HBCU Students’ Basic Needs and Capacity Building: A Multiple Case Study Exploration

Funded by the ECMC Foundation, the project “HBCU Students’ Basic Needs and Capacity Building: A Multiple Case Study Exploration” aids the HBCU Center’s mission to support a thriving HBCU ecosystem by developing research-informed strategies to better serve the holistic needs of students. According to Dahl and colleagues (2022), nearly two thirds of HBCU students experienced basic needs insecurity during the pandemic, and nearly half of these students faced food and housing insecurity within that year.

Guided by ECMC’s Foundation's mission to “improve higher education for career success among underserved populations through evidence-based innovation,” the purpose of this study is to conduct a multi-campus exploration focused on HBCU undergraduate students’ basic needs. This study explores campus policies, interventions, and practices that promote HBCU students’ holistic wellbeing.

The following are the the expected outcomes of this study:

- To identify today’s most pressing HBCU students’ basic needs

- To evaluate the infrastructure of HBCUs for serving their students’ basic needs.

- To build capacity across HBCUs through research-informed practices

- To ignite coalition among HBCUs committed to serving their students’ needs holistically

Other key aspects about this study include:

- The HBCUs targeted for this study are mostly residential, research-intensive, and bachelor’s degree granting. This study is seeking HBCUs with undergraduate enrollment of 25% or more of students who are Pell-grant recipients.

- Through individual interviews and focus groups, data will be collected from the following:

- Students

- Staff, particularly frontline staff (e.g., student affairs professionals)

- Faculty, particularly those who teach core/signature/general education courses

- Select senior administrations, including but not limited to vice president of student affairs and chief academic officer.

Efforts will rely on campus liaisons who will provide assistance on identifying participants who fit the criteria for this research. Campus liaisons will receive a one-time honorarium of $1,500 for their participation. If you wish to enlist your institution and/or serve as a campus liaison for this study, please contact the PI, Dr. Jorge Burmicky at jorge.burmicky@howard.edu

IRB protocol #2024-1257: HBCU Students' Basic Needs and Capacity Building