Document Category: Research study (not in a journal)

California Community Colleges #RealCollege Report (2019)

The #RealCollege survey is the nation’s largest annual
assessment of basic needs security among college
students. The survey, which specifically evaluates
access to affordable food and housing, began in 2015
under the Wisconsin HOPE Lab. This report describes
the results of the #RealCollege survey administered at
nearly half of the schools in the California Community
College system in the fall of 2016 and 2018.

ALMOST 40,000 STUDENTS
AT 57 CALIFORNIA
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
PARTICIPATED. THE
RESULTS INDICATE:
• 50% of respondents
were food insecure in
the prior 30 days,
• 60% of respondents
were housing insecure in
the previous year,
• 19% of respondents were
homeless in the previous
year.
Rates of basic needs insecurity vary by region and
by institution. The highest incidence of basic needs
insecurity is found in the Northern Coastal, Northern
Inland, and Greater Sacramento regions of California.
In contrast, rates of basic needs insecurity are far
lower, albeit still substantial, in the South Central
region of the state, which includes Santa Barbara.
Rates of basic needs insecurity are higher for marginalized
students, including African Americans, students
identifying as LGBTQ, and students considered
independent from their parents or guardians for
financial aid purposes. Students who have served in
the military, former foster youth, and formerly incarcerated
students are all at greater risk of basic needs
insecurity. Working during college is not associated
with a lower risk of basic needs insecurity, and
neither is receiving the federal Pell Grant; the latter is
associated with higher rates of basic needs insecurity.

Basic Needs Insecurity in the Higher Education Instructional Workforce (2020)

n the fall of 2019, nearly 550 instructional staff members from four community colleges and oneuniversity responded to a pilot #RealCollege survey designed specifically for faculty and staffmembers. This report describes the results of that pilot survey examining basic needs insecurityamong educators (i.e., faculty members and instructors) in higher education.

Parenting While In College: Basic Needs Insecurity Among Students With Children (2020)

At least one in five of today’s college students is parenting a child while enrolled in classes.󰀱 Ifthese parenting students complete their degrees, both they and their children could expectimproved social, economic, and health outcomes. Nevertheless, degree attainment rates amongparenting students are low, and evidence about their experiences—which is critical to improvingpolicy and practice regarding parenting students—is sparse.In 2019, the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice began using our tools tofill that gap. Specifically, we added new questions to our fifth annual #RealCollege survey,asking parenting students at 171 two-year institutions and 56 four-year institutions about theirexperiences with basic needs insecurity, childcare, depression and anxiety, and campus and socialsupports

Investing in Student Completion: Overcoming Financial Barriers to Retention Through Small-Dollar Grants and Emergency Aid Programs (2015)

In this report, researchers at the Wisconsin HOPE Lab use data from surveys and interviews conducted with emergency aid program administrators around the country in order to provide details on the current landscape of emergency aid. At least 100 programs are operating— some have support from larger organizations such as Scholarship America’s Dreamkeepers program, while others are sophisticated in-house solutions using predictive data or small local efforts of caring and committed staff. All emergency aid programs seek to help students overcome financial shocks, as sometimes a tank of gas or a grocery store gift card is the lifeline a student needs to remain enrolled.

Cross-Sectoral Benefits Hubs: An Innovative Approach to Supporting College Students’ Basic Needs

The pandemic is laying bare one of the most difficult challenges facing higher education: many of today’s undergraduates are pursuing degrees without sufficient resources. With average net prices (after all grant aid) approaching $15,000 a year for public community colleges and more than $19,000 a year for public four-year institutions, even students from middle-class families are hard-pressed to make ends meet.2 This net price of attending college is a leading reason why food and housing insecurity was widespread before the pandemic, and is now likely growing.3 Faced with tight budgets, states and institutions are seeking innovative solutions to help students obtain food and housing supports. Comprehensive supports that integrate access to public benefits, emergency aid, and navigational help are co-located on the campus where students attend classes. These supports are a particularly promising approach that has been advanced for more than a decade. Models including the Working Students Success Network, Single Stop, the Benefits Access for College Completion, and Advocacy and Resource Centers, like the one at Amarillo College, all offer examples. However, each of these draws primarily on the resources of institutions—mainly community colleges—where resources are increasingly scarce. The Benefits Hubs operated by the United Way of King County (UWKC) in Seattle’s community and technical colleges (as well as one public university) offer an alternate model. Over the last academic year, we explored the Benefits Hub approach, which is an innovative cross-sectoral partnership between communitybased organizations and higher education institutions. We find the model promising, and this report explains its key elements. We are also in the midst of a rigorous summative evaluation funded by Arnold Ventures to estimate the program’s impacts on students’ education, health, and well-being.