Courses educate higher education professionals on basic needs insecurity

As the cost of higher education has risen and students from more diverse backgrounds have found their place in colleges, insecurity about basic needs has become an increasing problem.

National data finds that 22.6 percent of undergraduates and 12.2 percent of graduate students have experience food insecurityand 8 percent of undergraduates and 4.6 percent of graduate students experience homelessness.

One strategy to improve student lives is to equip faculty and staff with tools that highlight student demographics and the issues that impact student success. Launched in late October, the #RealCollege curriculum seeks to do just that through online courses that amplify student voices and data.

The #RealCollege curriculum debuted on October 28 during a webinar hosted by Believe in Students, a nonprofit organization that serves the basic needs of students.

What is the need: Although large numbers of students struggle to make ends meet or pay basic expenses, not every student takes advantage of the available resources. A 2023 report from Tyton Partners found that 60 percent of students are not aware of the full scope of student support available to them on campus. In the same way, a report from the Government Accountability Office this summer revealed that millions of eligible students are not enrolled in public interest programs.

Financial challenges are also one of the biggest threats to student persistence.

Tyton Partners’ research recommends higher education institutions increase communication and active programming around available supports to increase student awareness, and create connected and coordinated offices that serve students holistically.

The #RealCollege curriculum serves as one piece in the communications puzzle to help higher education professionals increase equitable use of holistic student supports, according to Believe in Students website.

How it works: #RealCollege is a four-course program led by researcher Sara Goldrick-Rab and Jesse Stommel in collaboration with Never Whisper Justice and Believe in Students.

The first course, titled The Students We Have, was released on October 28 and focused on the current landscape of basic needs uncertainty in colleges and universities to raise awareness and develop practitioners’ practical skills.

“It’s really designed … to give people a common language and basic knowledge so they can build a foundation to address these issues,” Traci Kirtley, executive director of Believe in Students, said during the webinar. Each course lasts approximately 60 to 90 minutes and includes video presentations by experts, administrators, faculty, staff and students, as well as self-reflection and self-evaluation exercises.

A common criticism of professional development is that it is time-consuming to complete and implement, Stommel said during the webinar. The #RealCollege curriculum is intended to eliminate additional challenges faculty members face in supporting students by educating them about caring pedagogies that can improve teaching and relationships with students, he said.

#RealCollege received funding from the ECMC Foundation, the Gates Foundation, Imaginable Futures and Michelson 20MM.

What’s next: The first course is free and available now, while the remaining three courses will be released next year under a pricing model to be determined soon.

The curriculum is specifically designed for those who work in higher education, but anyone who works with students can benefit from the lessons and shared perspectives, Kirtley said.

Feedback from faculty at pilot institutions indicated that most participants felt better prepared to identify support at their institution (72 percent) and had immediate plans for change on campus (80 percent) after completing the course.

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