As higher education has grown in importance for students and families, it has become much more difficult to afford, particularly those with the fewest financial resources. Often, policy choices have exacerbated the college affordability crisis.  

Today, three in five college students do not have enough to eat or a safe place to live, and millions lack access to essential resources such as health care, child care, transportation, course materials, and technology. Nationally representative federal data have also confirmed that all types of students at all types of colleges struggle to meet their basic needs. Few students who experience basic needs insecurity are accessing public or tax benefits or campus supports. 

The Hope Center at Temple University urges federal, state, and local policymakers to treat students as humans first by helping them afford the full cost of college. We call for major reforms to public benefits to focus on students’ basic needs, significant increases in funding for public higher education and institutions that serve high percentages of students of color, and more equitable design and implementation of financial aid programs. 

Recent Highlights:

Policy Priorities:

• Letter to Congress on The Hope Center’s FY 2025 Appropriations Priorities (April 5, 2025) 

• 2023 Federal Policy Priorities

Letters:

• Coalition Letter to Congress about SNAP Student Rules in the Farm Bill  (April 2, 2024)

• Comments to the U.S. Department of Education on Addressing Student Mental Health (February 23, 2024)
• Comments on the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Round II (October 16, 2023)

• Comments on the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Round I (May 24, 2023)

• Coalition Letter to Congress on SNAP and Food Insecurity Among College Students (May 8, 2023)
• Coalition Letter to the U.S. Department of Education on “Cost of Attendance” (April 25, 2023)
• Letter to the Biden Administration on “Standards of Administrative Capability” (March 6, 2023)
• Coalition Letter to Congress Urging Repeal of Tax on Pell Grants (November 28, 2022)
• Coalition Letter to Biden Administration on College Food Insecurity and SNAP (October 18, 2022)
• Coalition letter to Congress Advocating for Support for College Students’ Mental Health (April 13, 2022)

Publications:

• The Hope Blog: The Government Funding Deal: For Students, It's Treading Water (March 25, 2024)

• The Hope Blog: President Biden proposes new funding to support student basic needs. (March 14, 2024)

• The Hope Blog: Students can get money back when they file taxes. It’s time to tell them about it. (January 29, 2024)

• Boosting the Student Voice & Student Vote: Leveraging Higher Education to Expand Participation in Democracy (November 2023)
• Continuing the Federal Investment in Emergency Aid Grants (August 2023)
• New Federal Data Confirm that College Students Face Significant—and Unacceptable—Basic Needs Insecurity (August 2023)
• The Hope Blog: Child Care Is Crucial for Supporting Parenting Students in North Carolina—and Everywhere (August 2023)
• The Hope Blog: The Supreme Court Blocks Student Loan Forgiveness—and Progress (June 30, 2023)
• The Hope Blog: Congress Needs to Address the Child Care Crisis for Parenting Students. Here’s How (February 10, 2023)
• Closing the College SNAP Gap: Strategies for States and Colleges to Reduce Food Insecurity (January 2023)
• Pennsylvania Parent Pathways Learning Network Policy Report (December 31, 2022)
• The Hope Blog: Abortion Access is a Student Basic Need (December 12, 2022)
• States Leading the Way in SNAP Eligibility and Outreach to Students (June 2022)
• States Leading the Way in Emergency Aid for College Students (June 2022)
• Helping Students Meet Basic Needs to Support Their Success (June 2022)
• When Care Isn’t Enough: Scaling Emergency Aid During the Pandemic (October 2021)
• The Real Price of College: Estimating and Supporting Students’ Financial Needs (October 2021) 
• The Real Price of College: How Using the Negative Expected Family Contribution Can Better Support Students (April 2021)
• Technical Research Memo: An Early Look at a Pilot SNAP Outreach Intervention in California (March 2022)
• Resourcing the Part-Time Student: Rethinking the Use of FTEs in Higher Education Budgets  (May 20, 2020)

Statements and Announcements:

• The Hope Center Awarded Grant from Lumina Foundation to Support Federal Policy Solutions that Secure Students’ Basic Needs (January 2024)

• Statement on on State Legislation Attacking Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education (May 8, 2023)

• Statement on the Biden Administration’s FY 2024 Budget Proposal (March 10, 2023)
• Statement on the FY 2023 Government Funding Omnibus (December 21, 2022)
• Hope Center Awarded Grant to Improve Federal and State Policy Solutions for Student Basic Needs Insecurity (November 29, 2022)
• Statement on the Biden Administration’s Debt Cancellation Announcement (August 24, 2022)
• Statement on the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Abortion Rights (June 2022)
• Statement on Basic Needs Grant, SSARP, and FAFSA Data-Use Guidance (January 20, 2022)

Events & Recordings:

• Webinar: FAFSA Fixes for Homeless and Foster Youth: What You Need to Know Now (December 2022)
• Webinar: FY 2022 Basic Needs Grants Walk-Through with ACCT & The Hope Center (September 2022)
• 2022 Virtual Policy Summit (September 2022)
• Webinar: The Real Price of College: Revealing True Student Financial Need (May 13, 2021)

Archive:

The following items are archived because they contain time-limited information that may no longer be relevant to current policy.