Document Category: Research study (not in a journal)

ECMC Foundation Basic Needs Initiative Evaluation Report 1: Sustaining Basic Needs Services at Postsecondary Institutions (2023)

In the past few decades, the cost of college has risen significantly, while federal, state, and institutional financial aid and family income have remained stagnant or declined (Goldrick-Rab, 2018). As a result, many college students struggle to afford the full cost of college attendance, which includes tuition and fees, expenses to cover food, housing, transportation, child care for student parents, school supplies and access to the internet, and other living expenses (Duke-Benfield & Sponsler, 2019). College students may experience basic needs insecurity, including the lack of access to healthy food, stable housing, reliable transportation, affordable child care, physical and mental health care services, the internet and technology, and other necessities they need to survive and thrive in a postsecondary academic setting. Meeting college students’ basic needs is essential to their well-being and ability to learn and succeed in college (Daugherty et al., 2016; Goldrick-Rab, 2021; Hallet & Freas, 2018; Haskett et al., 2020; Maroto et al., 2015; Phillips et al., 2018; Silva et al., 2017; Trawver et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2018). To support students’ postsecondary success, ECMC Foundation launched the Basic Needs Initiative, funding seven organizations (hereafter “BNI grantees,” see sidebar) to further the development and sustainability of basic needs services at postsecondary institutions through direct service, technical assistance, and research.

In The Shadows Of Higher Education: Housing Insecurities Among College Students (2023)

While higher education is seen as an opportunity for social mobility for many, students who face housing and basic needs insecurities remain an issue that colleges and universities need to understand further. Students who experience food and housing insecurities struggle to persist in their academic pursuits and lack mental and physical health assistance. Limited research on housing-insecure students mainly focuses on the experiences of community college students. More research is needed to understand how housing-insecure students experience higher education at four-year universities. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with undergraduate and graduate housing-insecure students. The research questions guiding this study ask how students experience college at CSUF and, specifically, what navigational strategies these students employ as they go through higher
education. This study situates the experiences of housing-insecure students through a social reproduction lens that can better understand the relationship between schooling structures and students from low-income backgrounds. Social capital is also utilized to understand how housing-insecure students draw on their networks to navigate school despite various obstacles. Despite the lack of awareness, inadequate resources, and institutional neglect, the students in this study develop a strong sense of resilience and resistance and develop strong social networks— primarily outside of the university—to persist in their schooling endeavors. This thesis concludes by offering recommendations for universities to improve outreach and resource efforts drawing from the findings of this study.

Understanding higher education students’ sense of belonging: a qualitative meta-ethnographic analysis (2023)

The current literature on ‘sense of belonging’ spans a number of disciplines, with no apparent consensus on definition between these, complicated by the fact that sense of belonging is temporal and context-sensitive (such as during COVID-19). In particular, a closer look at how students define sense of belonging is needed from an up-to-date perspective to help them feel more connected to the faculty/campus and improve their wellbeing and mental health in the ‘new normal’ and ‘next normal’ post-pandemic eras. Therefore, this study explores higher education students’ sense of belonging, a concept that has not been adequately conceptualised, from their perspectives. As these perspectives are subjective, an interpretive approach is required to generate rich meanings. This study has adopted a meta-ethnographic approach to synthesise qualitative studies, which allows for comparison and synthesis of studies into a new interpretation through translations. Interpretive qualitative synthesis resulted in one higher-order concept, four main concepts, and nineteen sub-concepts that conceptualise higher education students’ understanding of sense of belonging to their universities.

Basic Needs Insecurity in Texas Community Colleges: Landscape Analysis (2023)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas community colleges increasingly focused on addressing students’ basic needs insecurities (BNI), such as food and housing insecurity, so that students could continue to make progress towards their academic goals. As colleges continue to recover from the pandemic lockdowns and prepare for the winding down of historic levels of government support, faculty, staff, and administrative leaders are poised to consider how best to refine, scale, and sustain their BNI service offerings to most effectively support student success.
Over the past decade, the research on BNI has grown dramatically, documenting the widespread prevalence of BNI among the student population, the negative effects of BNI on student outcomes, and promising solutions colleges have implemented to best support students. This report documents findings across several critical issue areas relevant for community college leaders to consider as they make plans for enhancing BNI service offerings.

College focused rapid rehousing: Deploying an existing community model to address homelessness on campus (2024)

Research indicates that financial and housing insecurity challenges are widespread on most college campuses throughout the U.S. However, there is wide variability in how campuses address these challenges. This study reports on a three-year implementation of the College-Focused Rapid Rehousing pilot; an initiative in California by which universities commissioned community providers to assist students in need via a modified Rapid Rehousing (RRH) intervention. RRH is a widely implemented intervention that combines move-in assistance, short-term rental subsidies, and ongoing case management, to help individuals quickly transition into stable housing. The mixed-methods evaluation included analyses of online surveys (n = 141), administrative records (n = 368), and focus groups conducted with staff across eight campuses (n = 35). Survey findings indicate that CFRR programs assisted a diverse group of students with similar histories of housing insecurity. Quantitative analyses also show that most participants experienced the intervention as designed, though with some inconsistencies in how quickly some were assisted. Qualitative findings highlight contextual factors that affected the consistency of the intervention, including tight rental markets and philosophical disagreements among administrators about the
intervention’s scope. Despite study limitations, findings provide insights into the applicability of the RRH model on campus settings and directions for future research.

Food Insecurity in College Students: The Role of Environment, Social Networks, and Perceived Food-Related Time, Stress, and Skill (2024)

Using a mixed-methods approach, the purpose of this study was to identify contributing factors and their relationship to food insecurity at a midsize, private university. During semistructured interviews (N = 23), students discussed social and environmental factors related to food insecurity, as well as the individual factors of food-related time, stress, and skill. A short questionnaire measuring the individual factors was developed and implemented with the US Department of Agriculture food security survey (N = 270). Between the food secure and insecure groups, there were significant differences in relation to food-related time, stress, and skill (P < .01). Identifying specific factors can inform campus-specific interventions to address food insecurity.

Persistent and Changing Food Insecurity Among Students at a Midwestern University is Associated With Behavioral and Mental Health Outcomes (2023)

Purpose
To assess associations between persistent and changing food insecurity and behavioral and mental health outcomes in college students.
Design
Online surveys conducted November 2018 and March 2019 (freshman year), and March 2020 (sophomore year) were used to assess food insecurity, which was then used to create 4 food security transitions: persistent food insecurity, emergent food insecurity, emergent food security, and persistent food security.
Setting
Large Midwestern university.
Sample
593 students completing all 3 surveys.
Measures
Dietary intake and behavioral and mental health outcomes (eating disorders, anxiety, depression, sleep quality) were assessed using validated instruments.
Analysis
Associations between food security transitions and dietary intake, behavioral, and mental health outcomes were examined using generalized linear models.
Results
Compared to persistent food security, emergent and persistent food insecurity was associated with lower (7% and 13% respectively) intake of fruits and vegetables combined; persistent food insecurity was associated with 17% lower intake of fruits, 6% lower intake of fiber and 10% higher intake of added sugar from beverages. Compared to persistent food secure students, eating disorder symptom risk was higher for emergent food insecure (OR = 7.61, 95% CI: 3.32, 17.48), and persistent food insecure (OR = 6.60, 95% CI: 2.60, 16.72) students; emergent (OR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.14, 3.71) and persistent (OR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.34, 4.87) food insecure students had higher odds of poor sleep quality, and persistent food insecure, emergent food insecure, and emergent food secure students had higher odds of anxiety and depression (OR range 2.35-2.85).
Conclusion
Food security transitions were associated with aspects of low diet quality and poorer behavioral and mental health outcomes among college students.

Experimental estimates of college coaching on postsecondary re-enrollment (2024)

College attendance has increased significantly over the last few decades, but dropout rates remain high, with fewer than half of all adults ultimately obtaining a postsecondary credential. This project investigates whether one-on-one college coaching improves college attendance and completion outcomes for former low- and middle-income income state aid recipients who attended college but left prior to earning a degree. We conducted a randomized control trial with approximately 8,000 former students in their early- to mid-20s. Half of participants assigned to the treatment group were offered the opportunity to receive coaching services from InsideTrack, with all communication done remotely via phone or video. Intent-to-treat analyses based on assignment to coaching shows no impacts on college enrollment and we can rule out effects larger than a two-percentage point (5%) increase in subsequent Fall enrollment.