College Student Basic Needs

Many college students in the Detroit region face insecure access to basic needs that makes it harder to stay enrolled and complete a degree such as financial instability and unexpected expenses​; transportation challenges​; and competing family and work responsibilities​. Even small disruptions (e.g., a missed bill, broken car) can derail progress.​Colleges and community partners are testing targeted, just‑in‑time supports to address these barriers. We are currently evaluating the effect of two of these initiatives: the Detroit Area Talent Fund and the Catch-A-Ride Program.

School Diversity and Social Capital: Conditions That Foster Bridging Ties in Schools

Social networks can drive upward mobility for marginalized youth, yet cross-class ties remain difficult to form due to structural constraints, organizational barriers, and homophily. Using merged administrative and social network survey data from 948 11th-grade students, and interviews with 32 students, across five diverse high schools in metropolitan Detroit, we examine the mechanisms through which bridging ties form across social classes. Using exponential random graph models, we found that shared extracurricular activities and courses are the strongest predictors of cross-class friendship formation, while residential proximity plays a minimal role in most schools. Interviews further illuminated mechanisms through which school activities created “third spaces” for cross-class interaction. Findings suggest schools can foster cross-class ties through intentional programming and course scheduling, countering the effects of residential segregation, with important implications for educational equity and social mobility.