James Talarico may have set the tone for the new Congress and state legislatures across the nation in his acceptance speech on Tuesday night. Talarico spoke of a a politics of love and loving our neighbor. Given the results across the country this past week, it looks like America is ready for a change in our tone and our policymaking.
Talarico literally said that “love can turn a student into a scholar.” I don’t know about you, but that statement alone caused me to sit up in my chair. The great news is that higher education reformers have got this. States, systems, and institutions have made tremendous strides toward meeting the basic needs of their students, but the time is right to ask for more from our elected officials.
Higher education’s response post pandemic resulted in a deeper commitment to the holistic needs of students. The mental health challenges students faced during the pandemic resulted in improved mental health services on campus. The zoom classrooms during the pandemic showed students in their homes where they were responsible for others living in their home. Witnessing busy kitchens full of family, enlightened faculty to the real lives of students. The economic challenges facing many students have increased awareness of food and housing insecurity.
Campus efforts to assess the needs of students have revealed a high percentage of students who at some point struggle with finding safe and affordable housing, lack of access to healthy food, and many other hardships.
States, systems and institutions have stepped up to the challenge. National organizations like the Hope Center, Trellis Strategies, and the Urban Institute are working with states, systems, and institutions to assess and address basic needs for students.
It is becoming increasingly common place for colleges to have food pantries/markets on campus, emergency grants for students dealing with urgent financial distress, mental health supports for students, transportation support, and staff dedicated to assisting students with their applications for SNAP benefits.
Many state and system leaders have prioritized basic needs by convening postsecondary leaders, collecting data, working closely with community-based organizations to connect students to their services, and supporting the development of services hubs on campus to enable students to better access. We even have examples of state legislatures that have dedicated funds to for addressing student basic needs.
All of these efforts are tremendous, but they are underfunded and therefore have not been fully integrated into the fabric of higher education systems and institutions. Colleges were not built to provide this level of support to students and they need our support.
Now is the time for postsecondary education to go to state legislatures and advocate for more resources to support the basic needs of students. There are many ways that legislators can invest in students with basic needs.
Here are a few:
Commission a study of basic needs in the state. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education, with support from the legislature produced a report outlining the extent of basic needs at postsecondary institutions.
Facilitate collaboration between state public assistance agencies and postsecondary to join data systems that can track basic needs of college students. SHEEO is working with 7 states who are committed to building statewide data systems to better understand the basic needs of students and develop state strategies.
Fund state or systemwide efforts to build the capacity of colleges to address basic needs of students. The Ohio Community College Association and the Michigan Community College Association are collaborating1 to support the developmental of campus hubs to offer and deliver basic needs supports.
Advocate for federal investments in basic needs support. The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) received a $5 million dollar grant from the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students program to implement the findings from their Basic Needs Taskforce.
And of course . . .
Directly invest money to provide for the basic needs of students. Governor Hochul and the NY State Legislature have made several investments to postsecondary institutions to deliver basic needs supports for students. West Virginia’s Hunger Free Campus Act provides support and guidance to institutions to ensure students are accessing public benefits programs.
Postsecondary leaders should mobilize now and get these issues on the legislative agendas and to engage legislatures to invest in policies of love.
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Your eyes are not deceiving you. Ohio and Michigan are able to work together on all things not college sports.