Abstract
Student-parents' bachelor's degree completion timelines are protracted, yet insufficient research examines this phenomenon. Studies show most student-parents take between 9 and 15 years to earn a bachelor’s degree (Augustine, 2016; Attewell & Lavin; 2007; Institute for Women’s Policy Research [IWPR], 2020; Lindsay & Gillium, 2018). What factors influence these extended degree completion timelines?
Nationally, student-parents are a population many times marginalized (IWPR, 2020), and that is also true at Sacramento State. Three-quarters of Sacramento State student-parents are low-income women, half are first-generation college students, and two-thirds are from communities of color. To address the urgent disparity, I conducted a mixed methods study of student-parents at Sacramento State. Specifically, this study examines degree completion timelines from an educational equity perspective using Critical Race Theory’s concept of intersectionality as a lens to examine secondary data from Sacramento State, and primary interview data from motherscholar alumni. Taken together, results from quantitative regression analyses and qualitative narrative analyses show that inhibitors include a student’s major, unavailable classes, and poor academic advising, and catalysts include strong academic preparation, childcare assistance, and community and belonging as important factors that impact bachelor's degree completion timelines.