Hawaiʻi is one of seven states selected to participate in the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) Basic Needs Academy, a three-year initiative aimed at strengthening data systems and policies that help students succeed. As the lead agency, the University of Hawaiʻi has been awarded a $60,000 grant as part of this new national effort to improve support for students struggling with food insecurity, housing instability, and mental health challenges. The other partner state agencies are the Department of Education and Department of Human Services.
UH will use the funding to enhance data systems and work with national experts on solutions that make accessing resources easier. UH will also collaborate with other state agencies to streamline student support. This could include automatically connecting students who received free school meals in high school to college assistance programs or linking Pell Grant recipients with state benefits they may qualify for.
“We want to ensure students don’t have to struggle just to meet their basic needs,” said Debora Halbert, UH vice president for academic strategy. “By improving data-sharing and policies, we can better connect students with the resources they’re eligible for, making their path to success smoother.”
- Related UH News story: Speak up on student hunger and housing: take the basic needs survey, February 4, 2025
Student assistance
UH’s role in the initiative is to find better ways to track and address students’ needs across the state. The goal is to create an efficient and connected support system, reducing paperwork and delays for students trying to access food assistance, childcare, housing support and financial aid.
“It’s important for states to develop basic needs definitions and identify corresponding data elements and taxonomies that align across state agencies, institutions and partner organizations,” said Carrie Klein, associate vice president at SHEEO.
Support at UH
UH continues to address the increasing demand for resources, one of the key resources is The Virtual Basic Needs Café, an online hub where students across the 10 campuses can find help with food, housing and financial assistance. It’s free and available in the evenings Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to midnight, and during the day Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon. The virtual café is part of the work of the UH Student Basic Needs Committee, formed in 2019 to address the prevalence of food insecurity and other forms of student basic needs.
For more information on the national initiative go to SHEEO’s website.
