Webinar Wednesday: Designing Student Support Programs in High Need, Low Resource Environments
September 16 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm UTC-4
Many institutions recognize the urgent need for comprehensive student support—but feel stuck due to limited funding, staffing, awareness, or institutional buy-in. This session tells the story of how one institution built a robust, multi-campus student support ecosystem starting with nothing: no budget, no formal resources, minimal awareness, and limited staff capacity.
Built on Hope and Hustle: Designing Student Support Programs in High Need, Low Resource Environments will walk participants through the practical, step-by-step strategies used to develop food pantries on every campus, an emergency grant program, mental health counseling access, community partnerships, and holistic student programming—all through creativity, persistence, and relationship-building rather than financial capital.
Participants will leave with concrete tools, frameworks, and mindset shifts to help them launch—or re-ignite—student support programs in high-need, low-resource environments.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify key foundational steps for launching a student support program with minimal resources.
- Apply strategies for building buy-in from leadership, faculty, and campus partners when formal support is limited.
- Leverage community partnerships and existing campus assets to expand services without increasing budgets.
- Implement low-cost, high-impact student support initiatives that can scale over time.
- Avoid common pitfalls that stall student support programs in their early stages.
Why This Session Matters
Student need is growing faster than institutional resources. Many campuses are eager to support students but lack the funding, infrastructure, or clarity to get started. This session centers equity, creativity, and persistence—demonstrating that meaningful student support does not have to wait for perfect conditions or large budgets.
Rather than focusing on theory, this presentation offers real-world, replicable practices grounded in lived experience, making it especially valuable for under-resourced institutions and emerging programs.
Presenter Expertise
This presentation is facilitated by practitioners who built a comprehensive student support program from the ground up in a high-need environment. With firsthand experience navigating institutional barriers, limited staffing, and scarce resources, the presenters bring an honest, practical perspective rooted in case management, student advocacy, and community collaboration.
Register