When students struggle to find nutritious food or stable housing, learning becomes more challenging, and they are less likely to complete their education. 

More colleges are redesigning their roles to more actively help students meet their basic needs. For instance, Ozarks Technical Community College in Montana provides free breakfast to students five days a week, and the North East Texas Community College Care Center houses a food pantry and a closet with personal hygiene supplies. It also offers opportunities for peer mentorship and group mental health therapy sessions.

In June, Northern Arizona University unveiled a campuswide initiative designed to expand access to higher education and prioritize equity at the Hispanic-serving institution. 

In this interview, NAU's José Luis Cruz Rivera shares details of the Elevating Excellence program, how it was launched in just eight months, and what other colleges can do to move more quickly to help disadvantaged students.

In early 2020, at the start of the pandemic, colleges closed campus housing and students were sent home or sometimes into homelessness. The changes also left many students without the employment they relied on to make ends meet.

In response, the federal government provided $30 billion in emergency aid funds to support students. A new report argues that lessons learned from providing emergency aid at scale for the first time can help improve how similar aid is designed and delivered in the future.