WASAC presents degree-attainment data and new statewide basic-needs survey showing majority of students report food or housing insecurity

The Washington Student Achievement Council (WASAC) told the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee on an afternoon work session that earning a postsecondary degree or credential remains a key pathway to economic mobility in Washington, while a newly released statewide survey shows more than half of respondents reported food or housing insecurity.

WASAC assistant director of external affairs Joel Anderson summarized the agency’s attainment goal and strategic action plan and said the state aims for 70% of adults ages 25–44 to hold a postsecondary degree or credential. "To meet the current and future needs of Washington's workforce, it's critical that we continue making progress toward our goal that 70% of adults ages 25 to 44 can earn a degree or credential," Anderson said.

The nut graf: WASAC presented data that links credential completion with improved economic outcomes for low‑income students while also describing barriers — especially basic‑needs insecurity — that inhibit persistence and completion. The agency described both emergency supports and systemic, preventative strategies now in pilot or practice across public and tribal institutions.

WASAC told the committee that degrees and credentials continue to yield measurable economic gains. Anderson summarized earlier agency research showing that children from the bottom 25% of families by income (about $35,000 when that report was produced) earned more than their parents' combined income within three years after graduation. He also noted that statewide degree production has fallen from roughly 106,000 pre‑pandemic annual awards to about 90,000 degrees and certificates in academic year 2022–23.

Associate director Amy Magasos presented results from the 2024 Postsecondary Basic Needs Security Survey, administered statewide in fall 2024. The survey included more than 11,300 student responses from 45 Washington public and tribal institutions, a 16% increase in responses from 2022. "The top line finding here is that over half of students responding reported basic needs insecurity," Magasos told the committee, defining that as food insecurity in the prior 30 days and/or housing insecurity or homelessness in the prior year using federal measures. She said 49% of respondents reported food insecurity in the prior 30 days, an increase of 14.3 percentage points from 2022.

Magasos told senators the survey showed high variation across student groups and regions: American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students reported the highest basic‑needs insecurity rates, and students who had experienced homelessness or foster care in high school had the highest rates while enrolled in postsecondary education. She said no region in the state had less than 47% of students reporting basic‑needs insecurity.

WASAC also summarized student access to resources: among students who reported basic‑needs insecurity, 53% said they had accessed public resources and 41% had accessed basic‑needs resources; both figures represent modest increases from 2022. Still, about one‑third of students who reported insecurity said they did not access available resources because they feared they were ineligible, and about one‑fifth said they were unaware of resources or unsure how to obtain them.

Magasos described state policy responses enacted in 2023. She summarized the Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness (SSEH/SSEH) grant program — a small grant program (about "a little over $100,000 a year," she said) that provides case management, housing support and related services and has served roughly 6,700 students over four years — and the Postsecondary Basic Needs Act, which funds basic‑needs navigators and a pilot to test proactive food‑security strategies at six participating institutions. Magasos highlighted early results from a three‑year food‑security pilot with one institution (Western Washington University): first‑year participant data showed a 90% reduction in food‑insecurity rates among participating students and that by year‑end 100% of those students reported adequate food access.

Committee members asked presenters clarifying questions about FAFSA completion trends, use of food pantries, access for adjunct faculty, and whether transportation had been measured alongside persistence. Anderson said FAFSA completion had risen for lower‑income students between 2021 and 2023 but fell for the class of 2024 amid federal FAFSA issues, and he offered to follow up with additional analysis. Magasos said the survey captured enrolled students only and did not capture staff or faculty use of pantries, though institutions report pantries are often used by staff and faculty in addition to students.

WASAC officials said the agency will continue to coordinate data collection across institutions and partners and pursue technical‑assistance projects to increase credential completion, advising, and digital learning supports. They emphasized a twin strategy of maintaining emergency supports while investing in proactive, systemic benefits access — e.g., SNAP, childcare subsidies, campus food plans and affordable housing — to improve long‑term stability and completion.

Looking ahead, Anderson noted WASAC’s participation in national completion initiatives (Complete College America and the Education Strategy Group cohort) intended to improve advising, pathways development and digital learning across participating institutions.

Ending: WASAC officials told the committee the survey is a planning tool that shows both the scope of basic‑needs insecurity among postsecondary students and the early promise of targeted pilots and policy investments; they offered to provide follow‑up data on FAFSA support and other questions raised by senators.