For millions of students, small, unexpected financial shocks are a dominant feature of the college experience, triggering cascading consequences that jeopardize their ability to remain enrolled and complete a credential. When emergency aid is available, timely, and easy to access, it promotes stability and security during these moments of acute need.

The expansion of emergency aid during the pandemic demonstrated that investment can be deployed rapidly and widely, nationwide. At the same time, the sharp contraction of aid following the expiration of federal relief has opened up an enormous funding gap at a time when students’ needs are as acute as ever, and when public support is becoming even more meager. States have an opportunity to fill this gap while leveraging the existing emergency aid infrastructure that exists at most schools.

The effectiveness of these programs, and the effectiveness of future federal support, depends on these programs being adequately funded and designed with students’ actual experiences in mind. Students should not be required to interact with several additional layers of bureaucracy during an emergency, and states and institutions should continually assess whether the parameters of their programs match what students are saying their needs really are. In designing or enhancing programs, states should minimize administrative barriers, clearly communicate eligibility and availability, allow for flexible use of funds, and invest in data-driven improvement. Just as importantly, emergency aid should be understood not as a last line of defense for students, but as a core component of a comprehensive student success strategy, one that is clearly expressed to students, faculty, and others who act as touch points across campus. 

States have an opportunity to build on and learn from what works in the handful of states that have begun to offer their own programs, as well as institutions across the country that continue to operate their own essential, if limited, interventions. Emergency aid, when implemented effectively, can ensure that a sudden hurdle does not become a permanent barrier to students achieving their goals and dreams.