Featuring vignettes of students experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, this book offers readers research-based, practical guidance for creating and implementing a plan of action to address these issues within their local context. Topics include trauma-informed frameworks, policies affecting homelessness and housing insecurity, transitioning students to college, supporting college retention, collaborations and partnerships, and life after college. This practical resource can be used as a professional development tool for student affairs, academic affairs, health and wellness centers, and other campus-based support services. “Provides context, but it also offers tangible suggestions for how you can develop or expand your philosophical, practical, and political efforts to address the needs of students.” —From the Foreword by Timothy P. White, chancellor of The California State University “These skilled authors provide invaluable insights into homelessness and guidance for how we can respond. This is important work that should be shared throughout higher education!” —Peter Miller, University of Wisconsin–Madison “This is a must-read for higher education professionals who want to support students affected by issues of housing insecurity and homelessness.” —Robert D. Reason, Iowa State University “This book not only enlightens leaders but also helps campuses to develop meaningful action plans through local evaluation and planning.” —Adrianna Kezar, University of Southern California

This book helps educational leaders provide support for students who face significant barriers to college access, success, and retention. The authors offer research-based, practical guidance to allow readers to evaluate these issues within their local context, create and implement a plan of action, and sustain those efforts over time. Vignettes based on interviews with students experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity and contributions from practitioners are woven throughout the text to illustrate promising-practice recommendations. Topics include trauma-informed frameworks, policies affecting homelessness and housing insecurity, transitioning students to college, supporting college retention, collaborations and partnerships, and life after college. This practical resource can be used as a professional development tool for student affairs, academic affairs, health and wellness centers, and other campus-based support services. Book Features: Guidance for evaluating food and housing insecurity in a local context. Practical ideas for designing and implementing solutions. Useful strategies for building a team and securing resources. Case studies that include voices of students and higher education practitioners.

Both colleges and policymakers recognize the importance of supporting students experiencing homelessness in higher education. The challenges involve both addressing issues of college access as well as developing strategies to support retention and degree completion once enrolled. This volume explores how homelessness intersects most social issues that marginalize individuals and negatively influence postsecondary completion, including poverty, foster care, and LGBTQ+ discrimination. As becomes evident, students experiencing homelessness should be considered in conversations about equity and access. For these students, completing some form of degree or certification beyond high school is a vital step in achieving future stability. Topics covered include: how residential experiences influence educational engagement and retention an overview of research related to housing insecurity in higher education federal and state policies related to homelessness in higher education a trauma-informed care approach to this issue an approach to understanding and studying housing insecurity among students ideas that will be necessary for policy and program development.

Featuring vignettes of students experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, this book offers readers research-based, practical guidance for creating and implementing a plan of action to address these issues within their local context. Topics include trauma-informed frameworks, policies affecting homelessness and housing insecurity, transitioning students to college, supporting college retention, collaborations and partnerships, and life after college. This practical resource can be used as a professional development tool for student affairs, academic affairs, health and wellness centers, and other campus-based support services. “Provides context, but it also offers tangible suggestions for how you can develop or expand your philosophical, practical, and political efforts to address the needs of students.” —From the Foreword by Timothy P. White, chancellor of The California State University “These skilled authors provide invaluable insights into homelessness and guidance for how we can respond. This is important work that should be shared throughout higher education!” —Peter Miller, University of Wisconsin–Madison “This is a must-read for higher education professionals who want to support students affected by issues of housing insecurity and homelessness.” —Robert D. Reason, Iowa State University “This book not only enlightens leaders but also helps campuses to develop meaningful action plans through local evaluation and planning.” —Adrianna Kezar, University of Southern California

A “bracing and well-argued” study of America’s college debt crisis—“necessary reading for anyone concerned about the fate of American higher education” (Kirkus). College is far too expensive for many people today, and the confusing mix of federal, state, institutional, and private financial aid leaves countless students without the resources they need to pay for it. In Paying the Price, education scholar Sara Goldrick-Rab reveals the devastating effect of these shortfalls. Goldrick-Rab examines a study of 3,000 students who used the support of federal aid and Pell Grants to enroll in public colleges and universities in Wisconsin in 2008. Half the students in the study left college without a degree, while less than 20 percent finished within five years. The cause of their problems, time and again, was lack of money. Unable to afford tuition, books, and living expenses, they worked too many hours at outside jobs, dropped classes, took time off to save money, and even went without adequate food or housing. In many heartbreaking cases, they simply left school—not with a degree, but with crippling debt. Goldrick-Rab combines that data with devastating stories of six individual students, whose struggles make clear the human and financial costs of our convoluted financial aid policies. In the final section of the book, Goldrick-Rab offers a range of possible solutions, from technical improvements to the financial aid application process, to a bold, public sector–focused “first degree free” program. "Honestly one of the most exciting books I've read, because [Goldrick-Rab has] solutions. It's a manual that I'd recommend to anyone out there, if you're a parent, if you're a teacher, if you're a student."—Trevor Noah, The Daily Show

Both colleges and policymakers recognize the importance of supporting students experiencing homelessness in higher education. The challenges involve both addressing issues of college access as well as developing strategies to support retention and degree completion once enrolled. This volume explores how homelessness intersects most social issues that marginalize individuals and negatively influence postsecondary completion, including poverty, foster care, and LGBTQ+ discrimination. As becomes evident, students experiencing homelessness should be considered in conversations about equity and access. For these students, completing some form of degree or certification beyond high school is a vital step in achieving future stability. Topics covered include: how residential experiences influence educational engagement and retention an overview of research related to housing insecurity in higher education federal and state policies related to homelessness in higher education a trauma-informed care approach to this issue an approach to understanding and studying housing insecurity among students ideas that will be necessary for policy and program development.

Crutchfield, James Dubick, Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Jordan Herrera, Nicole Hindes, Russell Lowery-Hart, Jennifer J. Maguire, Michael Rosen, Sabrina Sanders, Rachel Sumekh