Document Category: Research Study

Texas #RealCollege Survey Report (2021)

In total, nearly 13,000 students from 10 two-year colleges and four four-year colleges and universities in Texas responded to the 2020 #RealCollege Survey, fielded from September to November 2020.

City University of New York #RealCollege Survey Report (2019)

Fall 2018 Survey.

ALMOST 22,000 STUDENTS AT
19 CAMPUSES PARTICIPATED.
THE RESULTS INDICATE:
• 48% of respondents were
food insecure in the prior
30 days,
• 55% of respondents were
housing insecure in the
previous year,
• 14% of respondents were
homeless in the previous
year.

National #RealCollege Survey Report #5: Five Years of Evidence on Campus Basic Needs Insecurity (2020)

Now in its fifth year, the #RealCollege survey is the nation’s largest, longest-running annual assessment of basic needs insecurity among college students. In the absence of any federal data on the subject, the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice created the survey to evaluate access to affordable food and housing among college students. This report describes the results of the #RealCollege survey administered in the fall of 2019 at 227 two- and four-year institutions across the United States. It also considers the cumulative evidence on campus basic needs insecurity amassed over five surveys from 2015 to 2019. The lessons the Hope Center has learned are drawn from over 330,000 students attending 411 colleges and universities.

National #RealCollege Survey Report #6: During the Pandemic (2020)

In March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic struck American higher education.
Colleges closed campuses, students lost jobs, and emergency resources failed
to meet the demands caused by the crisis. This report examines the pandemic’s
impact on students, from their basic needs security to their well-being, as
indicated by employment status, academic engagement, and mental health.
The data come from an electronic survey completed by 38,602 students
attending 54 colleges and universities in 26 states, including 39 two-year
colleges and 15 four-year colleges and universities.

National #RealCollege Survey Report #2: Hungry and Homeless in College (2017)

Fall 2016 #RealCollege survey: 33,000 students at 70 community colleges in 24 states

We found substantially higher rates of food insecurity among community college students than previously reported, while rates of housing insecurity and homelessness were consistent with prior estimates. Our 2015 report indicated that about half of community college students were food insecure, but this study found that two in three students are food insecure. Both surveys revealed that about half of community college students were housing insecure, and 13 to 14 percent were homeless.

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.