{"id":223213,"date":"2025-10-06T14:48:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T00:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=223213"},"modified":"2025-10-06T15:58:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T01:58:33","slug":"new-survey-highlights-urgent-basic-needs-insecurities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/06\/new-survey-highlights-urgent-basic-needs-insecurities\/","title":{"rendered":"New survey highlights urgent basic needs insecurities among <abbr>UH<\/abbr> students"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/west-oahu-basic-needs-survey-2.jpg\" alt=\"person sitting behind a table with food on it\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-223243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/west-oahu-basic-needs-survey-2.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/west-oahu-basic-needs-survey-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/west-oahu-basic-needs-survey-2-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A new University of <span lang=\"haw\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> System report reveals that many students continue to face significant challenges meeting their basic needs, including food, housing, healthcare, hygiene, clothing, transportation and technology. The <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1RUATBCT68kVS_qv03JFbLEjXld6ynQt2\/view\"><em>Landscape Assessment of Student Basic Needs Insecurity in the University of <span lang=\"haw\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> System<\/em><\/a>, released in 2025 by Albie Miles and Konstantinos Zougris, professors from <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> West <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;ahu<\/span>, surveyed 2,704 students across all 10 campuses and provides one of the most comprehensive snapshots to date of how these issues affect academic success and overall well-being.<\/p>\n<h2>Widespread insecurities<\/h2>\n<p>The study found that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>60&#37; of students<\/strong> experienced at least one form of food insecurity, with 40&#37; reporting going hungry in the past year due to lack of money.<\/li>\n<li><strong>25&#37; of students<\/strong> identified as housing insecure, and 20&#37; reported not having a safe place to sleep.<\/li>\n<li><strong>30&#37; of students<\/strong> did not seek medical care when needed because of financial barriers, and 23&#37; reported no access to health insurance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>25&#37; of students<\/strong> faced hygiene insecurity, while another 25&#37; struggled with clothing insecurity, sometimes missing class as a result.<\/li>\n<li><strong>14&#37; of students<\/strong> reported unreliable internet access, limiting their ability to complete coursework.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&ldquo;These insecurities disrupt student learning and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations including Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, African American, <abbr>LGBTQIA&#43;<\/abbr>, parenting, and older students,&rdquo; the report noted.<\/p>\n<h2>Impact on student success<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/kapiolani-basic-needs-survey-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"food on a table\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-223240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/kapiolani-basic-needs-survey-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/kapiolani-basic-needs-survey-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/kapiolani-basic-needs-survey.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The findings emphasize how basic needs insecurity directly undermines academic persistence and student retention. For example, the study revealed that students who dropped out were overwhelmingly more likely to have experienced severe food (61&#37;) and housing (82&#37;) insecurity.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, 75&#37; of students reported a sense of belonging on their campus and 81&#37; felt supported by their teachers\u2014protective factors that contribute to retention and success.<\/p>\n<h2>Student services and awareness<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/west-oahu-basic-needs-survey-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"food in a basket\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-223242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/west-oahu-basic-needs-survey-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/west-oahu-basic-needs-survey-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/west-oahu-basic-needs-survey-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The survey also evaluated awareness and use of <abbr>UH<\/abbr>\u2019s student basic needs services. About 75&#37; of students were aware of services on their campus, and half reported using them. Of those who accessed support, 80&#37; said they were satisfied with the assistance received.<\/p>\n<h2>Recommendations for action<\/h2>\n<p>The report outlines 10 key recommendations for <abbr>UH<\/abbr> officials and state policymakers, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Expanding financial aid to better reflect the full cost of attendance, including living expenses.<\/li>\n<li>Establishing comprehensive &ldquo;basic needs hubs&rdquo; on every campus.<\/li>\n<li>Increasing healthcare and safety resources.<\/li>\n<li>Enhancing equitable access to transportation and technology.<\/li>\n<li>Strengthening communication campaigns to reduce stigma and raise awareness about available resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&ldquo;These findings will guide us in shaping a more equitable, compassionate and supportive <abbr>UH<\/abbr> System\u2014one where every student has the resources to thrive academically and personally,&rdquo; said Miles and Zougris.<\/p>\n<h2>Next steps<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/manoa-basic-needs-survey-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2 people sitting behind a table\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-223241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/manoa-basic-needs-survey-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/manoa-basic-needs-survey-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/manoa-basic-needs-survey.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <abbr>UH<\/abbr> System and campus basic needs committees will utilize these survey results to refine goals and priorities previously identified in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/student-basic-needs\/master-plan-3-year-strategy\/\">Basic Needs Master Plan 2.0<\/a> that was published in November 2024.<\/p>\n<p><abbr>UH<\/abbr> appreciates the support of many generous donors who have given in support of basic student needs over the years. If you are able to help, visit this <a href=\"https:\/\/give.uhfoundation.org\/campaigns\/63435\/donations\/new\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> Foundation page<\/a> to donate to the campus or program of your choice.<\/p>\n<h2>Read the full report<\/h2>\n<p>The full <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1RUATBCT68kVS_qv03JFbLEjXld6ynQt2\/view?usp=drive_link\"><em>Landscape Assessment of Student Basic Needs Insecurity in the University of <span lang=\"haw\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> System<\/em><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1v9sJy-VkOLOPA8jD-vyX1oz9kVOZM1lT\/view?usp=drive_link\"><em>Executive Summary<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many <abbr>UH<\/abbr> students face food, housing and healthcare insecurities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[951,61,62,63,64,65,71,14,9,60,947,59,66],"class_list":["post-223213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-food","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223213"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":223244,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223213\/revisions\/223244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}