風蕭蕭_Frank
以文會友
過半大學生對居住不安心，66%有斷炊之虞
世界日報 ｜2023-11-30
加州學生援助委員會（California Student Aid Commission）近日發表最新調查，2萬3687名在2023年5月受訪的大專學生中，53%有居住困難，66%有斷炊之虞。
加州經濟弱勢的學生，麵臨的現實挑戰越來越多。（取自FOXLA電視台畫麵）
2022-2023學年的兩項比例都高於2018-19學年的調查，當時住不安心的為36%，食不安心的為39%，顯示學生處境在新冠疫情後越來越糟。
報告指出，學生來自加州州大（CSU）、加州社區大學（CCC），與私立營利或非營利學校，所有學生的不安全感都高於全體總平均。
另外，就算學生獲得學校的餐飲補助（meal plan），但還是有62%的人難以放心，因為餐飲計畫的分量不足一周所需，而且納入學校的餐飲補助，可能導致他們失去Cal-Fresh等補助的資格。
委員會的執行長Marine L. Garcia強調，問題相當嚴重，而且受到威脅的又以女性、低收、非裔、拉美裔為主，另外還有邊持家邊念書的在職學生。她說，調查結果顯示，要完成高等教育的目標越來越難，特別是原本經濟條件就不好的。
不過，值得欣慰的是，雖然經濟困難，多數學生還是願意堅持下去，因為他們相信大學是值得「投資」的資產。
California Student Aid Commission
Food and Housing Survey understanding students' basic needs
https://www.csac.ca.gov/food-and-housing-survey
In May 2023, the California Student Aid Commission (Commission) administered our inaugural Food and Housing Survey, as a supplement to the triannual Student Expenses and Resources Survey (SEARS). This survey asked students about their experiences paying for food and housing during the 2022-23 academic year.
The Commission conducts periodic surveys of California students to help inform education leaders, policymakers, and the public about the challenges and issues that students encounter. While segments of higher education survey their respective students, the Commission is uniquely positioned to survey students across all segments of higher education to provide a holistic understanding of how California college students are meeting – or not meeting – their basic needs. In 2019, the Commission released data from our Student Expenses and Resources Survey that 36% of students applying for financial aid were housing insecure and 39% were food insecure. Along with the stories from students themselves, this startling data has helped inform discussions on how California can better meet the needs of students and address their growing costs outside tuition.
Given the breadth of these challenges faced by students, the Commission administered a focused Food and Housing Survey in May 2023. The results of this year’s survey demonstrate that the basic needs challenges that our students face are persistent and intensifying across all segments of higher education. In this survey, we found that two-thirds (66%) of students were identified as food insecure while over half (53%) were housing insecure. These and other findings tell a story of higher education dreams becoming even harder to realize, especially for students who face disproportionate barriers to reaching those dreams.
To read the full report, click here: Food and Housing Survey: Understanding Students’ Basic Needs
The Food and Housing Survey and the 2018-19 SEARS both used
question modules from the USDA and US Census to determine basic
needs insecurity. The time scale for the food and housing questions
in these basic needs survey was 12 months instead of 30 days.
A fact sheet on the 2023 Food and Housing survey, along with the data codebook and survey instrument are available here:
- 2023 Food and Housing Survey Fact Sheet
- 2023 Food and Housing SURVEY DATA CODEBOOK
- 2023 Food and Housing SURVEY INSTRUMENT
Introduction With the cost of living rising faster than ever before, the conversation about the cost of attending college must include students' basic needs. Results from the 2023 Food and Housing Survey show that both food and housing insecurity have intensified for California's college students, as covering those costs has become increasingly challenging.
Previously, in the 2018-19 Student Expenses and Resources Survey (SEARS), the Commission found that, of students who applied for financial aid, 36% were housing insecure and 39% had either low or very low food security. Since that time, economic inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic have made it more difficult for students to meet their food and housing needs.
The survey provided a clear picture that those students most likely to be food and housing insecure were:
• 24 years or older
• African American or Latino/Hispanic
• Parents or primary caretakers of a child
• Attending a California community college or private for-profit institution
• Eligible for Zero Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
• Female Yet, despite the obstacle of costs, most students remained steadfast in their belief that college is a worthwhile investment.
These students’ journeys, and the data reflecting them, reinforce the state’s focus on critical reforms in financial aid and basic needs to touch more students’ lives and make it easier for them to access aid.
This report aims to inform stakeholders and decision-makers about the landscape of food and housing security and college affordability at California’s world-class institutions of higher education. Understanding the challenges students face can better inform policymakers when it comes to developing financial aid policy with students and the challenges they face at the forefront.
