Parent students face unique barriers at the USask.

University life is demanding for any student. Long days in class, late nights studying and juggling work alongside academic responsibilities are common. But for students who are also parents, the university experience often involves a far more intricate balancing act, where diapers, daycare pickups and family responsibilities intersect with essays, exams and deadlines. 

At USask, student-parents form a meaningful yet often under-recognized community within campus life. From financial stress and childcare challenges to social isolation and mental health pressures, the struggles they face are multifaceted and deeply personal. Despite growing awareness and support initiatives, many student-parents still navigate systemic gaps and day-to-day obstacles on their path to graduation.

While precise numbers are difficult to quantify, an internal estimate from USask suggested that around 10 per cent of the student body are parents, a significant portion that cannot be ignored when planning services and support.

For many student-parents, especially single parents and those without local family support, university life can feel isolating. In interviews conducted on the experiences of student parents at universities across Canada, a recurring theme is a lack of belonging. Parents frequently describe feeling different from their peers and struggling to connect with students whose lives don’t include caregiving responsibilities. 

Time management is consistently cited as a primary struggle for student-parents. Balancing course schedules, study time, assignments, work and childcare leads to chronic time pressure. According to the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health (CICMH), this competing demand for limited hours is one of the core stressors for parents juggling academics and family life on top of financial stress, commutes, difficulties finding a community on campus, stigma, structural barriers and an intense lack of resources tailored to student-parents. 

Unlike typical students, student-parents cannot easily devote uninterrupted evenings or weekends to studying; those hours are often filled with parenting tasks. When children fall sick or daycare availability is inconsistent, parents are forced to adjust their academic commitments, sometimes at the cost of their own participation in class or study groups.

Childcare, both availability and affordability, remains one of the most significant barriers for student-parents across Canada and at USask. Research into parent-students nationwide highlights the limited access to affordable, flexible childcare as a common reason students delay enrolment or even drop out.

While there is the USSU childcare center, the fees can still be extremely high, which many student-parents are unable to afford on top of their rent and tuition. This often causes parents to take their children to other daycares or to spend their days with a family member. This, however, means that these student parents must spend their time driving to different areas of the city, which is time-consuming and often expensive when considering the costs of gas.

While USask centres do prioritize students, they often operate at market rates and provincial subsidies, while helpful, do not always cover all fees. Parents who work part-time or have limited income may still struggle to afford full-time care.The reality of daily expenses of childcare, food, rent, transportation and textbooks adds another layer of financial stress on top of academic costs.

In response to this need, some community-driven financial support initiatives have emerged. In 2023, USask PhD student Kate Loseth founded the Single Parents for Social Change Bursary, designed specifically to assist single parents enrolled at USask with some of the financial burdens associated with their education. 

While such bursaries bring welcome relief for individual students, they also highlight the gaps in systemic support, that specialized funds are often needed simply to keep student-parents enrolled.

For student-parents, traditional academic structures of rigid class times, inflexible attendance policies and limited remote learning options can pose serious challenges. The CICMH notes that structural barriers, such as fixed course schedules and a lack of alternative learning formats, disproportionately impact those with caregiving obligations.

When children fall sick or daycare arrangements fall through, parents may have no choice but to miss classes or vital lectures. Many rely on professors’ goodwill for accommodations, which are not always consistent across departments.

Beyond logistical barriers, many student-parents report feeling isolated on campus. Events, clubs and extracurricular activities are essential parts of the typical student experience and often occur at times that are not feasible for parents to attend. This limits opportunities for connection and reinforces a sense of separation from the broader student body.

Campus groups aim to bridge this gap. Parents on Campus fosters community among student and staff parents through networking events, study sessions with childcare provided, family fun days and swap meets.

For Indigenous student-parents, the Gordon Oakes Red Bear Students Centre Parent Circle offers programming focused on family health and shared meals, enhancing a sense of community among peers with shared lived experiences. At the moment, this is on hold, but will hopefully be open again to parents in the future.

Student-parents face elevated mental health risks due to chronic stress, fragmented sleep and ongoing role strain with the pressure of fulfilling both academic and caregiving roles without adequate support. Research notes that these stresses can lead to anxiety, depression and burnout, particularly for new parents adjusting to academic life.

USask provides general mental health and crisis support through services like Student Affairs and Outreach, which is a team of registered social workers offering immediate support, crisis response and counselling.

However, while these services are valuable, student-parents often require tailored resources that specifically address the dual stressors of academic demands and parenting responsibilities.

The struggles faced by student-parents at USask reflect trends seen across post-secondary institutions in Canada and beyond. Across multiple studies and campus experiences, student parents consistently identify barriers rooted in time scarcity, financial strain, childcare limitations, social isolation, stigma and structural inflexibility.

By expanding support and integrating child-family considerations into campus planning, USask can continue to foster an environment where educational pursuits and family life are not mutually exclusive, but part of a holistic approach to student success.