Time for college is a finite resource, which students either have or lack, and access to that resource may determine college success, says a March 2024 study from researchers from the Borough of Manhattan Community College at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Texas. For many students, a shortage of available time—or, time poverty—“is not a choice but a financial necessity,” say the researchers. Their study provides the first quantitative evidence of how time poverty correlates to differences in college outcomes by gender or race/ethnicity.
Students who had less time for college due to other commitments, such as caring for a child or working to pay for living expenses, were more likely to earn fewer credits or stop out of college, Clair Wladis, a CUNY professor of urban education and of mathematics and study co-author, writes for The Conversation. “This is especially true for Black and [Latine] students and for women, who have significantly less time for college compared with their peers, largely due to time spent on their jobs and caring for children,” she says. Low-income college students are particularly affected by this dynamic, as they may delay college for economic reasons and start school after acquiring family and work responsibilities.
The findings reflect survey responses from over 41,000 students who attended CUNY, the third largest university system in the U.S. and the largest public urban university in the U.S. Participants were enrolled from Fall 2015 to Spring 2017 and reported the number of hours they spent on different activities (paid work, childcare, housework, classwork, and college-related administrative tasks) during a typical week that semester.
When students have no time for school
The researchers found that students who had more time for college work were more likely to earn more credits and stay in school. Students who stopped out of college reported having nine fewer hours each week for coursework than those who stayed enrolled. Students who earned over 12 credits in a term—undergraduate students need at least 12 credits to be considered full-time—had 18 more hours each week to spend on school work than students who earned six credits or fewer.
Women, Black, and Latine students were significantly more time-poor than men and white or Asian students. Black women had the highest levels of time poverty of any group and spent the most amount of time on non-discretionary commitments (paid work, housework, childcare). They had on average nearly 24 fewer hours per week for college than Asian or Pacific Islander men (the groups with the lowest time poverty) and spent on average 75 hours on paid and unpaid work, equivalent to two full-time jobs. Time-poor students also sacrificed more of their free time to complete college work than their peers. A lack of free time for other activities, such as sleep, socializing, and exercise, can have larger implications for students’ mental and physical wellbeing, the researchers say.
The need for more support
Increasing student access to financial and wraparound support is crucial as colleges seek to produce more equitable outcomes, the authors say. Nearly a quarter of undergraduate students have children, but access to childcare is limited, and financial aid does not automatically cover the costs of raising a child, NPR reports. Students who aren’t parents also may not receive enough federal financial aid to cover their actual expenses.
While acknowledging that other factors—such as uneven K-12 education—contribute to unequal college outcomes, the study asserts that “if we truly hope to provide equal opportunities for every student to succeed in college, and at the same time, help them maintain equitable levels of well-being, it is critical that time poverty be considered in models and interventions aimed to address inequities in higher education.” Free, accessible, quality childcare; financial aid packages that allow students to work less; and flexible course schedules for students who have multiple commitments may help reduce time poverty.
“Providing students with enough time—and thus money—for college is therefore not only a sound investment but also critical to honoring the values of fairness and opportunity for all,” Wladis writes.