Food & Housing Insecurity Study

The California State University Office of the Chancellor has announced it will launch a systemwide Food and Housing Security Study to help determine best practices for serving students. Dr. Jennifer Maguire, assistant professor of social work at Humboldt State, will conduct the survey portion of the study; this first part utilizing an online survey sent to all CSU students this fall to obtain student perspectives. The online survey will be sent to all students starting Monday, October 31 and will be open until November 21, 2016.

The second part of the study will take place in spring and involve interviews and focus groups conducted by Dr. Rashida Crutchfield, assistant professor of social work at California State University, Long Beach.

As you know, Student Affairs and Associated Students, Inc. are at the forefront of our efforts at CSUSM to assist fellow students faced with food and housing issues. The Cougar Care Network, established in 2015, provides students with information, resources and support to ensure their personal and academic success. When students experience food and housing insecurity, the CARE manager in the Dean of Students Office works individually to connect them to resources available both on and off campus.

We encourage all Cal State San Marcos students to continue this vital effort and participate in the fall survey, at the end of which you can volunteer to take part in the spring portion of the study. The findings will be used to develop recommendations that best support the basic needs of CSU students and will be disseminated in a report to be issued in 2018.

Your participation – and the continued support of our efforts – will be critical to our success.

Sincerely,
Karen S. Haynes, Ph.D, President, Cal State San Marcos
Collin Bogie, President, Associated Students, Inc.