Document Category: Practitioner Guide

Guide to Building an Effective College Student Basic Needs Webpage (2021)

A basic needs resource webpage is a powerful tool that can help raise awareness of, and connect students with, existing resources. Findings from the #RealCollege survey indicate that only 30% of students who experienced basic needs insecurity during the pandemic accessed campus basic needs supports, 51% did not know supports were available. This guide outlines recommendations to create an informative, inviting, and responsive basic needs webpage along with best practices to elevate its visibility among students and other members of the campus community.

Enhancing New Jersey College Students’ Access to Food, Housing, and Other Basic Needs Supports (2022)

This playbook was created in partnership between the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) and The Hope Center for Community, College, and Justice. OSHE is a coordinating state agency responsible for postsecondary education planning, policy development, program implementation, and advocacy. OSHE helps ensure that every resident, regardless of life circumstances, has the opportunity to obtain a high-quality credential that prepares them for lifelong success. The Hope Center for Community, College, and Justice is an action research center transforming higher education into a more effective, equitable, and impactful sector using a powerful combination of applied scientific research, technical assistance to colleges and universities, policy advising with state and federal governments, and strategic communications. Contributors from OSHE include: • Dr. Brian K. Bridges, Secretary of Higher Education • Dr. Stefani Thachik, Director of Policy and Outreach • Nicole Kirgan, Director of Communications • Suchir Govindarajan, Special Assistant and Policy Analyst Contributors from The Hope Center include: • Research and writing: E. Christine Baker-Smith, Edward Conroy, Jennifer King, David Koppisch, Victoria Price, David Thompson, Paula Umaña, and Joshua Williams • Communications: Rjaa Ahmed, Lauren Bohn, Joshua Rudolph, and Nicole Hacker

Connecting College Students with Public Benefits Programs (2024)

Colleges and universities can support their most at-risk
students by providing pre-screening and application
assistance for public benefits as a campus resource.
Benefits coordination can have a big impact, but this type
of basic needs program is relatively rare: a recent analysis
of nearly 450 postsecondary institutions found that only
18 percent offered public benefits access facilitation.
This toolkit outlines key steps that institutions can take
to support their students in accessing public benefits.