A new report from Ithaka S+R has found that while community college provosts want to collect more data about students’ basic needs, factors such as limited resources and infrastructure restrict their ability to do so.
The report, “Moving the Needle on College Student Basic Needs: National Community College Provost Perspectives,” is part of a larger Holistic Measures of Student Success project.
The survey population for the report included provosts, chief academic officers, vice presidents of academic affairs and those in similar positions. The survey was administered in October 2020.
Ithaka S+R research has shown that students are not just focused on graduation but also look to learn and feel a sense of community in their overall student experience, said Melissa Blankstein, an Ithaka S+R surveys analyst and co-author of the report.
“And what tends to hold them back from achieving all this are really the factors outside of the classroom,” Blankstein said. “If they’re employed, they’re balancing their employment with their academic involvements, as well as the challenges of paying for their basic needs and their courses as well.”
As is the case with many other things, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated students’ needs, Blankstein said, citing increases in unemployment and worsening mental health concerns.
“We’re really seeing that provosts are emphasizing academic and business priorities when determining which data to collect to when they’re assessing institutional success,” Blankstein said. “And so, they’re focused more on more traditional metrics concerned with graduation or retention, course completion.
