What States Can Do to Boost College Student Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Evidence from Colorado

Nearly one in four college students face food insecurity. As the largest public nutritional program in the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one important resource that states and colleges can use to support low-income college students. Yet SNAP eligibility rules for college students are complex (see the box below), and only a small proportion of eligible students participate. In Colorado, RAND researchers found that only 9.1 percent of all undergraduate students and 36.6 percent of likely eligible students participate in SNAP. These findings build on evidence of low SNAP participation rates in other states and national data on college students.

State agencies in Colorado and across the country are taking action to expand SNAP participation among college students. There are at least two options that states can pursue: (1) State agencies can use their authorities to interpret SNAP college student eligibility criteria to enable more students to be eligible for SNAP, and (2) state agencies can conduct broad outreach to students who are already eligible to inform them about SNAP and how to apply. In this brief, the authors describe these two possible state actions and use Colorado data to provide evidence on how they might increase student SNAP participation. This brief is designed for state leaders who oversee higher education and human services and are exploring ways to expand SNAP access for college students.

Action 1: Use State Authorities to Broaden SNAP Student Eligibility

Description of State Action

In addition to being income eligible, college students who are enrolled half time or more must meet one or more exemption criteria to be eligible for SNAP. One of these criteria allows students participating in education and training programs equivalent to the SNAP Employment and Training program (SNAP E&T) to qualify for an exemption. State human services agencies have the authority to determine which employment and training programs qualify for this exemption, and states have used this authority to expand SNAP eligibility to more college students. Massachusetts now deems all community college and vocational and technical school students as qualifying for a SNAP student exemption. Pennsylvania exempts students who are enrolled in community colleges in career or technical education programs or courses of study associated with state-designated High Priority Occupations. Oregon and California have also expanded SNAP eligibility to employability programs. By using their authorities to define employment and training programs, states are expanding the pool of SNAP-eligible college students and simplifying eligibility determinations for students, college staff, and county human services offices.

State agencies in Colorado and across the country are taking action to expand SNAP participation among college students. There are at least two options that states can pursue: (1) State agencies can use their authorities to interpret SNAP college student eligibility criteria to enable more students to be eligible for SNAP, and (2) state agencies can conduct broad outreach to students who are already eligible to inform them about SNAP and how to apply. In this brief, the authors describe these two possible state actions and use Colorado data to provide evidence on how they might increase student SNAP participation. This brief is designed for state leaders who oversee higher education and human services and are exploring ways to expand SNAP access for college students.

Colorado Findings

RAND researchers estimated that if the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) used its authorities to expand SNAP eligibility to income-eligible, half-time-or-more college students enrolled in Perkins Act and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs (i.e., career training programs), an additional 1,883 students would participate in SNAP. If CDHS expanded the definition of eligible training programs to all subbaccalaureate programs at community colleges, this would lead to an additional 3,334 students participating in SNAP (see Figure 1). This action equates to a 1.6-percentage-point increase in college student SNAP participation, relative to a 9.1 percent baseline participation rate in academic year 2024. Most or all of these additional SNAP participants would be community college and technical school students depending on how the eligible programs are defined.

Action 2: Conduct Statewide Outreach to Students About SNAP Eligibility

Description of State Action

States and college systems may have the capacity to conduct outreach on SNAP eligibility to college students through emails, text messages, and postcards. Stakeholders in California decided to test the value of such outreach through two experiments. In the first experiment, the California Student Aid Commission sent emails and increased SNAP participation rates among the likely SNAP-eligible students who were the focus of the outreach by approximately 1.5 to 2.5 percentage points. In the second experiment, students received an email and a postcard, and SNAP application rates among the students who received both types of communication were higher than for those who only received an email. The evidence from California can shed light on the likely implications of statewide outreach in other settings.

Colorado Findings

Broad outreach campaigns can help increase the likelihood of SNAP participation among eligible students in Colorado, although their effects on overall college student SNAP participation are limited because they do not expand the number of SNAP-eligible students. RAND researchers drew on the evidence from California and on estimates of likely student SNAP eligibility in Colorado to estimate how much college student SNAP participation would increase if Colorado conducted a statewide informational campaign using emails and postcards (or text messages) to inform college students about SNAP eligibility. The researchers found that an additional 710 students would participate in SNAP, equivalent to a 0.3-percentage-point increase in overall SNAP participation among college students. The new SNAP participants would include both community college and technical school enrollees and university enrollees (representing approximately 60 percent and 40 percent of new participants, respectively).

Key Takeaways for State Decisionmakers

The findings suggest that state actions can contribute to meaningful increases in college student SNAP participation. Expanding SNAP eligibility by using state authorities to define qualifying employment and training programs has the potential to produce larger increases in college student SNAP participation than statewide outreach aimed only at students who are already eligible. But these two actions are complementary, and states should consider taking both actions to maximize participation among low-income students. First, states can broaden eligibility criteria to increase the overall pool of eligible students. Second, states can increase participation rates among eligible students by conducting low-cost email and text message outreach to let likely eligible students know about SNAP and how to apply. Assuming that the benefits of these approaches are additive, Colorado could increase college student SNAP participation by more than 4,000 students, an approximately 2-percentage-point increase relative to a baseline SNAP participation rate of 9.1 percent in academic year 2024.

Several factors could support or constrain the ability of states to take these actions to expand SNAP participation among college students. State agency staff and other stakeholders would need to view food-insecure college students as a priority population. This will require proactive effort even as federal policy changes constrain SNAP eligibility and funding. Staff at the state agency overseeing SNAP would need to train staff at county human services offices on the new eligibility rules. That state agency may need to partner with the higher education agency or colleges to get the word out to college staff and students. Statewide email outreach campaigns to provide information on SNAP eligibility to college students can be relatively low cost, but if a state higher education or human services agency is conducting the outreach, it may require colleges to share contact information with the agency. College staff could conduct the outreach because they have access to student contact information. But outreach efforts would require staff time, and efforts may vary across institutions depending on buy-in and capacity. A state agency may need to coordinate across institutions and request that leadership prioritize outreach efforts on SNAP to ensure statewide adoption.

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