The Disappearing Student Safety Net

An unexpected expense is one of the most common reasons students stop out of college. Research has showed that emergency aid—a timely grant that helps students cover unexpected costs—can greatly improve the odds that they stay enrolled and complete a degree or credential.

However, a new analysis from the Hope Center for Student Basic Needs at Temple University found that despite growth in emergency aid programs on college campuses, far fewer students are receiving that assistance.

The analysis is based on data from Trellis Strategies’ most recent Student Financial Wellness Survey of more than 65,000 undergraduate students across 153 institutions nationwide. It found that the share of students receiving emergency aid fell from 44 percent in fall 2021 to 4 percent in fall 2025—a decline of roughly 90 percent.

Muhammad Kara, policy and research analyst at the center, said emergency aid is designed to help students respond quickly to an unforeseen financial crisis. Unlike traditional financial aid, which is packaged months before a term and disbursed on a fixed schedule, he said, emergency aid can be distributed when a student faces an immediate expense.

Kara said the decline in students receiving emergency aid suggests colleges are either failing to publicize available support or operating programs that are too limited in scope or funding to meet student need.

“These have real-world applications,” Kara said. “If a student can’t pay a medical bill or afford food or housing, they’re really not going to be focused on their academics.”

The awareness gap: The report found that the share of institutions offering emergency aid has increased over the same period. According to survey research from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the percentage of member institutions operating an emergency aid program rose from 35 percent in 2020 to 52 percent in 2025.

But federal data reveals a disconnect between program growth and student awareness. The Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, which tracked students who first enrolled in 2019–20 and were still enrolled in 2022, found that only about one-quarter of students reported that their institution offered emergency aid, while more than two-thirds said they did not know whether such aid was available.

The findings reflect a broader awareness gap among college students. Inside Higher Ed’s most recent Student Voice survey of 5,065 students from 260 two- and four-year institutions found that 64 percent of respondents did not know if their institution offered such assistance.

Kara said that gap between institutional supply and student awareness raises an uncomfortable possibility: that some colleges may be quietly declining to publicize their emergency aid because they don’t think they can afford the demand that greater awareness would generate.

“Some students may apply for it, but that expense is so near and dear, and it’s so evident at that present moment that even if they apply, they won’t get it within the timeliness aspect,” Kara said. “So they may have missed that, or just didn’t really get it when they absolutely needed it.”

The consequences can be significant, he said, because many students lack the financial cushion to absorb even a relatively small unexpected expense.

“Most students don’t have enough savings to cover a $500 bill. That could be a medical bill, a car repair, and there are a lot of students leaning on riskier ways of borrowing like credit cards or predatory loans,” Kara said. “That makes us worried in the basic needs space because we’re trying to figure out innovative financial ways for students to meet those needs.”

A patchwork response: During the pandemic, Congress provided nearly $40 billion in emergency aid to students through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. However, the report notes, only seven states now have dedicated state-level emergency aid programs, which collectively provide roughly $46 million annually—about 0.1 percent of the expired federal investment.

Kara argued that federal emergency aid worked and that Congress could expand access to such aid without additional spending by allowing colleges to once again use Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant funds as emergency grants. He warned that without this flexibility, more students may continue to struggle with unexpected expenses that can derail their education.

“If this flexibility isn’t granted and/or if the funding is reduced, more students are going to continue to struggle,” Kara said. “Students are going to continue to turn to more risky financial avenues, which doesn’t help students succeed and does not help their financial health whatsoever.”

He said that in the interim, institutions should look for ways to invest in emergency assistance programs for students facing financial challenges.

“What universities can do is definitely invest in some form of emergency assistance, emergency aid, for those students,” Kara said. “I know those are easier said than done, and I know most universities are strapped when it comes to state appropriations and just funding in general. But if we are seeing a subset of students who really need $500, in the bigger scheme of things, $500 is not a lot.”

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