Basic Needs Initiatives at Texas Community College Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Changes in Service Offerings during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were high rates of food and housing insecurity and unmet childcare, clothing, and physical and mental health needs among community college students. There was a growing body of evidence linking these unmet needs to adverse educational outcomes. In response, many community colleges had started to develop basic needs initiatives directed at addressing these unmet essential needs to make college feasible. The Covid-19 pandemic created enormous economic and logistical challenges for all sectors, including community colleges. The purpose of this study was to explore changes in community college student basic needs services and programs. An online survey of administrators at Texas community colleges designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions was administered in late fall 2020. Administrators were asked about 19 basic needs initiative areas. The results indicate an overall decrease in the number of basic needs initiative programs and services at the community colleges during the pandemic. While specific service provision areas, such as food, childcare, clothing, and training, had the greatest decline, programming directed at financial assistance, mental health referrals, student employment, and on-campus physical health services increased.

Food Insecurity in Higher Education: A Contemporary Review of Impacts and Explorations of Solutions

“…In the context of COVID-19, food resources were of particular importance. Due to campus closures, many students' living situations changed, and many were unable to utilize on-campus resources as they may have otherwise [156]. In this unprecedented public health emergency, the utility of CalFresh is highlighted; during the COVID-19 pandemic, program benefits were expanded to support food security in vulnerable individuals in the face of widespread lockdown and job loss [157].…”

“…Federal stimulus payments were also observed to be of particular benefit to students when combined with SNAP benefits at a large California university [155]. Unfortunately, resource availability was not stable for all college students nationwide; such differences in resource availability for vulnerable students may exacerbate inequities and compound negative experiences during times of acute stress or emergency [156].…”

Symbolic and substantive compliance communication about pregnant students’ rights and access to services among Texas public postsecondary institutions.

“…This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Given the literature on student basic needs that has established the prevalence of unmet needs (Innis et al, 2020;Nazmi et al, 2019;Olfert et al, 2023;Pia Chaparro et al, 2009;Robbins et al, 2022) and institutional basic needs initiatives (Nix et al, 2021;Zottarelli et al, 2022), we decided to examine the institutions as a whole as well as stratified by community colleges and 4-year institutions. In Texas, community colleges are defined by law.…”

“It’s Really Hard to Have Your Own Place”: The At-Home Experiences of Latina/o/x Undergraduates During COVID-19

“…Class inequalities were also exacerbated during the pandemic as low-income Latina/o/x students had less educational resources, that hurt their academic performance (Errisuriz et al, 2022). Students enrolled in college at the onset of the pandemic experienced increased challenges in mental health, housing and food insecurity, and increased financial need (García-Louis et al, 2022;Martinez, et al, 2022;Zottarelli et al, 2021). But perhaps the most significant challenge for Latina/o/x college students who returned home during the pandemic was the lack of adequate study space and reliable internet services, which made learning at home difficult (Means et al, 2020;Mshigeni et al, 2022).…”