Each year, the NASPA Annual Conference brings together student affairs professionals to discuss challenges on their campuses and tap into the collective knowledge in their community of colleagues. At this year’s conference, held in Baltimore, Maryland from March 19-23, the Edquity team was on-site to take part in these conversations and learn from some of the brightest leaders in the field.
David Helene, Edquity’s CEO, had the opportunity to share some of his own wisdom at this year’s conference, joining a panel titled “Beyond the HEERF Cliff: Making Emergency Aid Standard Practice.” On stage with David were higher education experts including Ashley Bliss Lima of JFF, Anne Lundquist of The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, Bridget Burns of the University Innovation Alliance in a conversation moderated by Rebecca Kelliher, a reporter at Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
Over the course of the hour-long session, each provided insight from their unique vantage points on why emergency aid is a necessity for students that should endure once federal funds are exhausted.
Here are four key insights from the panel that inform the landscape of emergency aid programs now and into the future.
- Student basic needs insecurities didn’t first emerge during the pandemic … and neither did emergency aid. While creating an essential lifeline for students in need, emergency aid programs are part of a larger tool chest of student supports and are distinct from financial aid. Panelists opened the session by recognizing that while instances of student need may have increased as a result of the financial pressures during the pandemic, these issues predated lockdowns and school closures by a long shot. And they’ll continue even as we return to a sense of normalcy as pandemic supports such as eviction moratoria expire and inflation skyrockets. As Ashley Bliss Lima notes, “Pre-pandemic, half of California's community college students cite food insecurity. That's one million students that said that they didn't have access to a meal, pre-COVID.”
- Institutions have received access to emergency aid funds, but staffing and capacity issues have created obstacles for distribution and tracking outcomes. “The Great Resignation” has created challenges across all industries, including the world of higher education. Burnout among higher ed administrators has become a very real phenomenon on campuses across the country, leaving many departments understaffed and struggling to keep up with student need. This has also left fewer team members available for the important work of tracking and measuring program outcomes. “One of the disheartening things is hearing how many student affairs professionals are exiting the field, leaving a gap in not only staffing but expertise and empathy in student support services,” David Helene said during the panel. “We know these programs can have a transformational impact on student outcomes and staff need to be empowered to measure that.” The panelists explained that measuring the efficacy of these programs is necessary in efforts to make a case for their existence moving forward. Similarly, having reliable data allows administrators to make even stronger cases for more significant pools of funds to be made available.
- Students are often unaware of emergency aid and other supports available to them. That has to change. While stigma can play a role in discouraging students from making use of available programs, in most cases a lack of awareness is the real culprit. Whether it's campus emergency aid funds and food pantries or government benefits programs, students eligible for support are not accessing all that is available to them. Edquity’s David Helene explained that programs such as the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) are available to students — but have been woefully under-accessed. Research from The Hope Center found that tactics like text message “nudging” in addition to email and social media outreach can help increase the uptake of available resources.
- Emergency aid programs are not often structured based on the amount of need. Storytelling can help change this. Though some might imagine that the amount of money a school has allocated for emergency aid programs is a carefully determined figure, the panelists explain that it is rarely reflective of actual needs on campuses. With power in the hands of institutional leaders to make these funding decisions, administrators can serve as advocates to expand these programs, using student stories to speak to challenges as well as outcomes. Over the course of the panel, participants cited stories that they’ve come across from real students who have navigated financial challenges as well as the complex support landscape at their universities. By helping to communicate the lived experiences of these students, their stories can have the power to help others in their community access essential resources. Bridget Burns said it best: “[Prioritizing and funding these programs is] about being a great storyteller. It's about elevating those student stories.”
If you are looking for ways to grow or administer emergency aid and cash assistance programs, Edquity can help. Our approach combines the power of technology with deep research in basic needs and student support to provide an equitable, fast and easy to use solution that ensures students receive the funding they need to be successful.
Connect with us today to learn more about building an equity-centered, outcomes-focused emergency aid program.
Are you an administrator? Get in touch with us at inquiries@edquity.co to learn more about how you can bring equitable emergency aid to your institution today.
Are you a student? Contact support@edquity.co or click the blue bubble in the bottom-right corner of edquity.co for assistance.