Cal Poly has been awarded a $60,000 grant by the Urban Institute to participate in a Data-to-Action Campaign aimed at addressing the needs and providing essential support to students with dependents.
The primary objective of this grant is to refine existing efforts at Cal Poly and use that data to support student’s needs, according to education Assistant Professor Tina Cheuk.
“Our goal is to build in the systems infrastructure so the university can collect timely and accurate data on parenting students across all six colleges,” Cheuk said.
Data-to-Action campaigns are initiatives that focus on collecting, analyzing and utilizing data to inform and drive specific actions or initiatives. In this case, the campaign aims to create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment.
In a recent law review, Cheuk and Cal Poly alum Maya Valree described the need to address the challenges students with dependents face.
“For student parents who move through some of our colleges and universities, these institutions often have rendered them both invisible yet hypervisible simultaneously,” Valree wrote. “This happens most when leadership ‘performs diversity’ without actually addressing marginalizing policies, practices, and cultures that make it more difficult for student parents to graduate and enter the workforce.”
Cal Poly is pioneering this campaign alongside Cal State Channel Islands, with the goal of serving as a model for the entire CSU school system.
“Our participation will not only benefit our current and future parenting students but will also inspire positive change on a much broader scale” President Jeffrey Armstrong said in the College of Science and Mathematics’ Instagram post. “Together, we can create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment that empowers all individuals to achieve their academic and personal goals.”
The grant is a step towards creating a more supportive and accommodating atmosphere for parenting students at Cal Poly.