Rebuilding the Student Safety Net

A rent increase, car repair or unexpected medical bill can create financial disruptions that threaten a student’s ability to stay enrolled in college. Research has shown that emergency aid—often provided through modest grants of $500 to $1,000—is a promising way to prevent such financial setbacks from derailing a student’s progress toward a degree.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal support delivered through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund demonstrated how emergency aid could serve as a safety net when funded at scale. But since that funding expired, the availability of emergency aid has contracted sharply.

The share of students who reported receiving emergency aid fell from 44 percent in fall 2021 to just 4 percent in fall 2025. That nearly 90 percent decline comes at a time when basic needs insecurity remains widespread and changes to public benefits and financial aid under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act threaten to place additional financial strain on students.

As such assistance has dwindled, a new report from the Hope Center for Student Basic Needs at Temple University examines how seven states are taking different approaches to helping students navigate financial emergencies.

Mark Huelsman, director of policy and advocacy at the center and author of the report, said states are playing an increasingly important role in filling gaps in emergency aid as federal support recedes, especially as demand for assistance remains high.

“States being the home of emergency aid is a relatively new phenomenon. They’re trying to fill the gaps for students … at a time when federal support broadly is very tenuous,” Huelsman said. “But the need for emergency aid spikes when institutions and students have the fewest resources to address the needs.”

How states differ: The report examines statewide emergency aid programs in California, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, finding considerable variation in eligibility requirements, allowable expenses, application processes and reporting practices.

For Huelsman, the findings highlight how the design and administration of emergency aid programs can influence whether students receive assistance when they need it most.

“We saw a real value in simplicity and trust with students,” Huelsman said. “So minimizing the barriers to entry and having proactive outreach to say to students, ‘Look, things happen, unexpected expenses come up, this is a common occurrence, you’re not alone, and we’re going to make it as easy as possible to get aid quickly.’”

He added that emergency aid programs should account not only for unexpected bills, but also for sudden losses of income or other financial resources that can leave students struggling to cover basic expenses.

“Being as broad and flexible with the uses of emergency aid, or the reason students could access emergency aid, is really promising and important,” Huelsman said. “We’re seeing states and colleges continuing to build out ecosystems of basic needs supports on their campus, and having emergency aid truly embedded in that is something that we’re hopeful will continue.”

How State Emergency Aid Programs Differ

Eligibility

States vary in how they determine which students qualify for emergency aid. Washington and Minnesota maintain relatively few statewide restrictions, giving institutions discretion in distributing funds, while Virginia requires students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, demonstrate financial need and maintain satisfactory academic progress.

Last year North Carolina eliminated a requirement that students complete at least half their program before qualifying, expanding eligibility to students earlier in their studies. Tennessee, meanwhile, targets assistance to full-time students eligible for Pell Grants through its tuition-free community college program.

Allowable uses and amounts

Emergency grants generally cover nontuition expenses such as housing, food and transportation, though North Carolina also allows aid to cover certain tuition-related emergencies, such as when an unexpected expense prevents a student from making a payment on a tuition payment plan.

Most states cap grants at $1,000 to $2,000, but actual awards vary by institution and available funding. Washington and Minnesota, for example, report typical awards of between $600 and $800, reflecting the limited resources available to meet student needs.

Application process

Some states give institutions broad discretion in setting their own application and review processes, while others establish specific documentation requirements. Several programs have moved to simplify access; for example, Washington eliminated supplementary documentation requirements, while North Carolina allows students to describe their emergencies in their own words.

Tennessee, by contrast, requires documentation such as receipts or screenshots of expenses, along with class schedules, to verify eligibility.

Reporting requirements

States also vary in how they track the distribution and outcomes of emergency aid. Washington requires annual reporting on the number of students served, their reasons for assistance and amounts distributed, along with follow-up assessments. Minnesota collects information on program administration, grants awarded and outcomes such as whether recipients remained enrolled.

Tennessee uses a nonprofit-administered model in which tnAchieves provides institutions with monthly reports detailing student recipients and award amounts.

A lasting safety net: Huelsman said one challenge for states and institutions is to balance limited emergency aid funding with the need to make students aware that assistance is available.

“Institutions or states working with extremely limited resources don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver,” Huelsman said. “But withholding some outreach is, by definition, going to make it so that many students who could use it may not access the program.

“Our recommendation at the end of the day is to make students aware of these programs because it helps with the advocacy for growing the programs,” he added. “If all of the emergency aid is gobbled up in the first semester because students are experiencing a ton of emergencies, that tells you that the program probably needs more funding.”

As more states consider establishing emergency aid programs, Huelsman said such assistance should be part of broader efforts to address college affordability and students’ basic needs.

“There’s no bad place to start with emergency aid,” Huelsman said. “It should be part of a more comprehensive solution on affordability. It should sit alongside expanding financial aid. It should sit alongside expanding student access to existing public benefits and other resources.”

“Too often it’s thought of as an afterthought or stopgap,” he added. “But there’s infrastructure from which states and institutions can start.”

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