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Resources Centering Student Needs

 

Project Overview

With generous support from our funder, ECMC Foundation, the OH–MI Basic Needs Initiative is a multi-year partnership supporting community colleges in Michigan and Ohio as they build coordinated, data-informed basic needs systems that improve student retention, course success, and completion. This initiative is ideally suited to colleges that offer basic needs services but seek a more proactive and strategic approach to services that lead to improved student outcomes. ​

The twelve participating colleges will receive a $50,000 stipend and structured support from subject-matter experts, peer coaches, and cross-state learning networks. Through this initiative, colleges will design centralized basic needs hubs, strengthen partnerships with community-based organizations, integrate state and federal benefit programs, and use data to understand which supports most effectively remove barriers to student success.

A Three-Year Journey to Lasting Change

The OH-MI Basic Needs Initiative is designed as a three-year implementation journey that supports participating colleges in building sustainable, evidence-based systems to address students' basic needs. Through professional learning, coaching, peer collaboration, and technical assistance, colleges will progress from planning to implementation and ultimately to evaluating and sharing practices that improve student success. The graphic below provides a high-level overview of the initiative's three phases.

OH-MI project timeline graphic

Participating Michigan Colleges

The inaugural Michigan cohort includes six community colleges that are collaborating to strengthen student basic needs systems and improve student success. Throughout the three-year initiative, these institutions will engage in professional learning, peer collaboration, coaching, and technical assistance while implementing the Ideal Model on their campuses.

Together with six participating community colleges in Ohio, these institutions will help identify promising practices, evaluate outcomes, and contribute to a model that can be adapted by community colleges across the country.

 

The Ideal Model for Student Basic Needs

The OH-MI Basic Needs Initiative supports participating colleges in implementing an evidence-based model designed to strengthen student success by addressing students' basic needs through five interconnected practices. Together, these practices help colleges move beyond individual services and toward a coordinated, data-informed system of support that improves student outcomes.

Proactively Identify Students

Use institutional data and intentional communication strategies to identify and connect students with resources before basic needs challenges become barriers to success.

Build Community Partnerships

Develop sustainable partnerships with community-based organizations that expand access to housing, transportation, mental health, childcare, food assistance, and other essential supports.

Integrate Public Benefits

Connect students with federal and state benefit programs, including SNAP and other public assistance resources, through coordinated campus processes.

Create a Basic Needs Center

Establish a centralized hub that brings together campus services, community partners, and public benefits into one coordinated student support system.

Use Data to Drive Continuous Improvement

Track student utilization of services and connect those data to student success outcomes to evaluate effectiveness and guide future improvements.

 

Want More Information?

Contact Precious Miller at pmiller@mcca.org

 

OH-MI Events

 
Pathways Together

Webinar Objective: Identify which student populations experience basic needs insecurity and understand the systemic and personal barriers they face. 

Work Product: Colleges will identify the greatest barriers faced by students. They will connect those barriers with services that directly impact the basic needs challenge and services that indirectly impact students (advising, tutoring, student services).

This webinar is part of the OH-MI Pathways Together: Advancing Student Success Through Basic Needs initiative. Materials shared during this session will be available in your Basecamp portal, along with the information needed to join the virtual meeting. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Precious Miller, Program Director, at [pmiller@mcca.org](mailto:pmiller@mcca.org).

Pathways Together

Webinar Objective: Explore effective, trauma-informed, and equity-centered communication strategies to reach students in need of services.

Work Product: Colleges build on the student needs and services available to prepare a communications plan to reach students that includes broad awareness, targeted outreach to subpopulations, of students, and proactive outreach to individual students. 

This webinar is part of the OH-MI Pathways Together: Advancing Student Success Through Basic Needs initiative. Materials shared during this session will be available in your Basecamp portal, along with the information needed to join the virtual meeting. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Precious Miller, Program Director, at [pmiller@mcca.org](mailto:pmiller@mcca.org).

Pathways Together

Webinar Objective: Learn how to form sustainable, non-duplicative partnerships with CBOs (e.g., housing, transportation, mental health).

Work Product: Colleges will build on the student needs and services available to identify and prepare a partnership plan with community based organization sthat can partner with the college to provide services to students. 

This webinar is part of the OH-MI Pathways Together: Advancing Student Success Through Basic Needs initiative. Materials shared during this session will be available in your Basecamp portal, along with the information needed to join the virtual meeting. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Precious Miller, Program Director, at [pmiller@mcca.org](mailto:pmiller@mcca.org).

Pathways Together

Webinar Objective: Understand how to incorporate public benefit programs (SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, housing support) into campus services legally and effectively.

Work Product: Colleges will build on the student needs and services available to create a plan to offer public benefits to students through various state-based online systems and parternships.

This webinar is part of the OH-MI Pathways Together: Advancing Student Success Through Basic Needs initiative. Materials shared during this session will be available in your Basecamp portal, along with the information needed to join the virtual meeting. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Precious Miller, Program Director, at [pmiller@mcca.org](mailto:pmiller@mcca.org).

Pathways Together

Webinar Objective: Explore models for creating a centralized hub or "basic needs center" on campus that connects college services, CBOs, and public programs.

Work Product: Gather all of the services, CBOs, and public benefits programs from webinars 3 and 4 to design a Basic Needs Center including the Center's staffing, hours, reporting structure, budget, data gathering, communications strategy (aligned with Webinar 2), expectations, and evaluation.

This webinar is part of the OH-MI Pathways Together: Advancing Student Success Through Basic Needs initiative. Materials shared during this session will be available in your Basecamp portal, along with the information needed to join the virtual meeting. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Precious Miller, Program Director, at [pmiller@mcca.org](mailto:pmiller@mcca.org).

Pathways Together

Webinar Objective: Develop a strategy to form a basic needs advisory group made up of campus and community leaders to align goals and oversee implementation.

Work Product: Identify all of the community based organizations, public benefits organizations, and other partners to create an advisory board. Define the advisory boards membership, purpose, goals, expectations, and evaluation. 

This webinar is part of the OH-MI Pathways Together: Advancing Student Success Through Basic Needs initiative. Materials shared during this session will be available in your Basecamp portal, along with the information needed to join the virtual meeting. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Precious Miller, Program Director, at [pmiller@mcca.org](mailto:pmiller@mcca.org).

Pathways Together

Webinar Objective: Identify key metrics to track usage and effectiveness of basic needs programs and connect them to broader student success outcomes.

Work Product: Using the CBOs and public benefit services, review the list of all basic needs services and identify which services will include usage tracking. Develop the plan to gather student information and document usage and finalize a plan with institutional research to gather academic information about students.

This webinar is part of the OH-MI Pathways Together: Advancing Student Success Through Basic Needs initiative. Materials shared during this session will be available in your Basecamp portal, along with the information needed to join the virtual meeting. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Precious Miller, Program Director, at [pmiller@mcca.org](mailto:pmiller@mcca.org).

Pathways Together

Webinar Objective: Build college-wide support through effective staff communication and training and establish referral pathways.

Work Product: Building on the Basic Needs Center design and student needs, prepare a communications plan to reach faculty and staff that includes broad awareness of services, targeted outreach to faculty with guidance about communicating services to students, and proactive individual outreach to faculty.

This webinar is part of the OH-MI Pathways Together: Advancing Student Success Through Basic Needs initiative. Materials shared during this session will be available in your Basecamp portal, along with the information needed to join the virtual meeting. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Precious Miller, Program Director, at [pmiller@mcca.org](mailto:pmiller@mcca.org).