Document Category: Policy Brief

Oregon State University Food Security Study (2022)

Food insecurity (FI) is an ongoing concern on college campuses across the U.S. Food insecurity is defined by the United Stated Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service as a lack of access to enough food for an active and healthy life (USDA ERS, 2022). This report summarizes findings from the second formal study of the prevalence and patterns of FI among OSU students on the Corvallis campus, conducted in Spring 2022. FI was measured using the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 10-item Food Security Survey Module (FSSM) with a 2-item food sufficiency screener (as shown in Appendix A). Two sampling strategies were employed in an effort to improve upon existing sampling methods commonly used for estimating FI among college students. These findings can be used to inform OSU’s plan to ensure equitable food access among all students.

Parenting Adult Learners’ Experiences in Higher Education (2023)

Pursuing postsecondary education is complicated for adult learners with children, also known as parenting adult learners (PALs). PALs must consider family expenses in addition to college expenses and make tough decisions about how to spend their time across their academic, work, and family responsibilities. Nonetheless, PALs are highly motivated, are resilient, and feel that earning a credential will improve the economic outlook for their family.
Despite the fact that PALs make up a sizable proportion of the postsecondary student population, their circumstances are often overlooked in postsecondary policies, programs, and practices. About one in three undergraduates in the United States are adult learners (i.e., 25 years old or older), and nearly half of these students have at least one dependent child.

At public 2-year colleges, four in 10 students are adult learners, and 46.5% of students have a dependent child. Yet adult learners and parenting students do not receive adequate support. This was especially evident during the pandemic, when many parents lost access to childcare, making it difficult for them to keep their jobs and attend their classes, particularly for mothers who were often the main, if not only, caretakers in the family. It is worth noting, however, that access to affordable, quality childcare and family-friendly spaces on campus was challenging prior to the pandemic and continues to be an obstacle for many. Even when childcare is available, its costs are not always accounted for in financial aid packages of adult learners.

Community Colleges and Human Services Nonprofits BOOSTing Family Economic Success Through Organizational Policy and Practice (2023)

The BOOST initiative connects families with low incomes to critical human services supports and educational and career pathways to advance multigenerational family economic success. In six cities — Baltimore, Maryland; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Hartford, Connecticut; New York City (Queens); Portland, Oregon; and Syracuse, New York— community colleges and human services nonprofits have partnered to support the economic advancement of families as part of the BOOST initiative. The partners at these BOOST sites are guided by six core tenets that advance family social and economic success: partnership, learning, lifetime and springboard jobs, sustainability, racial equity, and the two-generation (2Gen) approach, also sometimes referred to as the whole-family approach, as defined by Ascend at the Aspen Institute.
BOOST partnerships place a particular emphasis on racial equity—both the process and outcome of seeking to understand and address the programmatic, institutional, and policy barriers families of color face in higher education and human services systems. Over time, BOOST partners have deepened their understanding of systemic racism and how it influences individual and organizational thinking and are now shifting their organizational practices to support more equitable outcomes.
This brief explores how community colleges and human services nonprofits can partner to advance multigenerational family economic success and how these partners can lean into their unique strengths as they seek to achieve this goal. It looks at how the six BOOST sites are working to change policies and access funding at the institutional, state, and federal levels to support their partnership goals. It also highlights practices and insights learned from the BOOST initiative, with the intent of aiding and accelerating other efforts to follow this collaborative path.

How America’s College Promise Would Reshape the Free College Landscape (2023)

Rising college costs and attainment gaps have motivated states to pass “promise” programs for free community college tuition and motivated President Biden to champion a proposal for nationwide free community college called America’s College Promise (ACP).
An underrated aspect of ACP is that it eliminates tuition before other grants are applied, freeing the Pell Grant to cover non-tuition costs. Many state programs only cover students’ tuition balances after other grants, including Pell.
Most community college students would qualify for ACP. However, only 31 percent of community college students in states with promise programs receive grants. Most programs appear to reach less than 10 percent.
TCF’s analysis finds that total grants received by the average promise program recipient would be 56 percent greater under ACP (an average of $8,900), and 51 percent among Pell Grant recipients (an average of $10,600).
Even if every U.S. state adopted a last-dollar promise program in the vein of existing programs, community college students nationwide would receive only 19 cents for every dollar that America’s College Promise would make available.
If states continue their promise programs as living stipends, low-income community college students could see a massive increase in their total financial assistance through the combined power of ACP, the Pell Grant, and state aid.