A First Look at Impacts of the College Housing Assistance Program at Tacoma Community College - Initial Evaluation Insights

Oct 15, 2026

Affording living expenses remains a major barrier to degree completion for community college students, with many struggling to cover food, housing, transportation, and childcare, and as many as one in five experiencing homelessness. This report presents initial lessons from the first external evaluation of the College Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) at Tacoma Community College, detailing how students experienced the program, where barriers appeared, and where supports were found, while noting that conclusions about efficacy are not yet ready.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The College Housing Assistance Program

Evaluation Design

CHAP Applicants

A FIRST LOOK AT IMPACTS OF THE COLLEGE HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AT TACOMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE Sara Goldrick-Rab, Christine Baker-Smith, Kallie Clark, Sonja Dahl, Stephanie Brescia, and Tiffani Williams June 2021 INTRODUCTION Affording living expenses presents a major barrier to degree completion for many community college students. Food, affordable housing, transportation, and childcare are central conditions for learning. Yet with stagnant incomes, rising tuition and living costs, and insufficient support from financial aid and the social safety net, approximately one in two community college students struggle to afford these basic needs.1 Additionally, as many as one in five experience homelessness.2 The College Housing Assistance Program (CHAP), operated by the Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) and Tacoma Community College (TCC), is at the forefront of the nationwide fight to ameliorate homelessness among college students.3 CHAP is one of the country’s first partnerships between a housing authority anda community college and offers a unique model. In contrast to other programs such as student-run shelters, rapid-rehousing, and college-owned affordable apartments, CHAP utilizes government-subsidized housing assistance to provide housing to homeless and near-homeless community college students. This report offers the initial lessons learned from the first external evaluation of CHAP. Successful program implementation is crucial to providing benefits for students, and can be especially challenging in housing programs. We therefore focus on how students experienced the program, where they faced barriers, and where they found support. It is too early in the evaluation process to draw conclusions about the program’s efficacy; these are short-term insights. THE COLLEGE HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM The CHAP began in 2014 as a pilot program offering housing vouchers to 25 homeless TCC students.4 Since then, it has expanded several times.5 Over the course of the evaluation period (academic years 2017–18 and 2018–19), the program was designed to support 150 students with vouchers funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Moving to Work program. The average monthly rental assistance was $533; exact amounts depended on household size.6 Unlike traditional housing vouchers, which are income-based, all vouchers used in CHAP are worth 50% of the payment standard, an amount based on average rent of an apartment for each bedroom size.7 This means that students must have some income of their own to contribute towards rent. In this sense, CHAP cannot entirely fill the gap for homeless community college students who have zero or very limited income. Vouchers were time-limited—students could retain the voucher for three years or until they graduated, whichever came first. For most of the evaluation period, TCC designated a staff person, whose title was “Resource Navigator,” with program outreach and case management responsibilities. Additional program information can be found in the web appendices. Both homeless and near-homeless students could apply for support from CHAP. During the evaluation period, all eligible homeless students were automatically admitted to the program and referred for a THA voucher. A lottery was used to determine admission of near-homeless applicants, since the program could not serve them all. Applicants denied admission could reapply during a later cycle; some did and were accepted.8 Correspondingly, the evaluation includes a descriptive study of homeless applicants and an impact study for near-homeless applicants, utilizing the lottery-based comparison group.9 A HOUSEHOLD EXPERIENCING ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: 1. Unable to meet basic housing expenses such as rent, mortgage, or utilities that will result in the loss of permanent housing; 2. Residing in a motel/hotel due to loss of permanent housing and lacks the resources to remain; 3. Has lost permanent housing and is li

FAQs

What problem does CHAP aim to address for community college students?

CHAP targets housing instability and homelessness that interfere with learning and degree completion, using subsidized housing assistance for homeless and near-homeless students.

How were participants admitted during the evaluation period?

Eligible homeless students were automatically admitted and referred for a THA voucher, while near-homeless applicants were admitted through a lottery to manage limited capacity.

What does the report say about the evaluation results so far?

The report provides short-term insights from the first external evaluation and states it is too early in the process to draw conclusions about program efficacy.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sophia Brooks