and all that is possible.”
Take the Child Care Assessment Quiz
Learning Together
Registering for Classes
Academic Advisement
Academic advisors are there to help you navigate your college experience. They can advise you on your major or certificate, what classes to take, and how to find resources as a student parent.
Step 1: New Student Orientation. Most schools offer an orientation for new students, plan to attend either online or in-person
Step 2: Make an appointment with an advisor after you have been admitted to your college. Search “Advisor” or “Advisement” on the website. Check to see if advisors are your school are assigned to your specific field of study to better advise you.
- Most schools offer online and in-person advisement sessions
Learning Together Tip
If you are bringing your children to an appointment on campus, don’t forget to pack a bag with snacks and quiet activities like coloring to keep them busy.
Plan to meet with your advisor at least once a semester before registration starts to plan your schedule for next term and get tips on any helpful resources.
Student Tip
For student parents who start at a two-year college and want to eventually transfer to a four-year university, talk to your academic advisor about it early. They can help you create a plan for that journey.
Registration
- Register early! To get the schedule you want as a student that works for your family’s needs as a parent, it’s ideal to register the day registration opens.
- Go to your college’s website and look for the academic or registration calendar and write down the important dates in your calendar.
- Review your degree plan in the online course catalog to make sure the classes you are taking count towards your major. Your catalog is assigned by the year that you start taking classes.
- Make an appointment with an academic advisor to help you decide on your classes each semester.
- If you aren’t sure about your degree or certificate, you can start with general education courses that will count towards your general requirements. There are also often academic advisors who work with undeclared majors.
Choosing a Schedule and Class Type
Think about your learning style, motivation, and habits as a student. When you make your schedule, pick the classes that are listed in the course catalog as required by your program AND the class types that fit your schedule and how you learn best. This will depend on school and work schedules, and child care availability.
It is also okay to start with a part-time schedule as you a learning to balance school, family, and work. Learning new systems takes time and it is fine to start slowly.
Common class types:
In-person – The class takes place in-person. The time, date and classroom will be on the class schedule
Synchronous Online – Students and the instructor meet online for class at a specific time listed in the class schedule
Asynchronous Online – Students access class materials online when they choose. There are no set class times, but there are deadlines set for assignments. Some asynchronous classes require in-person or proctored exams.
Hybrid/Hyflex/Blended – The class has asynchronous and synchronous components. It could be online or in-person.
Student Tip
Check the start and end date of the classes in the schedule. Many schools offer classes that start at different times during the term.
Books and Materials
- After you have your class schedule, go to the school bookstore to get a list of required textbooks for your classes.
Some types of financial aid require you to purchase your books at the school bookstore to cover the cost. If you do not have financial aid that covers the costs of books, you can look for better prices at other book sellers or online. - Textbooks can be used, new, or rented. Check out the different options that might work for you.
- Sometimes faculty are okay with older editions of the textbook, but make sure to ask because the information might have changed.
- Some programs (like TRIO) have textbooks, mainly for general ed classes, that you can use for free. You have to return them at the end of the semester.
The school library might have a copy of your textbook, and the library might have great books for your kids too! Sometimes the library requires that you stay in the library to use the textbook, but you can also make copies of pages that you need.
Student Tip
Email your faculty member to check if the book list is correct before you purchase your textbooks.
Choosing a Degree or Certificate
- Talk to your advisor about your interests
- Make an appointment with the career services department. They have tools to help you decide what career will be a good fit.
- Review the course catalog for the different programs and degree options.
- Research the jobs available in your field of interest
- Are they available where you want to live?
- What is the salary?
- What are the typical hours?
- Are there good benefits (health insurance, paid leave, etc.)?
As you choose your degree or credential, think about what your wages will be once you receive the degree and how that supports your family’s financial needs and goals. There are some careers that have benefits packages, including healthcare, retirement plans, dental and vision care, child care reimbursement, and pensions. Wages and benefits go hand in hand for how to care for your family now and in the future.
Student Tip
If you aren’t sure what you want to study, check out your college’s career services page as well as Roadtrip Nation to learn more about careers that match your interests.
Learning Together
My School Adventure Book
- Activity: Create a “School Adventure Book” together.
- You can document key events from orientation and your first classes (with simple drawings, photos, or descriptions), while children add their own drawings or ideas about what they think college is like. This can help children feel part of the process and learn about the college environment. Children can also add pictures and ideas from their own early learning center or school.
- Materials Needed: Small notebook or scrapbook, crayons, markers, and printed photos or college-themed stickers
Celebrate!
Finding time to celebrate milestones along the way helps you feel how much you have accomplished, and it is fun! Talk to your family about what they want to celebrate and find some time to celebrate what you have accomplished.
First test? End of term? A positive parent-teacher conference? Meeting a developmental milestone? These are all causes for celebration.
- Plan a party and bake something together. Baking and cooking are great ways to talk about numbers and math.
- Ice cream night
- Dance party-add everyone’s favorites to a playlist.
- Family game night
Find different ways that your family likes to celebrate and do it often. Praising your children (and yourself) is a great way to create a positive feedback loop for success!
Study Space
Create a study space for you and your kids. If you have young children, you can stock it with crayons, cardboard computers, office paper, envelopes, and other things they might need for playing work or going to school. Older children can have a study space to do their homework alongside you. Having a dedicated space can help with focusing on homework and still be time spent together.
Achieving Together
Navigating Your College Path
Preparing for College
Discover how to navigate going back to school with resources tailored for student parents like you.
Starting College
Get the guidance you need to balance family, work, and education, with tools that help you leverage campus resources and community support.
Succeeding in College
Find your stride with ongoing support designed to keep you moving forward, even when challenges arise.
Graduating College
Celebrate your achievements and plan for the future with resources that highlight next steps after graduation.
Achieving Together
Navigating Your College Path
Preparing for College
Discover how to navigate the big decision of going back to school with resources tailored for student parents like you.
Starting College
Get the guidance you need to balance family, work, and education, with tools that help you leverage campus resources and community support.
Succeeding in College
Find your stride with ongoing support designed to keep you moving forward, even when challenges arise.
Graduating College
Celebrate your achievements and plan for the future with resources that highlight next steps after graduation.
