A UTRGV program helps students who experience unforeseen circumstances and seek monetary assistance.
Student Life and the Dean of Students office launched the Student Financial Hardship Fund grant last fiscal year.
“[It’s] funding that helps support life circumstances,” said Rebecca Gadson, associate vice president for Student Life and dean of students. “[It] can help keep students in school and not be derailed by some type of unexpected hardship or experience that comes along.”
This aid is considered a grant; therefore, students are not required to pay back the funds, Gadson said.
The grant was started with donations of unrestricted funds from the President’s Office. Initially, the department applied for grants off-campus, but they were not selected and forced them to look to alternative sources within the university.
“We looked internally at how we could establish with just a little bit of money and get started,” Gadson said. “The need was there and, so, we can continue to look for grants and other sources of funding, but we had … a few thousand dollars to get started.”
Students may apply online for assistance. The application form is available on the Student Life and Dean of Students web page on the UTRGV website, https://www.utrgv.edu/studentlife.
Applications take no longer than a week to be reviewed, according to Yanet McClanahan, administrative manager of Student Life.
“The application is submitted and then I will review [it to] make sure they meet all of the eligibility requirements,” McClanahan said. “I will share the application with Financial Aid just to see if there’s another form of assistance to help the student.”
Grants are awarded for a nonrecurring unexpected emergency that would keep them from staying in school. To apply, students must be currently enrolled at UTRGV, be in good academic standing and provide documentation of the emergency.
The grant is not for students seeking financial support to pay for any school-related fees, such as emergency loans, books, lab fees, tuition, among others.
“If we have a student that’s not requesting tuition and fees … I can view their [information], but I can also see if they have … an emergency loan balance or if they have some sort of hold,” McClanahan said. “That takes an extra step of having a conversation with the student to explain … we cannot use [the funds] to pay for tuition and fees.”
Awards are limited to one per academic year. Depending on the case, students can receive up to $500 to cover expenses.
Students may apply anytime during the academic year.
“We’re really working to triage and make people aware of what resources there are on campus or in the community,” Gadson said.
Even though students applying for tuition assistance do not receive this grant, they are redirected to other financial aid that can help them.
Many of the applications received have been from students requesting help with paying for their university fees, according to McClanahan.
“We have about 43 applications that have come in since [Spring 2018],” McClanahan said. “The majority of them were to request assistance with tuition and fees … but that’s not what the fund is for.”
Since this is a relatively new grant, not many students are aware of it, including Juan Garcia, an entrepreneurship and innovation sophomore.
Garcia recalled one time when he went skiing with his cousin, a UTRGV graduate. His cousin accidentally fell and broke his ankle.
“Since he was an international student, his [insurance] was from Mexico,” Garcia said. “He didn’t have any coverage in the U.S. … Since he got it broken over there, he had to fix it over there.”
The bills were high, and his parents earned pesos. Garcia said his cousin’s parents had to deal with tuition and medical bills since the accident occurred during summertime.
“To have that help [of the Student Financial Hardship Fund] … it will take like a big weight out of you if you were to have [an emergency],” Garcia said.
The fund is limited and for students only, but UTRGV welcomes donations from staff and the community.
To donate and for more information, visit https://www.utrgv.edu/studentlife/student-resources and select “Student Financial Hardship Fund.”
“This fund is one of many types of supports that we are providing at the institution and out of Student Life to support students and maximize their success,” Gadson said.
