Document Tag: basic needs centers

Connecting College Students to Alternative Sources of Support: The Single Stop Community College Initiative and Postsecondary Outcomes (2020)

Single Stop U.S.A.’s Community College Initiative was designed to improve the well-being of low-income communities by connecting individuals to public benefits and other institutional and community resources to address nonacademic barriers to college completion. Through offices located on community college campuses, Single Stop provides students with a range of free services, including screenings and applications for public benefit programs; tax services, financial counseling, and legal services; and case management with referrals to a wide variety of resources and support programs across the institution and community. This report presents an evaluation of the Single Stop program and its impact on students’ postsecondary outcomes. The authors examined the Single Stop program at four community college systems: Bunker Hill Community College, City University of New York, Delgado Community College, and Miami Dade College. The analysis indicates that use of Single Stop was associated with improved postsecondary outcomes. The findings suggest that access to alternative financial resources from government benefit programs alongside a network of institutional and community support programs can offer valuable support to college students.

#RealCollege: The Work and Activism of Sara Goldrick-Rab (2023)

“In the film Hungry to Learn Sara Goldrick-Rab appears wearing a
“#RealCollege” t-shirt. On the back of the shirt is written “it’s not ALL
about Harvard,” referring to the work of the #RealCollege movement in
breaking down stereotypes of the privileged college student in order to reveal
the reality of what college is like for a growing number of students from
poor, working-class, and middle-class backgrounds. Today’s college students
are, increasingly, not the stereotype of a carefree college student but instead
struggling to make it through school while juggling financial and familial
responsibilities. Goldrick-Rab’s work has not only uncovered this important
reality but works to draw attention to it in order to create change.”

Book Chapter from “The Future of American Higher Education: How Today’s Public Intellectuals Frame the Debate”
Edited By Joseph L. DeVitis

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.

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.