Americans Broadly Favor the Support Services That Help Students Succeed

Olivia Cheche

Student support services are important to student success and help ensure an institution is providing equal opportunity to all those who obtain a degree. New America's annual Varying Degrees survey seeks to better understand how Americans nationwide perceive higher education, and the report includes questions on what institutions should do to help students succeed. It is critical to understand these issues because student completion rates still vary across sectors, socioeconomic backgrounds, and racial and ethnic backgrounds-and support services play a role in helping students persist.

First, while a majority of Americans still believe that anyone has equal access to higher education and equal ability to succeed, an appreciable number of Americans do not believe that to be the case, with a strong partisan divide. In this year's findings, six in ten Americans think that everyone who wishes to enroll in a higher education program has an equal opportunity to do so-down from 65 percent in 2023 (See Figure 1). Democrats and Republicans are divided on this question, with 52 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of Republicans expressing confidence that this equal opportunity exists.

When it comes to making it over the finish line, two in three Americans further believe that everyone who enrolls in education beyond high school has an equal opportunity to complete their program of study (See Figure 2). Again, we see a strong partisan divide, with 62 percent of Democrats compared to nearly eight in ten Republicans (79 percent) believing in this equal opportunity to complete a program of study.

While a majority of Americans believe that students have an equal opportunity to enroll in and complete higher education, there is a noteworthy flipside of over a third of Americans who do not believe this to be the case. Support services are one way to move the needle on providing equal opportunities for students, particularly for those who come from historically underserved backgrounds.

Support services come in many different forms. Some relate to academic and financial needs, whereas some aim to assist students with meeting their basic needs. Strong majorities of Americans believe that students need academic (85 percent) and career-related support (86 percent) as they navigate their studies (See Figure 3). Financial aid is also critical in helping students afford their higher education-existing research underscores that this aid helps to ensure that students can afford a higher education regardless of their economic background. In this year's survey, 84 percent of Americans think students need this financial support from their schools. Democrats are especially likely to agree that students need financial aid from their institutions (93 percent), compared to 77 percent of Republicans.

As students spend so much time on their college campuses, it is also necessary that they have access to support services that address their health needs-both physical and mental. Across the United States, the majority of college students meet the criteria for at least one mental health-related issue-and students of color in particular are less likely to access treatment. About three-fourths of Americans see the value in colleges providing health services to their students (77 percent), and nearly eight in ten think students need mental health support services from their schools (79 percent) (See Figure 4). We once again see strong partisan divides on these questions: nine in ten Democrats versus two-thirds of Republicans (67 percent) think that students need health services provided by their schools; and 91 percent of Democrats versus 63 percent of Republicans believe students need mental health support from their colleges and universities.

Colleges and universities are also working to provide students with support in meeting their basic needs, and this may be seen by addressing issues such as housing and food insecurity. Students facing basic need insecurity are less likely to succeed in college-for example, food insecurity is associated with lower graduation rates and lower chances of obtaining a bachelor's or advanced degree. Three in four Americans think that students need support from their institutions in addressing food insecurity, and eight in ten think that students need housing support from their institutions as well (See Figure 5). Additionally, transportation expenses can help students in getting to class-about six in ten Americans (59 percent) believe students need such support. Republicans are less likely to endorse this idea though, with less than half (45 percent) believing that students need transportation expense support from their colleges.

Because many student parents also enroll in higher education programs, colleges and universities are trying to better understand how to best serve this population. On-campus childcare, which provides student parents the flexibility to attend classes and participate in campus programming, is one support service that specifically addresses this population's needs. This is critical as student parents aim to feel connected on their college campuses, which contributes to their academic success and potential job opportunities. Six in ten Americans feel as though students need these supports from their schools (See Figure 6). Seven in ten Democrats believe students need on-campus childcare, whereas just half of Republicans agree.

Although partisan divides exist on questions related to equal opportunity and student support services, it is ultimately a strong majority of Americans that see the importance of higher education institutions offering such support to their students. As colleges and universities aim to provide academic, financial, and basic needs support services for their students, it is critical to uplift programs such as the Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) and Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) that provide financial support to schools for these exact purposes. After all, strengthening these supports is critical in uplifting students-especially those who have been historically underserved in higher education and need the boosted support to persist.

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