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The University of North Texas has received a Data to Action grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to enhance support for parenting students on campus.

The grant, awarded to UNT’s Division of Student Affairs, will fund a comprehensive landscape analysis to better understand the needs of student parents and inform future support strategies.

UNT currently serves approximately 3,600 student parents, many of whom juggle the demands of coursework with employment and raising children as they pursue a college degree. These students often face unique challenges that impact their academic progress. On average, student parents at UNT have a lower GPA compared to their peers without children.

“The Data to Action grant gives us an important opportunity to better understand the unique experiences of parenting students at UNT,” said Sheila Bustillos, director of assessment for UNT’s Division of Student Affairs. “By identifying their needs more clearly, we can begin to explore ways to strengthen the resources and support systems that help them succeed.”

Many student parents pursue higher education as a pathway to more stable, higher-paying careers, enabling them to better support their families. However, student parents are nearly twice as likely to leave college without a degree compared to their non-parenting peers, primarily due to unmet support needs (Reed, Grosz, & Kurlaender, 2021).

As part of a statewide effort to improve outcomes for parenting students in higher education, the grant-funded initiative helps close the gap by identifying and addressing the specific needs of parenting students at UNT.

The Assessment team will collaborate with the Urban Institute, which is serving as a data consultant for the Coordinating Board, and meet regularly to strengthen data collection and analysis related to student parents.

The grant period begins in fall 2025 and will continue through fall 2027.

The Student Affairs Assessment Team supports evidence-based decision-making across the Division of Student Affairs. By analyzing data such as card swipes, retention rates and co-curricular participation, the team provides insights into the strategies, inputs, outputs and outcomes that guide departmental efforts. This work offers a comprehensive view of how the division fosters student development. ensuring continuous improvement and advancing student learning and success.