Exploring the Impact of a Multisite Student Parent Advisory Board across Campus Communities: An Ethnographic Case Study

Background and Purpose: Advisory boards are an impactful forum to drive social change and nested within Community-Based Participatory Research. A strong evidence base supports community advisory boards informing intervention development and implementation, but nascent literature explores advisory boards among undergraduate student parents and other key interlocutors in this space. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research approach, we developed a multisite undergraduate student-parent advisory board across a Land Grant university and public universities in the northeastern and southern regions to inform our project aimed at determining how to best support undergraduate student-parents at four-year universities. The student-parent advisory board sought to 1) facilitate pilot data collection and the needs assessment shaping scientific direction, and 2) center student voice in the design and development of the intervention. Our research question is: How does the formation of a multisite student-parent advisory board drive transformational changes across campuses measured by impact? In this proposed work, we aim to identify critical enablers affecting the reach of the undergraduate student parent advisory board and factors influencing the impact of the advisory board.

Methods: Using an ethnographic approach, we explored how the student-parent advisory board impacts the campus community across the universities as case studies (N=3). Informal and formal discussions about the impact of the advisory board were conducted with undergraduate student-parents, university administrators, and other campus interlocutors. Secondary qualitative data analysis from student parents (N=10) and university administrators (N=12) were analyzed thematically to explore transformational change brought about by the student-parent advisory board both concurrently and in its aftermath. Ethnographic assessments of the campus community landscape before and after the student-parent advisory board were assessed. These multiple data sources supported the exploration and evaluation of the impact of the student-parent advisory board.

Results: Study findings demonstrate that the student-parent advisory board enacted transformational change across the university sites to varying degrees. Transformational changes included: organically formed student-parent social networks, cultivation of formal student-parent networks, discourse surrounding student-parent landscape, allocation of student-parent resources, development of the student-parent support hub, and increased visibility of student-parent status. Both observed and measurable transformational changes resulted from the student-parent advisory board. Evidence suggests that student-parents amplified their voice and lived experiences to inform noticeable change across campus and formed collective spaces intentionally designed for student-parents. This is likely connected to increased feelings of belonging and a sense of community with other student-parents, underscoring how student activism emerges from solidarity in social networks. Findings suggest that university administrators informed dialogue resulting in elevated visibility of student-parent issues, and other action supporting student parents across academic and campus landscapes.

Conclusion: Overall, the increased momentum emerging from the student-parent advisory board spurred transformational change across the university sites. Advisory boards geared to center student voice and lived experiences may serve as a launching pad to practice leadership and activism across campus communities, particularly for hidden student populations.