A national, three-year research initiative focused on examining student perspectives on help-seeking and basic needs support to help institutions better understand and address student basic needs insecurity.
Understanding the need
Colleges and universities across the country are expanding services to address students’ basic needs. Yet many students who could benefit from these supports do not use them, even amid high levels of need. Why? Students and institutions may not share the same understanding of what basic needs insecurity looks like or when and how support should be accessed.
Students’ perceptions are shaped by factors such as their lived experiences, cultural contexts, the language institutions use, and prior interactions with support systems. These perceptions influence whether students recognize a need, view themselves as eligible for help, trust available resources, and ultimately seek support. Without a clear understanding of those perspectives, even well-established programs and outreach efforts may miss students who could benefit from them.
About the research and learning initiative
Ithaka S+R is collaborating with 15 colleges and universities on a national initiative to understand how undergraduate students define and experience basic needs insecurity; how stigma, trust, perceived eligibility, and communication shape help-seeking; and how institutions can better align outreach and support with students’ perspectives.
Combining student interviews and focus groups with a student-informed survey, the project will generate institution-level insights for participating colleges and universities and broader findings for the field, with the goal of helping institutions make basic needs communication, navigation, and support more responsive to students’ experiences.
The project has three core goals:
- Develop a student-informed understanding of basic needs insecurity. How do undergraduate students themselves define and experience basic needs insecurity? What thresholds of insecurity prompt action?
- Examine how student perceptions shape help-seeking behavior. How do factors such as stigma, trust, perceived eligibility, and communication influence whether and how students seek support, including through campus-based resources and public benefits?
- Identify student-informed strategies for institutional outreach and support. How can institutions better align communication, services and benefits navigation with student experiences to improve awareness, reduce stigma, and increase access?
Participating institutions
The cohort participants represent a range of institutional types, geographic regions, student populations, and approaches to basic needs support:
- Bunker Hill Community College
- East Tennessee State University
- McLennan Community College
- Michigan State University
- Montgomery County Community College
- Morgan State University
- Portland Community College
- Renton Technical College
- Rutgers University, Newark
- SUNY Empire State University
- Texas State University
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- University of North Carolina, Wilmington
- University of South Carolina, Columbia
- Western Nevada College
Centering student and expert perspectives
Student advisors with lived experience of basic needs insecurity will contribute alongside national experts in basic needs research, policy, and practice. Together, they will help guide the research design, interpretation of findings, and development of resources for institutions and the field.
Project overview
Laying the foundation (January-July 2026): Ithaka S+R recruited and onboarded the institutional cohort, established the project’s advisory structure, coordinated research and data-sharing requirements, and prepared for student research.
Qualitative exploration of student perspectives (August 2026-mid-2027): Student interviews and focus groups will explore how students define and experience basic needs insecurity, how they perceive basic needs challenges and institutional support, and how those perceptions shape decisions about seeking help.
Surveying student perspectives (2027-2028): Themes and language emerging from the qualitative research will inform the development of a survey administered across participating institutions. The survey will examine patterns in students’ perspectives, awareness of resources, experiences navigating support, and engagement with campus services and public benefits.
Translating findings into action (fall 2028): Participating institutions will join virtual communication strategy labs to interpret findings in their local contexts and identify priorities for improving basic needs communication, outreach, navigation, and support. Lessons from the labs will also inform resources for the broader higher education field.
Follow the project
Ithaka S+R will share updates and findings as the work progresses, including interim research, reports, webinars, and practical resources developed through the research and communication strategy labs. New materials will be added to this page as they become available.
If you have questions about the project or the application process, please contact Melissa Blankstein (melissa.blankstein@ithaka.org) or Elmira Jangjou (elmira.jangjou@ithaka.org).