Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program ("Basic Needs Grants")

Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program ("Basic Needs Grants") is sponsored by U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). This program provides grants to institutions of higher education to support campus-based programs addressing the basic needs of low-income postsecondary students, such as food and housing insecurity.

It aims to reduce barriers to persistence and completion for these students.

Statement on the U.S. Department of Education’s Decision to End the Basic Needs Grant | The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs Statement on the U.S. Department of Education’s Decision to End the Basic Needs Grant Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced it is restructuring the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) and effectively ending the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program (also known as “Basic Needs Grants”).

The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs is deeply disappointed in the Department’s decision to discontinue Basic Needs Grants, which have helped campuses in at least 22 states create and maintain systemic, campus-based solutions to address student basic needs insecurity since it was created four years ago.

These grants bolstered campus supports in a range of areas, and connected students with existing benefits and community programs, allowing institutions across the country to learn from each other to find out what works best to help students access food, housing, and other basic needs.

“Basic Needs Grants represent the only federal program dedicated to comprehensively addressing the challenges that college students face in meeting their essential needs,” said Bryce McKibben, Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy at The Hope Center. “Ending this program will not only harm student success, it prevents campuses from building innovative ways to support students at a time when their costs of attendance continue to rise.

” The Department unveiled new “priorities,” which it will deploy under a FIPSE “Special Projects” program as it discontinues the seven Congressionally-directed programs that support student success, including: Basic Need for Postsecondary Students Grants ($10m) Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development Grant ($45m) Postsecondary Student Success Grants ($45m) Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success Grants ($9m) HBCU, TCU, and MSI Research & Development Infrastructure Grants ($50m) Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education Grants ($5m) Open Textbook Pilot Grants ($7m) Instead, nearly all of the $171 million in FIPSE funds will be redirected to the Administration’s priorities in artificial intelligence, civil discourse on college campuses, accreditation reform, and short-term programs.

First created in Fiscal Year 2021, Basic Needs Grants have allowed institutions to establish and expand basic needs centers on campus, enhance efforts to connect students with federal, state, and institutional benefits they may be eligible for, and strengthen institutional and community partnerships that provide services to students in need.

Demand for these grants has also been overwhelming in each funding cycle, reflecting the widespread need on campuses across the country. In FY2023, only 13% of eligible Basic Needs Grant applicants received funding due to enormous interest but limited resources.

The seven programs funded under FIPSE represented a bipartisan balance of priorities that supported communities and students who need extra support to access and complete higher education. For example, the Administration cut the Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success Grants on the eve of Veterans Day. This bipartisan balance has now been upended with the Administration’s unilateral decision to redirect funds.

We will continue to work with Congressional leaders to restore funding for this crucial program in Fiscal Year 2026, and urge lawmakers to also pass the BASIC Act , which would permanently codify and expand Basic Needs Grants across the country.