One in five undergraduate students are student parents—yet they are an undersupported population. Their success not only impacts their futures but also has intergenerational effects on their children’s future. This rubric provides a tool for an organization, program, or initiative to assess and better support student parents.

This rubric was developed by a group of student parents who contributed insights from their lived experiences to create understanding about student parent leadership in their fields. Ensuring shared power, student parent inclusion, belonging, and leadership in projects is a form of social justice.

Any organization, program, or initiative aiming to impact student parents can use this rubric as a self-assessment tool to authentically engage student parents (or parenting students) in their processes. It provides tangible ideas for how an organization could ensure student parent success in initiatives and allows organizations or projects to assess themselves and their project over time. This flexible tool can be used for smaller-scale projects or broader organizational practices to evaluate the inclusion and support of student parents.