With Support from Gerstner and Heckscher Foundations, SUNY Announces Emergency Aid to Support Degree Completion Among Students
Starting next year, University at Albany students who are at risk of dropping out due to sudden financial hardship or some other emergency situation could be eligible to apply for emergency aid.
The aid is available as part of a new pilot program announced Monday by the State University of New York and the SUNY Impact Foundation. UAlbany is one of seven SUNY campuses out of 64 statewide selected to participate, and its goal will be to keep students on track to graduate even when unforeseen or external circumstances threaten to derail them.
"Across the nation, studies report as many as 65 percent of students surveyed who drop out plan to return, but the sad truth is that only 38 percent ultimately do," said Christine Fitzgibbons, executive director of the foundation. "We are excited to implement and manage this grant program to provide aid to our students in the short-term, and assess the impact on retention and graduation rates moving forward."
It's one of several initiatives undertaken by SUNY Impact Foundation, a new private investment fund, which launched earlier this year under then-chancellor Nancy Zimpher as a way for private investors to help fund programs and practices that boost college affordability, degree completion and programs that prepare students for college and career...