The Family Friendly Campus Toolkit (FFCT) is a self-assessment tool that will help campus providers: 

• Learn (more) about parenting students and their experiences on campus
• Collect data about outcomes, conditions, services, resources for parenting students
• Gain awareness of recommended practices currently implemented by other institutions
• Make evidence-based plans to improve conditions and outcomes for parenting students and their families

The FFCT is intended for those working in higher education who want to improve outcomes and conditions for parenting students. The Toolkit contains 3 sections: Getting Started, Collecting Data, and Making Sense & Moving Forward. It will guide you through a self-assessment process, helping you collect information about and from student parents on your campus and the resources currently available to them. The Toolkit offers a flexible process and set of tools designed to be used by any institution.

Instructions: To download the Toolkit, please click below. You will be taken to a form where you will be asked to provide your contact information. We will send to you any updates on webinars or new material. We will not share email addresses with any other party.

Download Toolkit

The Toolkit Documents

Getting Started

• A.1       Self-Assessment Process
• A.2       Task Force Guidelines
• A.3       IRB & Survey Guidance

Collecting Data

• B.1       Profile of Existing Resources & Policies
• B.2       Rubric for Self-Assessment
• B.3       Institutional Data
• B.4       Student Survey
• B.5       Focus Group Guidance

Making Sense and Moving Forward

• C.1       Simple Data Analysis Guide
• C.2       Action Plan
• C.3       Background Research

Contact Us (PERG)

Joan Karp, Senior Research Associate         
jkarp@endicott.edu

Elizabeth Osche, Associate Director
eosche@endicott.edu

Debra Smith, Ph.D., Director, PERG
drsmith@endicott.edu

About PERG and the Toolkit

Founded in 1976 at Lesley University, the Program Evaluation and Research Group (PERG) moved to Endicott College in 2013. PERG is known for its capacity for studying complex projects in diverse settings. PERG has carried out over 800 program evaluations and research studies in formal and informal education environments, working with universities, schools, foundations, state and federal agencies, museums and other community-based organizations.

PERG’s recent research and evaluation activities—which include both small and large scale regional and national projects—include: parenting students in higher education; two-generation programs; arts integration and literacy partnerships; curriculum and software developmentprojects; cultural/international exchange; informal education; museum exhibits and programs; out-of- school time; professional development; research on learning in science; STEM programs and partnerships. 

The Family Friendly Campus Toolkit was developed by the Program Evaluation and Research Group (PERG) with support from the US Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), based on prior support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, under the auspices of the National Center for Student Parent Programs, Endicott College. 

Fact Sheets and Research

Student Parent Programs at Four-Year Colleges and Universities

Student Parents at Four-Year Colleges and Universities

Student Parents at Four-Year Colleges and Universities: Recommendations for Programs, Practice, and Policy

A Framework of Recommended Practices in Support of Student Parents at Colleges and Universities

Baccalaureate Student Parent Programs and the Students They Serve -- Full Report