Based on a national landscape study of state-level navigator supports, this brief provides an overview of student resource navigator roles and the policies and practices that support them.
Why This Matters
Today's college students look very different from the traditional image of a recent high school graduate supported by their parents: many must support themselves and their dependents, and more than half experience some form of basic needs insecurity, such as difficulty affording housing or food. These challenges can force them to make trade-offs that undermine their academic progress and well-being.
Public benefits and college- and community-based resources can help students stabilize and stay enrolled, but many face barriers to accessing these supports and have needs that require hands-on problem-solving. Student resource navigators—college-based professionals who connect students to public benefits, college programs, and community services—are one response states and colleges are using to help students overcome these barriers. Understanding how state policy and college practice shape the strength of navigation services can help policymakers, administrators, funders, and advocates design more effective student supports.
Key Takeaways
No state mandates a single navigator service model, so navigator roles vary widely, generally falling into the following three overlapping categories:
- light-touch referrals and resource connections
- intensive case management and application assistance
- population-specific support for groups such as parenting students, students who experienced foster care, homeless students, undocumented students, and veterans
Evidence from states with legislative mandates points to several approaches that advocates, policymakers, administrators, funders, and practitioners should focus on when starting or strengthening navigation services:
- Establish a mandated navigator role to create a floor of support, even without dedicated funding.
- Pair mandates with recurring funding that aligns with college need and student body size.
- Set clear state expectations while preserving colleges’ flexibility to adapt to local needs.
- Build visible, team-based services with strong college leadership buy-in.
- Hire and support peer navigators to reduce stigma and expand service capacity.
- Invest in statewide professional development and peer learning for navigators.
- Form strong partnerships with community organizations and human services agencies.
- Leverage technology, such as chatbots and online courses, to extend service capacity.
- Improve data infrastructure and evaluation capacity to better assess navigator impact on outcomes such as persistence, degree completion, and benefit enrollment.
How We Did It
The study scanned all 50 states and the District of Columbia to identify states with navigator supports and drew on interviews with 79 people—including college staff, advocates, legislative staff, and state higher education leaders—in the six states with legislative mandates for college-based navigators.
