Basic Needs Security
at Metropolitan Community College
A Report Prepared by the Wisconsin HOPE Lab
March 30, 2018
Overview
- Invitations to complete the questionnaire were sent by email to 14954 students from Metropolitan Community College, and 877 students completed it. Thus, the response rate was about 5.9%
- In the last year, about 11% of students experienced some form of homelessness, 44% were housing insecure, and 38% had low or very low food security.
- About 55% of students at Metropolitan Community College experienced at least one of these forms of basic needs insecurity in the past year. About 6.5% experienced all three forms of basic needs insecurity.
- The prevalence of basic needs insecurity are presented for several demographic subgroups.
Basic Needs for All Students
Housing Insecurity
Housing insecurity can involve unaffordable housing, poor housing quality, crowding, and frequent moves (Cutts et al., 2011). The survey instrument included six items to assess whether a student has experienced housing insecurity in the past thirty days and in the past twelve months. Students are classified as housing insecure if they answered affirmatively to at least one of those items for the time period in question.
How prevalent is housing insecurity at Metropolitan Community College? As can be seen in the plot below, 32% were housing insecure in the month they were surveyed and 44% were housing insecure in the previous year.
Homelessness
Homelessness indicates that a person is without a place to live, often residing in a shelter, automobile, an abandoned building, or outside. The survey included five items to determine whether students have been homeless in the past thirty days and in the past twelve months. Students are considered homeless if they answered affirmatively to at least one of five items for the time period in question. Note that it is possible for students to have experienced both homelessness and housing insecurity at different times during the previous month or year.
How prevalent is homelessness at Metropolitan Community College? As can be seen in the plot below, 4.8% were homeless in the month they were surveyed and 11% were homeless at some point in the previous year.
Food Security
Food insecurity is the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or the ability to acquire such foods in a socially acceptable manner (Anderson, 1990). To assess food insecurity among students, the survey instrument included the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 10-item U.S. Adult Food Security Survey Module (FSSM). The module asks students about their experiences in the past thirty days.
What percentage of students at Metropolitan Community College endorsed each food insecurity item?
The USDA recommends assigning each respondent a score based on the total number of affirmative answers on the 10-item instrument. That score determines a person’s food security status via a four category scale, where a score of zero corresponds to high food security, one to marginal food security, two to four translate to low food security, and scores of five or six indicate very low food security. Taken together, people who report low and very low food security can be referred to as food insecure.
| Items Endorsed | Food Security Level | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | High | Food Secure |
| 1–2 | Marginal | |
| 3–4 | Low | Food Insecure |
| 6–10 | Very Low |
How prevalent is food insecurity at Metropolitan Community College? As seen in the plot below, 38% of students were food insecure (i.e., had low or very low food insecurity).
Comparisons with Other Schools
In the fall of 2017, the Wisconsin HOPE Lab collected data from 13,631 students attending 33 different two-year communitiy colleges.
Basic Needs Insecurity Overlap
Homelessness, Housing Insecurity, and Food Insecurity are overlapping concerns, with about 55% of students at Metropolitan Community College experiencing at least one of these forms of basic needs insecurity in the past year.
Note This plot only used cases in which participants provided complete data for the food insecurity, housing insecurity, and homelessness. Thus, because some participants did not answer all of the questions on the questionnaire, percentages in this plot may differ slightly from other estimates when only one variable was considered at a time.
Basic Needs by Subgroups
The tables and figures in this section present measures of food insecurity, housing insecurity, and homelessness for various demographic groups. In this section, any category with fewer than 25 participants was removed from any plots in which it might otherwise have appeared.
Gender
How does each student self-identify?
Note: The term Non-Binary is used here to refer to a wide range of gender identities including transsexual, gender fluid, third gender, and many others.
| Gender | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 255 | 29.1% |
| Female | 602 | 68.6% |
| Non-Binary | 20 | 2.3% |
Housing Insecurity by Gender
Homelessness by Gender
Food Insecurity by Gender
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Sexual Orientation
How does each student self-identify?
| Sexual Orientation | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Heterosexual | 732 | 84.7% |
| Homosexual | 28 | 3.2% |
| Bisexual | 70 | 8.1% |
| None | 34 | 3.9% |
Housing Insecurity by Sexual Orientation
Homelessness by Sexual Orientation
Food Insecurity by Sexual Orientation
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Race/Ethnicity
How does each student self-identify?
Note: All groups with fewer than 25 participants were combined into the Other category, which also includes individuals who identified as belonging to more than one racial/ethnic group.
| Race/Ethnicity | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Black | 88 | 10.1% |
| Native American | 6 | 0.7% |
| Hispanic | 86 | 9.9% |
| Middle-Eastern/Arab | 1 | 0.1% |
| Asian | 39 | 4.5% |
| White | 548 | 62.8% |
| Mixed/Other | 104 | 11.9% |
Housing Insecurity by Race/Ethnicity
Homelessness by Race/Ethnicity
Food Insecurity by Race/Ethnicity
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Age
Age in Fall 2017
| Age | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 20 | 268 | 31.0% |
| 21 to 25 | 225 | 26.0% |
| 25 to 30 | 138 | 16.0% |
| Over 30 | 234 | 27.1% |
Housing Insecurity by Age
Homelessness by Age
Food Insecurity by Age
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Pell Grant
Student reports receiving Pell Grant support.
| Pell Grant | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 389 | 43.9% |
| No | 497 | 56.1% |
Housing Insecurity by Pell Grant
Homelessness by Pell Grant
Food Insecurity by Pell Grant
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Work
Number of hours worked per week
| Hours Worked | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Not looking for work | 157 | 16.3% |
| Looking for work | 107 | 11.1% |
| 1–5 | 22 | 2.3% |
| 6–20 | 162 | 16.8% |
| 21–40 | 376 | 39.0% |
| 40+ | 141 | 14.6% |
On average, students who were employed worked 31.6 hours per week.
Housing Insecurity by Hours Worked
Homelessness by Hours Worked
Food Insecurity by Hours Worked
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Full Time/Part Time Status
Does the student attend school full time or part time?
| Student Status | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | 579 | 56.9% |
| Part-time | 438 | 43.1% |
Housing Insecurity by Student Status
Homelessness by Student Status
Food Insecurity by Student Status
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Military Service
Has the student ever served in the Armed Forces?
| Military Service | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 61 | 7.0% |
| No | 815 | 93.0% |
Housing Insecurity by Military Service
Homelessness by Military Service
Food Insecurity by Military Service
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Citizenship
Is the student a U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident?
| Citizenship Status | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Citizen | 840 | 96.1% |
| Non-Citizen | 34 | 3.9% |
Housing Insecurity by Citizenship Status
Homelessness by Citizenship Status
Food Insecurity by Citizenship Status
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Parent Citizenship
Is either parent a U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident?
| Parent Citizenship Status | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Citizen Parent | 804 | 91.7% |
| Non-Citizen Parent | 73 | 8.3% |
Housing Insecurity by Parent Citizenship Status
Homelessness by Parent Citizenship Status
Food Insecurity by Parent Citizenship Status
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Dependant Status
For tax purposes, is the student claimed by a parent as a dependent, or is the student independent?
| Dependent Status | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Dependent | 230 | 26.6% |
| Independent | 634 | 73.4% |
Housing Insecurity by Dependent Status
Homelessness by Dependent Status
Food Insecurity by Dependent Status
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Foster Care
Has the student ever been placed in foster care?
| Foster Care | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 42 | 4.8% |
| No | 834 | 95.2% |
Housing Insecurity by Foster Care
Homelessness by Foster Care
Food Insecurity by Foster Care
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Children
Does the student have children?
| Children | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 300 | 34.3% |
| No | 575 | 65.7% |
Housing Insecurity by Children
Homelessness by Children
Food Insecurity by Children
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Relationship Status
Student’s relationship status
| Relationship Status | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 378 | 43.2% |
| In a relationship | 250 | 28.5% |
| Married | 218 | 24.9% |
| Divorced | 24 | 2.7% |
| Widowed | 6 | 0.7% |
Housing Insecurity by Relationship Status
Homelessness by Relationship Status
Food Insecurity by Relationship Status
Food Security Questions
Food Insecurity Categories
Subgroups Summary Table
| Variable | n | Food | Housing | Homelessness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 255 | 30.2% | 35.3% | 7.8% |
| Female | 602 | 41.8% | 48.5% | 11.3% |
| Non-Binary | 20 | 42.1% | 40.0% | 25.0% |
| Sexual Orientation | ||||
| Heterosexual | 732 | 36.8% | 42.9% | 8.6% |
| Homosexual | 28 | 39.3% | 46.4% | 14.3% |
| Bisexual | 70 | 55.7% | 64.3% | 27.1% |
| None | 34 | 41.2% | 50.0% | 17.6% |
| Race/Ethnicity | ||||
| Black | 88 | 55.7% | 60.2% | 11.4% |
| Native American | 6 | 16.7% | 33.3% | 16.7% |
| Hispanic | 86 | 43.5% | 46.5% | 1.2% |
| Middle-Eastern/Arab | 1 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Asian | 39 | 17.9% | 28.2% | 7.7% |
| White | 548 | 36.0% | 40.9% | 10.9% |
| Mixed/Other | 104 | 43.3% | 56.7% | 17.3% |
| Age | ||||
| 18 to 20 | 268 | 30.8% | 33.2% | 13.8% |
| 21 to 25 | 225 | 47.6% | 52.0% | 10.7% |
| 25 to 30 | 138 | 43.5% | 52.9% | 8.7% |
| Over 30 | 234 | 35.9% | 45.7% | 8.5% |
| Pell Grant | ||||
| Yes | 389 | 45.3% | 52.9% | 13.3% |
| No | 497 | 34.6% | 38.5% | 8.7% |
| Hours Worked | ||||
| Not looking for work | 157 | 39.7% | 42.0% | 6.3% |
| Looking for work | 107 | 37.9% | 46.3% | 15.8% |
| 1–5 | 22 | 31.6% | 31.6% | 0.0% |
| 6–20 | 162 | 34.4% | 44.5% | 11.0% |
| 21–40 | 376 | 37.0% | 41.7% | 9.8% |
| 40+ | 141 | 46.8% | 52.8% | 11.8% |
| Student Status | ||||
| Full-time | 579 | 38.9% | 43.9% | 12.1% |
| Part-time | 438 | 37.7% | 44.7% | 8.8% |
| Housing Location | ||||
| On-Campus | 2 | 50.0% | 50.0% | 0.0% |
| Off-Campus | 888 | 38.1% | 44.3% | 10.7% |
| Meal Plan | ||||
| Yes | 8 | 50.0% | 50.0% | 12.5% |
| No | 882 | 38.0% | 44.2% | 10.6% |
| Military Service | ||||
| Yes | 61 | 28.3% | 42.6% | 11.5% |
| No | 815 | 39.2% | 44.5% | 10.4% |
| Citizenship Status | ||||
| Citizen | 840 | 38.4% | 44.0% | 10.5% |
| Non-Citizen | 34 | 38.2% | 52.9% | 14.7% |
| Parent Citizenship Status | ||||
| Citizen Parent | 804 | 38.0% | 44.0% | 10.8% |
| Non-Citizen Parent | 73 | 42.5% | 49.3% | 8.2% |
| Dependent Status | ||||
| Dependent | 230 | 34.5% | 34.8% | 13.0% |
| Independent | 634 | 40.3% | 48.3% | 9.9% |
| Foster Care | ||||
| Yes | 42 | 50.0% | 52.4% | 33.3% |
| No | 834 | 37.7% | 44.0% | 9.4% |
| Children | ||||
| Yes | 300 | 42.1% | 54.0% | 9.3% |
| No | 575 | 36.4% | 39.5% | 11.3% |
| Relationship Status | ||||
| Single | 378 | 37.9% | 41.8% | 13.0% |
| In a relationship | 250 | 43.6% | 50.0% | 14.4% |
| Married | 218 | 30.4% | 40.8% | 3.2% |
| Divorced | 24 | 54.2% | 58.3% | 4.2% |
| Widowed | 6 | 66.7% | 50.0% | 0.0% |
Note: Students with low or very low food security are considered food insecure.
Accessing Public Assistance
In addition to measuring basic needs insecurity, the survey included multiple items to characterize food insecure and housing insecure students’ strategies for addressing the shortfalls they experience. Students were asked whether they had received assistance from a variety of social programs during the past year. Undergraduates may be eligible for multiple social programs to assist with food, housing, child care, transportation, health care, and other expenses. However, program restrictions often prevent students from receiving assistance. For example, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) requires undergraduates without children to work at least twenty hours per week. Due to shortages in subsidized housing, eligibility for housing assistance does not guarantee participation.
Other Concerns
Along with the measures of basic needs security described above, the survey included several related items about students’ experiences in the past year. These items included measures of students’ legal troubles, home environments, and financial decisions stemming from a lack of resources.
In the past year, did you…
Contact Information
About Us
The Wisconsin HOPE Lab – Food and Housing Resources for Students and Institutions was established in 2013 on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus to engage in translational research aimed at improving equitable outcomes in postsecondary education. For more information on material need among college students, and for helpful food and housing resources for those seeking to help struggling students, visit the Wisconsin HOPE Lab webpage.
Questions
If you have any questions about this report or food and housing resources, please contact Wisconsin HOPE Lab Acting Director Jed Richardson by email at jed.richardson@wisc.edu or by phone at (608) 890-2946.