ECMC Foundation Basic Needs Initiative Evaluation Report 2 - Exploring the reach and impact of basic needs services at postsecondary institutions: Learnings from a multi-state evaluation in 2020–21 and 2021–22

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum

Evaluation report examining the reach and impact of the ECMC Foundation Basic Needs Initiative’s basic needs services at selected postsecondary institutions across the 2020–21 and 2021–22 academic years. The report measures students’ use of services and the effects on short-term academic outcomes such as enrollment intensity, credits earned, GPA, and retention from fall to winter/spring. It draws on student-level data from multiple states and participating grantees, and summarizes key findings relevant to improving service data collection and linkage to demographic and outcome information.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages64

Reading Time2 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Executive summary

Program background and evaluation focus

Data sources and study partnerships

Key findings and implications for practice

ECMC FOUNDATION BASIC NEEDS INITIATIVE EVALUATION REPORT 2 Exploring the reach and impact of basic needs services at postsecondary institutions: Learnings from a multi-state evaluation in 2020–21 and 2021–22 Sam Riggs & Michelle Hodara March 2024 About Education Northwest Education Northwest is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping all children and youth reach their full potential. We partner with public, private, and community-based organizations to address educational inequities and improve student success. Through an equity-centered approach, we collaborate to support learners of every age on their path to and through education and training after high school. CONTACT Education Northwest 1417 NW Everett Street, Suite 310 Portland, OR 97209 [educationnorthwest.org](educationnorthwest.org)[ ](educationnorthwest.org)[503.275.9500](503.275.9500) SUGGESTED CITATION Riggs, S. & Hodara, M. (2024). Exploring the reach and impact of basic needs services at postsecondary institutions: Learnings from a multi-state evaluation in 2020–21 and 2021–22. Education Northwest. Acknowledgements The Education Northwest evaluation team is grateful to ECMC Foundation for their thought partnership on this evaluation. We are also grateful to Chris Mazzeo for his advice and guidance throughout this evaluation project and to Bracken Reed and Valerie Brodnikova for their editing and design support, respectively. This report would not have been possible without the support of the ECMC Foundation Basic Needs Initiative grantees who connected us to their partner institutions and supported the evaluation. We are also indebted to the institutions that shared student-level data for this report, including the postsecondary institutions, DVP-PRAXIS, Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, and United Way of King County. We thank all the individuals who spent time and effort on the data sharing, preparation, and transfer process. Education Northwest | Learnings from a multi-state evaluation in 2020–21 and 2021–22 ii Executive summary Many college students experience basic needs insecurity, which includes a lack of—or fear of the lack of—access to healthy food, stable housing, reliable transportation, affordable child care, physical and mental health care services, the internet and technology, and other necessities students need to survive and thrive in a postsecondary academic setting (Hodara et al., 2023). According to the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), in 2020, 23 percent of undergraduates had experienced food insecurity and 8 percent had experienced homelessness within the last 30 days.1 Research consistently shows that basic needs insecurity adversely affects students’ overall well-being and college enrollment, achievement, and completion and reinforces the connection between family socioeconomic status and postsecondary outcomes (Goldrick-Rab, 2021; Hallet & Freas, 2018; Haskett et al., 2020; Maroto et al., 2015; Martinez et al., 2018; Phillips et al., 2018; Silva et al., 2017; Trawver et al., 2020; Wolfson et al., 2021). To support students’ postsecondary success, ECMC Foundation launched the Basic Needs Initiative (BNI), funding seven organizations from 2019 to 20222 to address college students’ basic needs through direct service, technical assistance, and research. ECMC Foundation also engaged Education Northwest to lead an evaluation of the BNI and facilitate a learning community for grantees. In this evaluation report, we focus on measuring the extent to which students used basic needs services at select institutions supported by BNI grantees in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 academic years and the impact of using services on students’ short-term academic outcomes, including enrollment intensity (credits attempted), credits earned, grade point average, and fall to winter/spring retention.3 We partnered with four BNI grantees on this report—Arkansas Community College

FAQs

What does the evaluation report measure?

It measures the extent to which students used basic needs services at participating institutions and the impact of service use on short-term academic outcomes including enrollment intensity, credits earned, GPA, and fall-to-winter/spring retention.

How were data and partner institutions involved in the evaluation?

The evaluation used student-level data on service use, demographics, and academic outcomes from 20 postsecondary institutions supported by ECMC Foundation grantees across several states.

What do the report’s findings suggest about service access?

Findings indicate that very few students in the sample used basic needs services, revealing a gap between reported needs and access to services. The report uses sample figures for food assistance across 2020–21 and 2021–22.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum