HCCC Awarded $50,000 Parent-Powered Solutions Grant by Aspen Institute’s Ascend Parent Advisors

January 17, 2024

HCCC student parent and peer leader Hannah Allen with her family at HCCC’s holiday tree lighting ceremony.

Family-friendly events throughout the year engage HCCC student parents.

Pictured: HCCC student parent and peer leader Hannah Allen with her family at HCCC’s holiday tree lighting ceremony.

The national organization recognizes HCCC’s College-wide commitment to helping student parents overcome the unique challenges they face.

 

January 17, 2024, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson County Community College (HCCC) has been awarded a Parent-Powered Solutions Fund grant of $50,000 through the Aspen Institute on behalf of Ascend Parent Advisors. HCCC is one of only six institutions in the United States to which Ascend is awarding a grant. Ascend received a record 144 proposals, totaling over $6.5 million in requests representing higher education institutions, workforce development entities, and community-based organizations across the United States.

Ascend at the Aspen Institute is the first student-parent-led participatory grantmaking model of its kind. The Parent-Powered Solutions Fund is designed and led by Ascend Parent Advisors and the organization’s Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) initiative, with support from Imaginable Futures. Ascend at the Aspen Institute is focused on building intergenerational family prosperity and well-being by intentionally focusing on student parents and the children in their lives. 

The Parent-Powered Solutions Fund provides financial resources to initiatives that support student parents in completing postsecondary programs, including workforce development, career and technical education, and baccalaureate degree programs. The fund will support and advance solutions, practices, and innovations that facilitate student-parent engagement and postsecondary completion.

Upon receiving this grant, HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber stated, “Student parents inspire us daily with their determination and resolve in navigating unique and complex challenges. Our Hudson County Community College family is committed to using data and best practices to address the holistic needs of our students. We are enormously grateful to the Parent-Powered Solutions Fund for supporting college-wide initiatives to empower HCCC student parents with transformational opportunities and outcomes.”

HCCC’s initiative will address student parents' unique challenges by removing barriers to success and providing the necessary resources to help them complete postsecondary programs and acquire valuable workforce skills. The project will empower student parents by offering postsecondary training programs, travel stipends, childcare assistance, tuition support, increased engagement, and more. 

HCCC will work with the Jersey City Housing Authority (JCHA) to create a comprehensive support system for student parents that leads to postsecondary credential attainment, placement on a degree pathway, and gainful employment.

HCCC views its partnership with JCHA as essential in delivering holistic support to student parents. When considering the challenges faced by student parents, people do not always think of often-overlooked challenges, such as transportation and housing. To remedy this, HCCC and the JCHA will use this seed funding to provide a comprehensive and all-encompassing suite of support services. 

HCCC will hire a student parent as a coordinator for the program and establish an advisory committee of student parents who will have a direct role in shaping the project's direction.

This isn’t the first time the College has partnered with the Aspen Institute. HCCC was a Workforce Leadership Academy partner of the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program in 2019-2020, participated in the Aspen-AASCU Transfer Intensive, and counts two Aspen Rising President Fellows program graduates among the ranks of its college leadership. 

In recent years, HCCC has made great strides toward improving outcomes for student parents. HCCC is a participant in Generation Hope’s FamilyU, a two-year, capacity-building experience designed to build and refine institutional competencies to improve the academic achievement of student parents. 

In 2021, HCCC updated its Children on Campus Policy to be welcoming and inclusive of student parents and their children. The College offers priority registration to student parents, enabling them to select classes that work with their busy schedules and providing family-friendly spaces in libraries and lounges. Throughout the year, the College holds outreach events to boost student-parent engagement, including barbecues, movie nights, and family-friendly seasonal activities like trick-or-treating and a tree lighting ceremony. 

The College’s Hudson Helps Resource Center and Office of Mental Health and Wellness work together to provide holistic support to student parents through programs, activities, and services while partnering with community organizations to reach student parents and let them know of the available support. 

The award of the Parent-Powered Solutions Fund grant bolsters HCCC's College-wide commitment to creating an inclusive, empowering environment for student parents, setting the stage for enhanced postsecondary success and a bright future for student parents and their families.