Child Care Made Affordable for Students at CSU

Columbus State University has broken down barriers preventing many students from completing college by teaming up with the University System of Georgia and a Georgia non-profit, Quality Care for Children. This duo provides students with financial assistance for quality child care.

The program, called Boost, will provide up to $125 weekly towards childcare tuition for children enrolled in Quality Rated day care programs. The $125 is given as a grant, therefore students don’t have to worry about any repayment—it is completely free. “The Boost program is a great opportunity for CSU to better serve our students,” said Lisa Shaw, director of CSU’s Academic Center for Excellence, in a university press release. “I am thrilled and honored to connect students with this program.”

According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, over a quarter of all students in the United States are raising dependent kids. Additionally, IWPR research shows that students with children are extremely unlikely to complete a degree within six years of initial enrollment, with only 33% of them obtaining a degree or certificate in that time frame. That makes programs like Boost crucial to the success of many nontraditional students. A student that works 16 hours a week and is paid minimum wage makes $120.

The grants can gives students breathing room to shed some work hours and focus on their academic studies more closely. The saying “every bit counts” couldn’t be more relevant, with the average cost of child care for an infant at $7,228 in the state of Georgia, according to the most recent census data.

The only requirements for the Boost program are 60 or more credit hours, full time enrollment, a GPA of 2.5 or higher and Pell Grant-eligibility. Applications will be open in the fall.