In our past blog posts, as well as in the information sheets, checklists, and FAQs we’ve shared on the StudentARC site, we’ve attempted to cover every consideration for how emergency aid programs and other financial aid programs interact on college and university campuses. Here, we’ll try to bring it all together with some case scenarios that touch on the topics we’ve addressed already, like how financial aid eligibility is determined, how emergency aid affects and is impacted by financial aid eligibility, disclosing private student data, and choosing what type of emergency aid is best for your students.
Case Scenario 1: Job Loss
Natasha is enrolled part-time while also working at a full-time job. She receives a financial aid package consisting of federal grants and student loans, as well as an institutional scholarship, all of which cover most of her tuition and fees. She relies on her earnings from work to cover her remaining tuition as well as her other expenses like child care, rent, utilities, books, transportation, and personal expenses. Partway through the fall term, she is laid off from her job. She won’t be able to attend the next semester because she can no longer afford to pay the difference between tuition and her financial aid package, plus she still has her non-educational expenses to cover. How your institution handles Natasha’s situation will vary depending on internal policies, funding constraints, and other available resources. But below are some questions and considerations for scenarios like this one:
- Is it an emergency?
Institutions define what they consider emergencies, so there is no definitive answer. But, if Natasha has no savings or other resources upon which to rely, she’ll be faced with bills for rent, utilities, and child care within the month, so she certainly has a fairly urgent need for funding.
- Can emergency aid help?
Maybe. Although institutions set their own caps on emergency aid, a general practice is to limit emergency aid to less than $1,500. If Natasha is able to secure a new position soon, emergency aid might get her through this brief period of unemployment. But if she stays unemployed for too long, the emergency aid will only have served as a temporary fix to a much larger problem.
- Is emergency aid the student’s only option?
A lost job is a great example of where financial aid administrators can use the financial aid appeal process, also known as Professional Judgment (PJ), to adjust a student’s eligibility for financial aid. Using an estimate of Natasha’s anticipated earnings for the current year, the financial aid office might be able to get Natasha a larger federal grant, institutional scholarship, or student loan to cover more of her tuition and fees, or even some or all of her child care and living expenses. The emergency grant might still be used to help Natasha pay her most immediate bills, during which time the financial aid office can obtain documentation from her demonstrating the special circumstances that qualify her for a second review of her financial aid eligibility.
- What kind of assistance should the student be offered?
As noted above, emergency aid and the financial aid appeal process can be used in conjunction to address the student’s emergency. If your campus offers non-cash assistance like a food pantry or subsidized child care, referrals to those resources might also be appropriate in addition to cash assistance options. Finally, if your campus has a basic needs or wraparound services office, a referral there might also help Natasha understand what non-institutional benefits she might qualify to receive.
- Other considerations
Be sure the student knows about unemployment benefits and how to apply for them.
Be sure you are complying with student data privacy rules if you are sharing the student’s personal information between offices on campus or with off-campus resources.
Be sure that whatever combination of options you offer to the student represent a sustainable plan for getting her through to graduation. If the resources you can offer don’t meet the student’s needs, or don’t represent a sustainable solution to get her through to graduation, you could be wasting her time and your institution’s resources.
Case Scenario 2: No Transportation to Campus
Dwayne leaves campus for the day to find his motorcycle booted due to unpaid parking fees. He is told he must pay $550 to have the boot removed, and if he fails to do so within 3 days, his motorcycle will be towed to an impound lot, at even greater expense. Public transportation is not available between his home and campus, so without his motorcycle, Dwayne has no way to get to classes. How your institution handles Dwayne’s situation will vary depending on internal policies, funding constraints, and other available resources. But below are some questions and considerations for scenarios like this one:
- Is it an emergency?
Institutions define what they consider emergencies, so there is no definitive answer. But, if Dwayne has no savings or other resources upon which to rely, his costs will continue to add up while his motorcycle stays locked up, plus he won’t be able to get to campus to attend classes, so he certainly has an urgent need for funds.
- Can emergency aid help?
Yes. Dwayne only needs a relatively small amount of money to solve his problem. Also, this should be a one-time event. Emergency aid may be a good solution to Dwayne’s predicament.
- Is emergency aid the student’s only option?
It’s possible that a financial aid appeal could also help Dwayne in this circumstance. Transportation is an expense that is included in the Cost of Attendance (COA), so the financial aid office might be able to increase his COA to allow for additional financial aid to cover these costs, assuming this falls within their policies and there is financial aid available to offer.
- What kind of assistance should the student be offered?
While grant assistance is always better for students, a loan may also be an acceptable option.
- Other considerations
This might be an opportunity for your campus to reconsider parking fines (assuming the violation occurred on campus) or, if the violation occurred on city streets, to evaluate the adequacy of on-campus parking so that something as simple as lack of a parking spot doesn’t interfere with student success.
Case Scenario 3: Past-Due Balance Owed to the Institution
Brenda’s apartment flooded during the second year of her four-year program, and the library books she had borrowed for a research project were ruined. She couldn’t afford renter’s insurance, which would have covered her losses. The library has assessed fines for the full value of the books, almost $900, which shows as a balance due to the institution. Due to a new institutional policy that places registration holds for students with balances over $300, she can’t register for her final semester before graduation. How your institution handles Brenda’s situation will vary depending on internal policies, funding constraints, and other available resources. But below are some questions and considerations for scenarios like this one:
- Is it an emergency?
Institutions define what they consider emergencies, so there is no definitive answer. But, after four years of hard work, a $900 barrier to receiving her degree must certainly be a crisis to Brenda.
- Can emergency aid help?
Yes, Brenda only needs a relatively small amount of assistance to pay off her library fine, so emergency aid might be good way to get her through this financial hardship.
- Is emergency aid the student’s only option?
Possibly. If Brenda has unmet financial need, she might be able to qualify for additional financial aid. But if she has no unmet financial need, the financial aid office won’t be able to use Professional Judgment (PJ) to increase her need, because the expense was not incurred in the current academic year.
- What kind of assistance should the student be offered?
While any type of emergency aid might be appropriate, this is an example of the type of situation completion grants (if your institution offers them) were created to address.
- Other considerations
This might be an opportunity to reconsider institutional policies regarding past-due balances. Brenda owed this balance to the institution for two years while continuing to enroll in classes. During those two years she made a significant investment of both her time and her financial resources, some of which may have even come from student loans. While it might seem generous to have allowed her to continue her studies while owing a past-due balance, if that balance would ultimately have prevented her from graduation, she would have been better off having been prevented from registering two years ago instead of stuck with more debt and no degree two years later. A more holistic approach to dealing with past-due balances could have resolved this issue before it presented as an emergency in Brenda’s final semester.
This might be an opportunity to consider how your emergency aid program is publicized on campus. If Brenda had known about the availability of emergency aid when her apartment flooded, she might have been able to qualify for even more assistance at that point, rather than waiting until right before graduation to receive the completion grant. It is fortunate that she was able to persist to graduation despite her financial hardship, but this could easily have turned into a situation where the library fine was Brenda’s only barrier to completion.
Case Scenario 4:
Jayden has two children who are cared for by a friend while he attends classes. The friend, however, recently obtained a full-time job and can no longer care for the children. Jayden can’t afford to pay for child care and will have to drop out if he can’t find a solution. How your institution handles Jayden’s situation will vary depending on internal policies, funding constraints, and other available resources. But below are some questions and considerations for scenarios like this one:
- Is it an emergency?
Institutions define what they consider emergencies, so there is no definitive answer. However, since Jayden cannot attend classes without child care, he does have an urgent need.
- Can emergency aid help?
Maybe. While a quick infusion of funds in an amount that falls within the typical limit of emergency funding ($1,500) might help Jayden in the short-term, his circumstances appear to be pervasive, so emergency aid may only delay the emergency.
- Is emergency aid the student’s only option?
It’s possible that a financial aid appeal might help in Jayden’s circumstances. Child care is an expense that can be included in the student’s Cost of Attendance (COA) to allow them to receive financial aid to cover that cost. However, considering the high cost of child care, there may not be enough financial aid available to cover all of Jayden’s costs, or the available funds might only be available from loans. Subsidized on-campus child care is another option, if that is available on your campus. Finally, state-subsidized child care, if Jayden qualifies, might help.
- What kind of assistance should the student be offered?
Jayden’s situation presents an opportunity for your emergency aid staff to get creative. It’s possible that one single form of assistance won’t fully meet his needs, but that some combination of different types of aid might help. For instance, finding subsidized child care will get the cost as low as possible, while connecting him to means-tested benefits will free up some of his income to pay for his share of the child care cost. A financial aid appeal might allow for some additional financial aid to cover some of Jayden’s share of the child care cost, and an emergency grant might bridge the gap for the time it takes to coordinate all of those efforts. It is unlikely that any single individual or office on campus would be able to guide Jayden through all of these distinct types of assistance, so collaboration is key to solving complex financial emergencies like this one.
- Other considerations
Be sure you are complying with student data privacy rules if you are sharing the student’s personal information between offices on campus or with off-campus resources.
Be sure that whatever combination of options you offer to the student represents a sustainable plan for getting him through to graduation. If the resources you can offer don’t meet the student’s needs or don’t represent a sustainable solution to get him through graduation, you could be wasting his time and your institution’s resources.
Case Scenario 5:
Nick gets paid every other Friday. This month, his rent is due the Monday before his next paycheck arrives, and he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to cover it. How your institution handles Nick’s situation will vary depending on internal policies, funding constraints, and other available resources. But below are some questions and considerations for scenarios like this one:
- Is it an emergency?
Institutions define what they consider emergencies, so there is no definitive answer. However, Nick must certainly see this situation as an emergency.
- Can emergency aid help?
Yes, assuming Nick’s rent is less than your institution’s maximum emergency aid award.
- Is emergency aid the student’s only option?
No, another option could be to offer a short-term loan for the few days between when rent is due and the paycheck arrives.
- What kind of assistance should the student be offered?
This will depend to some degree on your institution’s resources. If you have a well-funded emergency aid program and your policies define Nick’s situation as one that qualifies, an emergency grant could be offered. If your emergency fund is limited, or if Nick’s circumstances don’t meet your emergency aid criteria, a short-term loan might be the best option.
- Other considerations
This might be an opportunity for some financial literacy training to help Nick with budgeting. Be sure not to make emergency funding contingent upon completion of financial literacy training, or to imply that the emergency is solely due to his failure to budget properly.
Keep in mind if awarding a short-term loan that there is always a chance it won’t be repaid, leaving the student with a balance due to the institution along with any fines, late fees, or interest your institution charges for unpaid short-term loans. Be sure that your attempt to help the student doesn’t turn into an emergency itself.
Thanks to NASFAA for providing this blog post.