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“A reason students drop out is because basic needs are unmet. If you’re not eating, you’re not focusing in class. If you have nowhere to stay, you’re worried about that.” – FY22 Grantee
The federal Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program (within the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education or FIPSE) is a competitive grant that helps colleges build campus-wide, coordinated systems addressing students’ basic needs, often in partnership with public agencies and community organizations while strengthening data capacity to track retention, re-enrollment, and completion.
Since FY2021, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has awarded 40+ multi-year Basic Needs Grants (FY2021–FY2024), with typical three-year awards in the $800K+ range, enabling campuses to build one-stop, coordinated hubs, track retention and completion, and connect students to benefits through sustained funding.
| Total appropriation: | Total new award funding: | Number of new awards: | Average new award (total 3-year award): | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2021 | $5,000,00 | $4,941,916 | 6 | $823,652 |
| FY 2022 | $8,000,000 | $13,501,140 | 14 | $932,224 |
| FY2023 | $10,000,000 | $9,993,637 | 11 | $908,512 |
| FY2024 | $10,000,000 | $9,704,876 | 11 | $882,261 |
Evidence-Based Strategies that Support Student Basic Needs
Although the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program has only been around since FY21, the impact has been significant. Over the course of four award cycles, 42 institutions have received the grant, allowing them to develop and expand basic needs initiatives on their campuses. Institutions have created basic needs hubs, connected students with public benefits, and even hired staff whose primary responsibility is to help students navigate basic needs insecurity.
Unlike other federal grants that are dedicated to addressing very niche challenges, the Basic Needs Grant is unique in that it allows grantees to take a holistic approach to addressing barriers that contemporary students face. Grantees have used funding to address food insecurity, transportation challenges, mental health, technology hurdles, affordable housing, and more. When students have their basic needs met, they can focus on their studies without having to worry about who will care for their child or where their next meal will come from.
“We ask [students] directly if they’ve experienced an improvement in their basic needs security and we have had 100% of respondents say yes they have.” – FY23 grantee
Not only does this funding help directly improve students’ basic needs, but it also has a positive impact on their academic outcomes. Institutions have tracked data around retention and completion rates for students who have utilized resources through the Basic Needs Grant. For institutions that have been able to disaggregate this data, the results all indicate that the grant produces positive results. Some schools, such as Normandale Community College, have seen a difference of six percentage points in completion rates for students served by the grant versus those who were not. Even for more recent grantees, there are already signs that the funding will improve student outcomes.
“Honestly, so far as it’s going, all the students who I’ve seen have said that due to the services, they intend on staying longer. Now if that means graduation, I’m not entirely sure, but my resources build every day, and I keep in contact with them. So, I feel like it’s building more of a community that really impacts the retention.” – FY24 grantee
The evidence is clear: when students’ basic needs are met, they are more engaged in their studies and can persist and complete college, putting them on a path toward economic mobility and self-sufficiency in the long term. If we value an educated workforce, we must provide current and future students with the tools necessary to meet their basic needs. Funding institutional supports such as the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program is essential to making this happen.
The Cost of Cutting Basic Needs Supports
Without federal funding for Basic Needs Grants, campuses will likely retract the very infrastructure that keeps students enrolled: one-door basic needs hubs, trained staff, emergency aid, and integrated health/mental health access. Services may decline or disappear mid-grant cycle, staff may be laid off, and colleges (especially community colleges and Minority Serving Institutions) will likely revert to operating with limited institutional resources to serve students with the greatest need. Cutting the Basic Needs Grants could result in slower time-to-support; fewer students connected to food, housing, childcare, transportation, and benefits; and more academic withdrawals. Evidence-building and data reporting would likely stall, making it harder for Congress to determine which student supports make the greatest impact on college completion and how to scale efforts so that a greater number of students have access to these essential resources.
Student-level consequences of eliminating the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program:
- Losing a centralized, trusted point of contact forces students to navigate multiple offices on their own, often missing time-sensitive help like rent assistance, SNAP eligibility, or childcare vouchers.
- Unexpected financial emergencies (car repair, childcare lapse, medical bill) become more likely to trigger permanent stop-outs rather than brief, supported interruptions.
- Reduced access to on-campus or telehealth mental health care increases class absences and course withdrawals.
Campus-level consequences of eliminating the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program:
- Hubs close or cut hours; staff caseloads spike, lengthening wait times and lowering service quality.
- Partnerships with human-services, housing authorities, and transit partners scaled-back, stalling benefits screening and referrals.
- Data systems tracking time-to-support, benefits uptake, retention, and completion are potentially reduced, weakening targeting and accountability.
Call to Action: Congress Must Protect Funding to Improve Student Basic Needs Security
We urge Congress to preserve the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program in FY2026 by rejecting elimination of FIPSE. Without federal support for student basic needs, some colleges may turn to states to help fill the gaps. This comes at a time when state budgets are already stretched thin and states are preparing to make deep cuts because of H.R.1.
Federal support is needed more than ever to ensure students, regardless of their background, can access a quality higher education program. When resources are in place to make education more accessible, students, families, and communities can thrive.
For more on the federal Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program and successful campus initiatives, read our brief here.
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