SHEEO has launched a new state policy academy focused on supporting states in expanding data capacity and developing policy infrastructure for integrating and using basic needs information in state postsecondary data systems.
Following a call for state teams in late 2024, seven states – Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawai’i, Kentucky, Minnesota, and New York – have been chosen to participate in a three-year initiative developed in partnership with the ECMC Foundation. The Basic Needs Data Academy will help support state teams as they develop or leverage their existing capacity to define, align, collect, and use basic needs data to improve policy and decision making, engage stakeholders, inform programming and services, and support students.
Background
Basic needs insecurities among college students stands out as an urgent issue. Every year, millions of students experience a lack of food, housing, mental health resources, childcare, technology, and transportation. Students are faced with significant challenges that can hinder their academic success. Further impacting this issue is the lack of clear and aligned basic needs data in state postsecondary data systems. Although recent efforts by SHEEO agencies to collect this information have led to improved insights and student support, widespread collection, use, and alignment of these data with other state administrative data remains inconsistent nationally. This inconsistency significantly hampers understanding of basic needs insecurities’ impacts on student success and the effectiveness of programs addressing these needs.
Why Invest in Basic Needs Data?
