Document Tag: practitioner guides

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

A Systematic Review Examining Multi-Level Policy and Practice Recommendations, and Calls for Research, on Food Insecurity at American Community Colleges (2024)

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic literature review is to examine policy and practice recommendations, along with calls for future research, aimed at addressing food insecurity for community colleges across the U.S. Argument/Proposed Model: This article will provide a detailed methodology for the systematic literature review, as well as the findings gathered from a range of peer-reviewed articles on this topic. The authors analyzed six significant themes that surfaced from the current literature related to policy and practice at the federal, state, local, and institutional levels. Conclusions/Contributions: Six chief themes are discussed in-depth, including but not limited to: important tools and approaches for marketing and communications, data-driven decision-making, and the augmentation of food support with other public benefits and institutional resources. These thematic findings address the issue of food insecurity on community college campuses, and also offer a range of techniques and areas for consideration. This systematic literature review offers a compilation of policy and practice recommendations steeped in actionable strategies for researchers, policymakers, campus leaders, and practitioners alike. The strategies can be implemented and/or tailored to meet the needs and nuances of any community college population.

What Now? Practitioners and Researchers Discuss New Federal Data on College Students’ Basic Needs (2023)

In 2020 the National Center for Education Statistics asked students, for the very first time, if they had enough to eat and a safe place to sleep. The just-released data show that students across the nation are enduring food and housing insecurity. What can we learn from this new information about how to help students, and what should we do now? Watch this webinar where researchers and leaders from diverse institutions of higher education discuss this pressing challenge.

Does Reducing Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Workload Enhance Equity in Program Access? Evidence from Burdensome College Financial Aid Programs (2024)

Persistent disparities in program access jeopardize social equity and erode a key pillar of democratic governance. Scholars have uncovered the causes of these disparities, including administrative burden and front-line discrimination, but less attention has been devoted to identifying tools for reducing disparities. We build on this work by arguing that reducing street-level bureaucrats’ workload may be a key lever for reducing disparities. We also argue that workload reductions will be especially effective at advancing equity when administrative burden is expanded and complexity in client cases could otherwise create room for racial discrimination. We leverage data on all high schools in Oklahoma from 2005 to 2014 (n = 4,155) to estimate the causal effects of a state policy that mandates a counselor-student ratio in a regression discontinuity design. In line with our hypotheses, we find that decreasing workload corresponds to an increase in access for intersectionally minoritized students— low-income Black, Native American, and Hispanic students. Moreover, we find that effects were concentrated in the years after administrative burden was expanded. Together, our findings suggest that reducing workload can alleviate longstanding disparities in program access.

Food Insecurity and Higher Education: A Review of Literature and Resources (2023)

Research finds food insecurity to be a barrier to postsecondary access and student success. Compared to the general population, college students experience food insecurity at higher rates. Underrepresented, first-generation, non-traditional, and low-income students have food-insecurity rates ranging from 33–51% compared to 10% among U.S. adults.

The factors contributing to food insecurity at institutions of higher education are complex, such as the increased cost of higher education, the limited usage of and eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the social stigma associated with being food insecure, the location of an institution within a food desert, and the institutional setting (a two-year or four-year college). Other barriers linked with food insecurity include ineffective meal plan policies for residential students, limited transportation to and from campus, and whether students come from food-insecure backgrounds. Irrespective of cause, food insecurity negatively impacts college access, retention, and completion. The need to understand the factors contributing to food insecurity and the effective interventions used to mitigate food insecurity are essential to achieving THEC’s mission to increase the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential and THEC’s Master Plan goals relative to student success and family prosperity. This comprehensive literature review conducted sought to answer the following questions.

What does the literature say about food insecurity in higher education and its effects on students and institutions?

What solutions and best practices does existing literature suggest to address food insecurity in higher education?

How are postsecondary institutions in Tennessee addressing food insecurity among students?

Food insecurity among Black college students: An exploratory study (2023)

Literature suggests that food insecurity negatively affects academic well-being and sense of belonging among college students; however, limited research has focused on Black students. This exploratory study examines the prevalence and impact of food insecurity among Black students. The results indicate that a greater proportion of Black students experienced food insecurity compared to White students. Additionally, this study found that Black students to not experience the same negative consequences of food insecurity as White students and that these negative consequences may be offset due to Black students’ higher level of engagement and resource utilization. Implications for social workers are discussed.