This report is the first in a series that unpacks the barriers to access that families face, the variety of solutions that navigation organizations have developed, and the challenges that limit the reach and impact of those solutions. This series offers recommendations for how to help navigators address these challenges and support more families…

This brief explores the experiences of college students aged 25 and older using data from the Fall 2023 Student Financial Wellness Survey. These modern learners experience financial insecurity and time poverty at higher rates than their younger peers, which can impact their academic success.

Financial literacy is an important skillset for individuals to have so they can properly manage their financial well-being. Individuals across the United States are lacking in financial literacy, and therefore often struggle with navigating major financial events in addition to their daily personal finance decisions. K-12 family and consumer…

Unexpected and emergency expenses remain a persistent barrier to on-time college completion and student success. A staggering number of students, particularly those enrolled in public 2-year and most Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), report they would be unable to come up with $500 within a month. As the demographic of college students becomes…

This brief focuses on the intersection of basic needs security and mental wellbeing in college students using data from over 62,000 participants in the Fall 2023 Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS). The high prevalence of food and housing insecurity, and the alarming rates of depression and anxiety, underscore the urgent need for action to…

Student affairs practice must proactively address issues of access in the design and delivery of community service experiences. Gone are the days of presuming equitable access to opportunities. Recent research identifies significant barriers associated with financial security, familial responsibilities, time, and transportation as critical…

This HEPI Report considers the strategies adopted by higher education institutions to support students affected by the cost-of-living crisis. It finds they are adopting a range of measures, such as supporting students with the costs of food and drink, providing means-tested and unconditional funding, subsidising student activities, and opening…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. While new loans are currently authorized to be made only…

Children on the spectrum often require both formal services and natural unpaid support from caregivers. Recent autism surveillance study in the US has reported an increase in racially/ethnically diverse autistic children (Maenner et al. in MMWR Surveillance Summaries 72(2):1, 2023). Standing at the intersection of race, disability and sometimes…

The Department of Health and Human Services submits this report to the House Appropriations Committee in response to the following language the House Report 116-450: (1) Impact of the Federal Poverty Guideline. -- The Committee recognizes emerging challenges in Head Start's ability to fulfill its purpose of serving low-income children and their…

While US and Dominican officials have traditionally received credit for the expansion of the public school system during the US military occupation of the Dominican Republic from 1916 to 1924, this article offers an alternative account by focusing on the role of guardians, or caretakers, in supporting and creating schools in this period. Drawing…

Urban community colleges provide access to postsecondary education's most diverse and underserved student populations. Students enrolled in these institutions often face academic, financial, and social challenges that shrink their odds of success. Leaders from three urban community colleges in the Southern United States shared the importance of…

Nationally, Ithaka S+R estimates that over six million students have completed credits at postsecondary institutions that they cannot document due to a past due balance. These overdue balances contribute to a national problem of stranded credits--credits that students have completed but cannot document because they were unable to fulfill their…

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows. Identify and map all existing primary studies and systematic reviews (published and unpublished) on social, emotional, educational, and behavioural issues in families affected by parental incarceration, creating a live, searchable and publicly available Evidence…

Nearly every economic indicator, from the stock market to unemployment and beyond, suggests that a global financial crisis is imminent. While an economic downturn may affect every parent, family, and taxpayer, education special-interest groups are demanding that Washington bail them out now, regardless of future tax or spending implications. These…