The University of Hawaiʻi System has undertaken its most comprehensive Student Basic Needs Landscape Assessment to date, recognizing that access to food, housing, healthcare, technology, and other essentials are foundational to student success. This study responds to growing national and local concerns about the ways unmet basic needs disrupt academic performance, retention, and overall well-being. Using a cross-system survey of more than 2,700 students, the assessment provides a clear picture of the challenges UH students face across all ten campuses.
Importantly, this report does more than document challenges. It provides ten actionable, data-driven recommendations for UH leaders and policymakers, ranging from financial aid reform and integrated basic needs hubs to transportation, technology, and healthcare access improvements. By aligning campus and state strategies with these findings, UH can foster equity, retention, and degree completion.
The assessment underscores that higher education cannot fulfill its mission if students are forced to choose between food, shelter, or tuition. Addressing basic needs is therefore not an optional service, but an essential component of academic success and social mobility. For the University of Hawaiʻi, this study provides both the evidence base and moral imperative to ensure that every student has the resources to thrive.