Making sense of single-parent student attainment of associate degrees

Abstract

Single-parent students are a rapidly growing sector of the nontraditional student population attending postsecondary institutions. Retention of this population remains a struggle for institutions of higher education. The purpose of this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study was to explore the lived experiences of single-parent students within one semester of graduating with their associate's degree in order to provide a better understanding of why some single-parent students are able to persist to completion when so many others fail to reach the commencement stage. Five single-parent students were interviewed using a semi-structured approach. Findings focused on students' ability to maintain balance, feelings of belonging on campus, and motivation for persistence. Recommendations for practice and future research are presented.