Access to emergency funds keeps Charlotte students on track for positive educational outcomes

by Sydney Idzikowski and Ellissa Brooks Nelson, Ph.D.

Access to emergency funds keeps Charlotte students on track for positive educational outcomes.

Access to emergency funds keeps Charlotte students on track for positive educational outcomes.

SEF assists students by providing monetary support when an unexpected, immediate, and unavoidable life emergency occurs with  unforeseen expenses. SEF is designed to provide needed financial relief for situations such as accidents, illness, death of a family member, fire damage, need for temporary housing, or natural disaster. The Fund was first established to support students during the COVID-19 pandemic and remains an important resource for students today. 

While we know there are many services on campus to help students beyond academics, UNC Charlotte is privileged to be surrounded by community agencies that also provide support to students. And since reasons for financial need are often complex, the Division of Student Affairs sought to gain a more holistic perspective of students’ experiences and use of resources through an integrated data study using data held by the Charlotte Regional Data Trust at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. 

Study question: Are the students applying for SEF also accessing community resources?

To better understand students’ financial needs, the prevalence of those accessing community resources, and their experiences interacting with community agencies, Student Affairs partnered with the Data Trust. The resulting study would allow Student Affairs to understand the overall student experience and identify opportunities for the University to better support students with financial need or crisis. To assess student experiences, the Data Trust securely shared a list of students who applied for SEF during the 2020/2021-2022/2023 school years. The Data Trust linked the student information with the community agencies identified below to examine whether students accessed the resources at any point during their lives:

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to indicate whether students received McKinney Vento services for housing instability and/or Limited English Proficiency services for difficulty speaking, reading, writing or understanding English (due to language or other needs).
• Crisis Assistance Ministry to learn if students applied (or were part of a household that applied) for financial assistance for housing and utility costs. 
• Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services – Economic Services to understand if students were enrolled in public benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
• Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services – Child Welfare to understand whether students experienced an investigation for reported maltreatment and/or were ever in foster care. 
• Homeless Management Information System to understand whether students experienced homelessness and were served by an agency providing homeless services.
• Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and Arrest Processing Center– to observe whether students interacted with the criminal justice system and were charged with a crime.

Findings

The research indicated that of the 2,984 students who applied for SEF at least once, 541 (18%) accessed one or more of the community agencies above.  

• 381 (12.8%) of students accessed one community agency
• 113 (3.8%) of students accessed two community agencies 
• 47 (1.6%) of students accessed three or more community agencies. 

For reasons other than not utilizing community resources, students who did not match may have been from areas outside of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The data used for this study only included community agencies in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. 

The students approved for SEF have the highest needs and experienced most or all barriers included in the study.
The study found that students approved for SEF assistance experience the most barriers, and utilize community resources at a higher rate when compared to all other SEF student groups.

This suggests that these students are likely experiencing the most financial need and may experience a multitude of barriers which prevent them from achieving financial wellbeing. These students used DSS – ES and Crisis Assistance Ministry resources at the highest rates, which indicates that they, or their families, experienced previous/additional episodes of financial instability. In childhood, this group also had more severe child maltreatment and/or experienced barriers while in school from housing instability and/or limited English proficiency. 

In adulthood, these students had more interaction with the criminal justice system for more serious charges and/or experienced homelessness. However, when we examined student success outcomes for these students for part one of this project, these students experienced a significantly higher GPA and retention when compared to students who were denied SEF. This suggests that, while these students may have existing or former barriers, they seem to be able to navigate community resources and services more effectively than students who are denied SEF. 

Students who applied for SEF and were denied multiple times had the lowest use of community resources.
For students who apply for SEF at least once and are denied each time, the data suggest that, while these students likely do not have as many barriers as students who are approved at least once, they are utilizing community agencies the least, and they are experiencing significantly lower student success outcomes. These students still used some resources, such as DSS – ES and Crisis Assistance Ministry resources, and are experiencing other challenges and barriers likely to prevent them from achieving financial wellbeing, though not as prevalent as what we see with students who are applying for and receiving approval for SEF. This may be because these students aren’t experiencing as high a need or because they aren’t aware of community resources and need help navigating the processes to access resources. 

Impact on Students 
When students face barriers and financial hardship, it can be difficult to focus on and succeed in school. We also know that adverse childhood experiences, such as maltreatment and other kinds of trauma, can have lifelong impacts on success and wellbeing. Sometimes a moment of financial hardship in the face of an emergency can be what sets off a series of other crises.

By quickly addressing the financial need, the Student Emergency Fund supports the financial stability of students and their families. Students who received assistance from SEF maintained strong educational outcomes, with high graduation and retention rates and improved GPAs.  

Recommendations for SEF

The research indicates that students who apply for SEF are accessing community resources, but may have different levels of awareness of resources and knowledge of how to navigate them. This suggests an opportunity to better support the financial success of students by breaking down service silos in programming, increasing awareness of and promoting access to financial support resources available to them both on-campus and within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community. To increase awareness, the University could:

• Promote awareness: Every student who applies for SEF should receive information about relevant resources and services available to them. 
• Connect to navigation assistance: Because navigating these community services can be overwhelming, it is recommended that all students denied SEF are referred to Student Assistance and Support Services (SASS) where staff can support them as they navigate the required protocols within community agencies. 
• Help students better understand their finances: All students who apply for SEF should be referred to Niner Finances where they have access to a multitude of self-guided financial literacy and wellbeing resources and can opt into 1:1 financial coaching. 
• Build and maintain partnerships with community agencies: The SASS office could implement an open communication plan that notifies community agencies in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area of updates, changes, or programmatic needs. By forging and cultivating partnerships with local community agencies like Crisis Assistance Ministry and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, the University can only bolster the support for our Niner Nation family.  

This project provided a more holistic view of how students are accessing services outside of the University and presents promising practices to better support students who are experiencing a financial need or crisis. Even more, a multitude of data sources were used to help identify typologies of students experiencing financial need that will allow us to not only better support students but better support students at the right time. This helps inform the ways in which students can better be connected to services both on and off campus.