From child care costs to food insecurity, parents enrolled in college face unique barriers to completing their degree. Over the last eight years, the Walz Administration has made key investments to address those barriers, ensuring every Minnesotan has the support they need to complete their degree, begin their career, and support their family. These include the Student Parent Support Initiative (SPSI), Post Secondary Child Care, and Emergency Assistance for Postsecondary Students (EAPS) Grants.
On Tuesday, September 22, Minnesota Office of Higher Education Commissioner Dennis Olson visited St. Catherine's University (St. Kate's) in St. Paul to hear firsthand from student parents about the ways state investments have made completing their degree possible.
“These investments are changing lives,” OHE Commissioner Dennis Olson said. “Investing in higher education is not just financial aid, it’s about supporting the whole student, and it is incredible to see all the phenomenal supports St. Kate’s is implementing to strengthen families and ensure their student parents can graduate. Eight years ago, Governor Walz set a goal for Minnesota to be the top state in the nation to raise a family, and these grants are playing a vital role in making that vision a reality.”
Located in St. Paul, St. Kate’s Access and Success program works directly with student parents. On average, the center provides support for 600 student parents enrolled at the university.
In addition to providing grant funding for emergency situations, Access and Success staff have used SPSI funding to launch starter kits for student parents. These kits provide parents with information on all the resources, grants, and supports available to help them navigate balancing parenthood with coursework. This year, St. Kate’s was awarded a second SPSI grant to continue their work and are using funds to offer a virtual family wellness series every other week for student parents.
St. Kate’s students spoke about how SPSI grants have helped them through emergency situations, such as covering the cost of child care when a parent lost their job, ensuring they could stay enrolled and on track toward completing their degree. SPSI grants at St. Kate’s are also available to provide families with access to legal services and mental health therapy.
Two of the students shared that they had previously left their program, but the availability to SPSI funding allowed them to re-enroll and complete their degrees.
Additional resources St. Kate’s provides to student parents include on campus child friendly study areas, a food pantry, and the ability to provide students with essential items like diapers.
Access and Success staff highlighted the importance of EAPS in helping student parents cover emergency situations related to housing, food, and transportation costs.
Providing these resources to student parents has made a huge impact on their ability to stay enrolled and complete their degree. In the first year of St. Kate’s SPSI grant, they used funds to support 59 parents, resulting in an 89% retention rate. In the second year of their grant, St. Kate’s used funds to support 79 parents, resulting in 94% of recipients staying enrolled or graduating with their degree.
Statewide data:
- Since 2019, OHE has awarded 8,834 Postsecondary Child Care Grants, totaling $41.86M. These grants help eligible low-income students offset the cost of existing out-of-pocket child care expenses for their young children while the student attends classes, work, or study.
- Since 2025, a total of $10.6 million in Student Parent Support Initiative Grants have been awarded to colleges and community organizations. These grants are available to Minnesota colleges and community organizations, providing funding to implement services necessary to help student parents succeed.
- This year, a total of $1 million was awarded to 10 eligible private colleges and Tribal colleges received through OHE’s Emergency Grants for Postsecondary Students program. It is estimated that nearly 1,400 students will benefit across all campuses. St. Kate’s was one of the grantees and is expected to support 200 students facing emergency situations.
