Document Tag: #RealCollege Survey

#RealCollege California: Basic Needs Among California Community College Students (2023)

The RealCollege survey, the nation’s largest annual assessment of basic needs security among college students, was last comprehensively reported for California Community Colleges in a 20191 report. In spring 2023, The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (The RP Group) partnered with the CEO Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce of the Community College League of California (CCLC) to assist in survey data collection efforts and provide updated data trends regarding California Community College (CCC) students’ food and housing security. Over 66,000 students from 88 California Community Colleges responded to the survey, revealing that two out of every three CCC students grapple with at least one basic needs insecurity. Nearly half of CCC students are food insecure, almost 3 out of 5 are housing insecure, and about 1 in 4 are homeless.

An Examination of Food Insecurity within Connecticut’s Public University System (2023)

This secondary analysis examined the differences in food security, knowledge of eligibility for food assistance programs, and access to food programming across students attending two- and four-year public postsecondary institutions in the state of Connecticut. This study found two-year college students experienced a higher prevalence of food insecurity and were also more aware of their eligibility for SNAP than students attending four-year institutions. Additionally, all institutions provided students with an on-campus food pantry. Further research is needed to understand differences in food security and opportunities to address student barriers to the use of available resources to support food security.

Food and Housing Insecurity Among Adult Undergraduates During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2023)

The purpose of this study was to examine the variables associated with adult undergraduates’ food and housing insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were derived from the 2020 #RealCollege Survey, which was completed by 25,838 adult undergraduates (≥25 years old) at 72 4-year and 127 2-year institutions in 42 U.S. states. The results suggest that 43.2% of adult undergraduates experienced food insecurity, and 60.6% experienced housing insecurity. Adult undergraduates who had multiple disabilities, grew up in lower-income families, had previously lived in foster care, attended 2-year colleges, and did not live with a spouse/partner had significantly higher probabilities of experiencing food or housing insecurity. Furthermore, first-generation students, international students, or caregivers, parents, or guardians to children had significantly higher probabilities of experiencing food and housing insecurity. Finally, adult undergraduates who experienced COVID-19 pandemic-related academic and financial and health difficulties also had higher probabilities of experiencing food and housing insecurity.

The Struggle Is Real: A Systematic Review of Food Insecurity on Postsecondary Education Campuses (2017)

Seventeen peer-reviewed studies and 41 sources of gray literature were identified (out of 11,476 titles). All studies were cross-sectional. Rates of FI were high among students, with average rates across the gray and peer-reviewed literature of 35% and 42%, respectively. FI was consistently associated with financial independence, poor health, and adverse academic outcomes. Suggested solutions to address food security among postsecondary institutions addressed all areas of the socioecologic model, but the solutions most practiced included those in the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional levels.

FI is a major public health problem among postsecondary education students. Studies are needed to assess the long-term influence of FI among this vulnerable population. More research is needed on the effectiveness of FI interventions.

Basic Needs Insecurity Among First-Generation Community College Students With Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2023)

The purpose of this study was to examine whether first-generation students with disabilities at community colleges experience different rates in food and housing insecurity compared to their peers during the COVID-19 pandemic. First-generation students with multiple disabilities, a psychological disorder, another disability or medical condition not offered in the survey, and chronic illness had increased odds of experiencing food and housing insecurity; first-generation students with physical disabilities and cognitive, learning, or neurological disorders or disabilities had increased odds of experiencing food insecurity; and continuing-generation students with multiple disabilities also had increased odds of experiencing food and housing insecurity.

Marrying Stories and Data for Impact (2020)

In the fall of 2019, the American Indian College Fund published a report about a Gallup survey on tribal college alumni. The report illustrates how tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are institutions that provide Native students with the education, skills, and support they need to succeed. The report also shows that Native students who attend TCUs succeed at greater rates than those who attend other institutions of higher education. Fast-forward to the spring of 2020 when TCUs were forced to move operations to a virtual setting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As businesses shuttered and outbreaks pummeled Indian Country, the College Fund worked to foster greater awareness of the pandemic’s impact on tribal communities, the TCUs, and Native students in an effort to solicit increased support.

The approach was simple. The College Fund used data from both the Gallup survey and the #RealCollege survey conducted by the Hope Center at Temple University, which interviewed 1,050 students from seven TCUs in seven states nationwide to determine the extent of food and housing insecurity and to understand the impact the pandemic could have on TCUs, their students, and the Native communities they serve. The College Fund also used data gleaned from surveys conducted with its Full Circle scholars in the spring of 2020 to understand how they would be impacted by the pandemic.

But rather than take a purely quantitative approach, the College Fund also reached out to student ambassadors and TCU presidents to ask them to share their personal stories, knowing that people first connect to individuals rather than numbers. “Stories guide us, give us identity, and build shared values,” stated College Fund president Cheryl Crazy Bull, adding, “[the College Fund’s] team members recognize that stories and data go hand-in-hand.”

The result of marrying data with public relations outreach increased national and regional attention to the pandemic’s impact on TCUs and TCU students in national publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Nation, and Teen Vogue, as well as regional outlets like Montana Public Radio. It is our hope that TCUs can use the data and the following case study for their own public relations and to help raise awareness of the importance of tribally controlled higher education.

Front Porch? What About No Porch? Exploring Housing Insecurity Among NCAA College Athletes During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2023)

This study explored housing insecurity among NCAA college athletes during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, 1,130 college athletes completed the #RealCollege Survey, a national survey examining housing and food insecurity among college students. Housing insecurity is a growing issue among general college students and the findings suggest it is also a potential issue for college athletes, particularly males, college athletes of color, and first-generation college students. Descriptive statistics examined how housing insecurity and housing insecure symptoms appeared among NCAA college athletes, Chi-squares test of independence explored the relationship between student characteristics (e.g., race, sex) and housing insecurity. Additionally, binary logistic regression models understand how COVID-19 impacted those relationships. These exploratory findings encourage more research on college athlete experiences with housing insecurity to understand better the impact housing insecurity has on college athletes.

The Real Price of College (2016)

The high price of college is the subject of media headlines, policy debates, and dinner table conversations because of its implications for educational opportunities, student and family pocketbooks, and the economy.1 Some people caution against giving too much weight to the advertised price of a college education, pointing out that the availability of financial aid means that college is not as expensive as people think it is.2 But they overlook a substantial problem: for many students, the real price of college is much higher than what recruitment literature, conventional wisdom, and even official statistics convey. Our research indicates that the current approach to higher education financing too often leaves low-income students facing unexpected, and sometimes untenable, expenses.