Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) Overview

The Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) was established in 2004 through a grant from the California Student Aid Commission and EdFund. Its primary purpose is to empower parents to clearly, unequivocally understand how to help their children navigate the myriad issues related to financing higher education and matriculating to a college or university.

The Parent Empowerment Program has allowed the Center for Educational Partnerships to fulfill its goal of supplementing student and school-centered activities with parental interventions that influence the extent to which parents support their student’s matriculation at baccalaureate-granting institutions. The Parent Empowerment Program also seeks to increase Cal Grant applicant and recipient rates at targeted schools through this effort. 

At the heart of the Parent Empowerment Program: Parental interventions based on an eight-session curriculum focusing on higher-education matters.  Since 2004, the Parent Empowerment Program has served 1,349 parents at 17 schools. As part of this curriculum, 985 parents have also participated on campus visits to 19 colleges/universities.  These interventions serve families who do not fully support their students’ desires to enroll at a postsecondary institution because of deeply rooted cultural values.

Parent Empowerment Program Participant Overview:

• The majority of Parent Empowerment Program participants were from underrepresented backgrounds;
• More than 67% of the parents did not speak English as their first language;
• Eighty five percent of the parents used Spanish or Hmong versions of the Parent Empowerment Program surveys to answer questions; and
• Only 6% of the participants had college degrees.

Parent Empowerment Program Participant Satisfaction:

• On most satisfaction items used in surveys, parent participants consistently marked 4 on a scale of 1-5, a clear indication that the Parent Empowerment Program’s work was appreciated and welcomed; and
• Parents with low education levels, from underrepresented backgrounds and with limited ability to speak English reported the highest levels of satisfaction. 

Parent Empowerment Program Effectiveness:

• Based on pre/post surveys, the number of Parent Empowerment Program participants who knew what a Cal Grant award is went from 26% to 76% (for the year 2004-2005) and from 38% to 73% (for the year 2005-2006);
• Based on pre/post surveys, the number of Parent Empowerment Program participants who learned whether their child is eligible to receive a Cal Grant increased from 17% to 59% (for the year 2004-2005) and from 30% to 81% (for the year 2005-2006);
• In Phase 1, the overall average of correct answers to test questions about college was 43%;
• The average gain of correct answers between the pre/post-surveys in Phases 1 and 2 was approximately 33%; in other words, parent participants who collectively got half of the questions right when they first attended the workshops improved that correctness rate to 75% at the end of the program; and
• Improvement was greatest among parents with low education levels, limited English speaking abilities and from underrepresented backgrounds.

Parent Empowerment Program Participant Satisfaction:
Satisfaction responses for the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 implementation years averaged 4.5 on a scale of 1-5, a clear indication that parents appreciate and welcome the Parent Empowerment Program work.

Parent Empowerment Program Effectiveness:
Effectiveness rates of the 2005-2006 workshops were evaluated using pre and post tests given during each workshop. Overall, the second phase of the 2005-2006 implementation year was especially successful. Only a few questions did not show significant improvement.

Parent Empowerment Program Workshop Result Summary
Academic Year: 2005 – 2006
Ethnicity %                                                     Form Language %

Phase 1
Number of Families: 500