By Cristian Ulisses Reyes, NASFAA Policy Staff

This blog is the first in a three-part series led by our 2025 DME Policy Intern, Cristian Reyes, focused on basic needs insecurity in higher education. In this post, we’ll define the issue and explore who is most affected and how.

The cost of college has increased significantly over the last few decades, with average inflation-adjusted tuition and fees at public four-year institutions more than doubling since 2000, according to annual reports from The College Board.

These rising sticker prices, which are the published tuition rates before financial aid, are driven by several factors, including declining state investment, increased demand, and rising operational costs. However, while sticker price is often used to illustrate these trends, it doesn’t reflect what most students actually pay. When accounting for financial aid and other institutional tactics like keeping tuition rates frozen, many students pay a lower net price, yet affordability remains a pressing issue, especially for the lowest-income students. One major reason is that the Pell Grant, the cornerstone of federal need-based aid, has not kept pace with tuition inflation and now covers a much smaller share of college costs than it once did. As a result, even with aid, unmet financial need is widespread, forcing many students to take on substantial debt or forgo higher education altogether.

While these factors seek to further explain the systemic causes behind the college affordability crisis, they don’t fully capture the human toll. For many students, the financial pressure of navigating tuition payments and covering increases in the cost of living creates impossible choices, like deciding between buying a textbook or affording their next meal.

Basic needs insecurity refers to the lack of consistent access to essential resources that support student well-being and academic success, including food, housing, healthcare, transportation, childcare, mental health services, and reliable internet or technology. A survey from The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs found that 60% of students experience basic needs insecurity related to food and/or housing. Within that group, 41% report food insecurity, 48% report housing insecurity, and 14% have experienced homelessness. When we consider other basic needs, like mental health, child care, transportation, and internet/technology access, in addition to food and housing, this number rises to 73%. These statistics are not just numbers; they reflect real student struggles, including my own. I vividly remember days during my undergraduate journey where I was living on campus and constantly skipping meals because of a lack of money to purchase food and a lack of transportation to get to and from a grocery store with affordable and nutritious groceries. When basic needs go unmet, students are placed at a significant disadvantage, both academically and personally.

While not every student shares this experience, structural inequities, such as systemic racism, intergenerational poverty, and unequal access to education and healthcare, make certain groups far more vulnerable to basic needs insecurity. The Hope Center’s survey revealed almost 75% of Black and Indigenous students face at least one insecurity, compared to 55% of white students; 60% of Black students experience housing insecurity; and one in four Indigenous students have faced homelessness. Compounding challenges are observed among former foster youth (72% housing insecurity), parenting students (67% housing insecurity), students with disabilities (69% food, housing insecurity, and/or homelessness), and justice-system impacted students (36% homelessness). First-generation students and Pell Grant recipients are also disproportionately affected, with 52% of Pell recipients experiencing food insecurity versus 35% of non-recipients. National data from the Hope Center estimates that 4.3 million undergraduates (one in four) experience food insecurity, while an additional 1.5 million face homelessness. Together, these trends reflect deep-rooted structural barriers that require policy interventions at the institutional, state, and federal levels, not just individual aid, to ensure equitable student success.

When students lack access to stable housing, nutritious food, mental health care, or other essential resources, their ability to focus, retain information, and perform academically is severely compromised. Hunger can make it difficult to concentrate in class or stay alert during lectures, while housing instability can create constant anxiety about where to sleep at night, leading to chronic stress and sleep deprivation. A published study found that students experiencing food insecurity are more likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety, both of which are known to negatively impact academic performance. Per a study in the Journal of Urban Health, students with at least one unmet basic need are significantly less likely to persist from one semester to the next or to graduate on time. The cumulative effect of these insecurities not only threatens students’ academic success but also their long-term financial stability, as dropping out of college often results in student loan debt without the earning power of a degree. For many, the inability to meet basic needs transforms college from a space of possibility and growth into a relentless struggle for survival. When this happens, the question changes from how to succeed to how to simply stay enrolled. Thriving academically becomes a distant goal when a student’s immediate concern is how to get their next meal or where they will sleep that night.

In recent years, awareness of basic needs insecurity among college students has grown significantly, prompting institutions, advocacy groups, and policymakers to recognize that academic success is deeply tied to access to essentials like food, housing, healthcare, and mental health support. Colleges are increasingly being called to act not just as centers of learning, but as hubs for holistic student support. Many campuses have responded by creating food pantries, emergency housing programs, basic needs centers, and partnerships with community organizations to connect students with public benefits. For instance, California State University’s Basic Needs Initiative supports students across 23 campuses with coordinated access to housing, food, and mental health services. Bunker Hill Community College in Boston offers on-campus groceries and childcare through partnerships with local nonprofits, and the University of California system now has basic needs coordinators across its campuses to connect students with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, emergency housing, and other supports. While these efforts mark progress, they also raise critical questions about long-term sustainability, equitable access, and the evolving role of higher education.

As colleges and policymakers continue to grapple with this complex issue, it's essential to examine not just the extent of basic needs insecurity, but also the ways in which institutions are responding or failing to respond. The stakes are especially high now, as the expiration of pandemic-era aid, rising inflation, and looming student loan repayments exacerbate financial strain for students across the country. Without bold, coordinated responses, many students risk falling through the cracks. In the next post in this series, we’ll explore the current policy landscape surrounding basic needs security, evaluate campus-level interventions, and consider how we can continue collaboration to create systems that truly support student success.

Publication Date: 9/24/2025

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