Understanding the Use of Basic Needs Services to Better Serve College Students

• In Event: Pathways to Success: Programs and Career Development for Low-Income and Underrepresented Students

Abstract

Substantial shares of college students, and especially those from minoritized backgrounds, struggle to meet their daily material needs. In response, colleges have implemented an array of basic needs services, but prior research is fragmented and tends to focus on a single service. This paper jointly considers multiple services and finds that among service users, most students use only one service for only one semester over their college career. Moreover, students from minoritized backgrounds are more likely to use services. These findings suggest that contrary to negative stereotypes, the majority of students who access these resources do so in acute times of need rather than relying on them as a consistent or major source of support during their college career.

Authors

• Katharine Broton, University of Iowa

• Solomon Fenton-Miller, University of Iowa