35. Establish emergency grant aid to provide greater support for students through graduation.

Finance 09.6.24

Here’s what the federal government can do:

  • Congress should appropriate funding for basic needs grants for higher education institutions to provide emergency funds to students for housing, food, transportation, and access to health care services.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research on the use of emergency funds for students in higher education and their effectiveness in supporting students through graduation.

Here’s what state government can do:

  • Governors and state legislatures should increase funding for higher education in their annual budgets and appropriations, including to support state attainment goals, operational spending at higher education institutions, tuition assistance and financial aid, and student housing, food, transportation, and health care needs.

Here’s what institutional leaders can do:

  • Higher education institutions should use federal and state funds on student services that support enrollment and completion, including creating or expanding existing emergency aid programs.
  • Higher education institutions should make emergency aid programs abundant, accessible, and free of stress and stigma.

Emergency grant aid provides students with security when they may need it most, such as transportation to attend classes, a safe place to sleep, or access to nutritional meals. A majority of colleges and universities — about 70 percent — across the United States have already considered the benefits of emergency grant aid and offer emergency funds that support students through unexpected costs.[i] In 2022, students spent emergency funding to cover tuition, textbooks, and housing and to pay for expenses that helped them to stay in school such as childcare, transportation, food, and health care.[ii]

[i]Wesaw, Alexis; Parnell, Amelia, & Kruger, Kevin. “Landscape Analysis of Emergency Aid Programs,” NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. https://www.naspa.org/files/dmfile/Emergency_Aid_Report.pdf.

[ii]“HEERF Spending Analysis Shows Critical Role of Emergency Funds for Postsecondary Success,” U.S. Department of Education, April 1, 2024. https://blog.ed.gov/2024/04/heerf-spending-analysis-shows-critical-role-of-emergency-funds-for-postsecondary-success/.