Addressing Housing Insecurity and Living Costs in Higher Education

This post was originally published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This Guidebook, co-authored with the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, reviews and explains strategies that institutions of higher education may consider to

support their students with housing insecurity and other living costs, as well as examples of these

strategies’ implementation. In the introduction, the Guidebook contextualizes these strategies with

reference to evidence on student living costs, most of which has been discussed in prior PD&R

publications. With high rates of college enrollment despite stagnant or declining family incomes and

increasing college costs, today many college students are struggling to make ends meets and

succeed in school. Key strategies include, for example, engaging in extensive, approach outreach for

students who may benefit from support; partnering with local agencies and organizations such as

Continuums of Care; and connecting students with benefits. The Guidebook is sourced from

interviews, suggestions from stakeholders including other federal agencies, and existing research.