One of our values at Beam, Formerly Edquity is that intentions matter, impact matters more. While the intent of this year’s FAFSA simplification certainly came from a good place, the impact of the lack of execution has been to make what was already unbelievably hard for students and families a near impossibility –- to meaningfully threaten if not fully compromise the ability of millions of low-income students to pursue a critical opportunity at a postsecondary credential.
This isn't just bad news for the millions of students already facing a mountain of financial hurdles (or those who care about the implications related to equitable postsecondary attainment). It’s also a major blow to community colleges and hundreds of other institutions that rely heavily on their enrollment and the Pell grant for their own fiscal health – and solvency. As we head into a summer where countless institutions are still struggling to issue financial aid awards to the possibly 30% fewer students planning/able to enroll, we also are entering a school year where getting emergency aid right might be the most important it’s ever been.
Having helped more than 100 institutions over the last five years administer more than $150M in emergency aid, my colleagues and I at Beam find that the inability to do this work well often isn’t for a lack of desire. Rather, it’s often for a lack of time and resources for institutions and burned out student affairs and financial aid professionals strapped unbelievably thin.
This coming year, as colleges have to potentially make tough choices amid difficult financial circumstances, those same underwater staff may be strapped even thinner.
To administer emergency aid well requires intentionality around application design, the ability to determine eligibility quickly and with an unbiased assessment of need and utility of a grant, and the ability to pay students as quickly as the emergency requires – which is in no more than 24 hours from application.
In short, to do this work well requires not just tremendous intent but also the ability to carve out the time and capacity to create impact. In a year of compressed time, this capacity may very well be tested.
Beam has a proven track record of creating capacity for institutions and their staff, reducing administrative burden for students, and most importantly, helping students stay enrolled. Having done this in a way demonstrated to be not only equitable but also effective – in some cases increasing retention by as much as 2x – our team at Beam stands at the ready to support institutions who may need help translating their own intent around emergency aid into impact.
