Student parents earn similar or better grades than their childless peers, but they are about twice as likely to leave college before graduating. This brief analyzes the benefits to taxpayers of supporting student parents, who make up about one in six undergraduates and graduate students in public colleges and universities in the United States. This analysis shows that taking any one of three policy approaches to support student-parent degree completion would be a net benefit to taxpayers, based only on tax revenue gains and decreased public benefits receipt. The additional individual, family, and social benefits from degree attainment would provide further positive returns.

The brief considers three options for increasing graduation rates among student parents in Virginia public colleges:

• Establish a comprehensive student-parent support program on each campus. This policy would increase six-year associate’s and bachelor’s degree attainment by 49 percent. The program provides the highest return on investment of the three options considered, returning $5.35 per $1.00 spent, resulting in an estimated $1.86 billion in net taxpayer benefits by 2035.
• Distribute grant aid. This option would maintain the administrative framework and eligibility requirements for the state’s preexisting College Scholarship Assistance Program. However, the state legislature would increase grant funding for student parents, spurring a 12 percent increase in college enrollment. Additionally, this program would result in a 22 percent increase in six-year bachelor’s degree attainment. The net taxpayer benefits of the policy would total $559 million by the year 2035 after a return on investment of $1.73 per $1.00 spent.
• Expand on-campus child care. This policy would create an on-campus child care system in all Virginia public colleges, leading to a 121 percent increase in the probability of student parents graduating in six years. The net taxpayer benefit for this program would be $500 million through 2035 after a return on investment of $1.24 per $1.00 spent.

The analysis applies a series of conservative assumptions based on the best available research. New evaluation research would substantially strengthen future estimates. Nonetheless, the results presented in this brief suggest that any of the three policy options would substantially benefit student parents and their children, taxpayers, and state economic competitiveness.