New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Emergency aid can help keep students in college
The number of students attending college is growing, as is the importance of a college degree. The U.S. college enrollment rate increased from 35 percent to 40 percent from 2000 to 2017, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reported that in the first quarter of 2018, college graduates made 80 percent more than people with a high school degree.
Unfortunately, college enrollment does not in any way guarantee college completion. Nationally, 40 percent of college students do not complete a bachelor’s degree in six years. They stop short of a diploma but are saddled with hefty loans, lower earning potential and plummeting confidence. In Connecticut, the numbers are even worse. The eight Connecticut State University and University of Connecticut campuses had an average 51.5 percent six-year attrition rate in 2008, the Education Policy Institute found.
Connecticut House Bill 5832 is a crucial step toward addressing this problem. HB 5832 would provide emergency financial assistance to public college students faced with unanticipated expenses. The majority of students who drop out do so for financial reasons; with small, stabilizing grants, the state can help reverse this trend.
In a national survey of college dropouts, 54 percent said they left school because they needed to work full time to make ends meet. First-generation, low-income, or FGLI, students face an increased risk of stopping short of college completion. Moreover, AfricanAmerican and Latinx students, of whom 42 and 48 percent are FGLI, respectively, are more likely than white students to face financial obstacles.
Financial aid packages typically subsidize major costs including tuition, room and board, and textbooks. Financial aid allows many students to enroll in college, but it is not always sufficient to keep them there. Financial aid offices are often unequipped to handle sudden requests with speed and flexibility. As a result, relatively small costs can push students over their tight budgets and off of the campuses they’ve worked so hard to enter.
Emergency grants provide small-dollar assistance to students facing immediate expenses that could lead to their leaving school. Ranging from $100 to $2,500, these grants cover onetime costs such as medical care, rent and transportation home for family emergencies. Researchers at the University of WisconsinMadison identified around 100 emergency aid programs in colleges across the country and reported that these programs were effective at helping students continue their education despite financial stress.
Georgia State University used to expel students who had not paid the entirety of their balance by the first week of class. With the Panther Retention Grants program, created in 2012, the university has provided microgrants to students who are a little short on payment but who are otherwise on track to graduate. From 2012 to 2018, the university awarded over 12,000 grants to students who would otherwise have been kicked out. The program reports that over 86 percent of their grantees graduated with help from this strategic financial boost. In addition to emergency grant programs at individual institutions, some states are incorporating emergency financial assistance as a statewide best practice. Since 2017, the Minnesota state legislature has authorized the Office of Higher Education to allocate grant funds to post-secondary institutions.
Connecticut now has the opportunity to do the same. HB 5832 will allow the Office of Higher Education to allocate up to $500,000 in matching grants to public colleges for the purpose of providing emergency financial assistance. Introduced this January, the bill received a favorable review from the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. It will soon move to the House floor. The small investment to keep students in school will prevent the much greater loss associated with dropping out. Please call or email your representatives to let them know you care that students not only get to college, but that they also attain the benefits of graduation.