Document Category: Topic Reviews/ Summaries

“I can’t learn when I’m hungry”: Responding to U.S. college student basic needs insecurity in pedagogy and practice (2023)

Food insecurity and other basic needs insecurities were pressing concerns for U.S. college students prior to the COVID-19 crisis and are even more so now. These issues disproportionately impact minoritized students, making addressing basic needs an issue of educational equity. As feminist teacher-scholars, we reflect in this essay on what it means to teach in the context of student basic needs insecurities, drawing on our experiences from launching an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to combatting food insecurity on our campus. In doing so, we seek to catalyze changes within and beyond the classroom to better support students.

How Community Colleges Can Support Student Mental Health Needs (2023)

Community colleges in the study have expanded their mental health support programs through integrating them in the broader college environment.
While community colleges in this study offered multiple levels of mental health supports, most lack a clear organizing framework.
Community college leadership should consider explicitly supporting prioritization of student mental health—and broad staff buy-in is important. Community colleges struggle to meet students’ mental health needs because of limited resources. Financial support for student mental health should extend beyond high school.

#RealCollege: The Work and Activism of Sara Goldrick-Rab (2023)

“In the film Hungry to Learn Sara Goldrick-Rab appears wearing a
“#RealCollege” t-shirt. On the back of the shirt is written “it’s not ALL
about Harvard,” referring to the work of the #RealCollege movement in
breaking down stereotypes of the privileged college student in order to reveal
the reality of what college is like for a growing number of students from
poor, working-class, and middle-class backgrounds. Today’s college students
are, increasingly, not the stereotype of a carefree college student but instead
struggling to make it through school while juggling financial and familial
responsibilities. Goldrick-Rab’s work has not only uncovered this important
reality but works to draw attention to it in order to create change.”

Book Chapter from “The Future of American Higher Education: How Today’s Public Intellectuals Frame the Debate”
Edited By Joseph L. DeVitis

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Community College Student Housing Insecurity (2015)

PD&R Expert Convenings: Summary Report.

On September 16, 2015, HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) convened a panel of education and housing experts
to shed light on the topic of housing insecurity among community college students. The convening featured brief presentations by experts
in the field followed by participant discussion. The goals of the convening were to reach a common understanding of the scope and
nature of students’ challenges, identify effective strategies, and discuss the potential role of the federal government in addressing student
housing insecurity.