Financial support initiatives give students a boost during difficult times
If only the college experience were simply a matter of students attending classes and soaking in the information and expertise around them. Unfortunately, the journey through college, a path to knowledge and self-discovery, can also be fraught with unforeseen challenges that significantly hamper student academic success. Various impediments outside the classroom, including financial struggles and mental health issues, can make the college experience difficult.
One of the most significant barriers to student success is financial hardship. Beyond tuition and room and board, students experience a myriad of other college-related expenses, including textbooks, utilities, parking passes, graduation regalia, and more. With these expenses, students can find themselves navigating a financial minefield. According to a recent survey of Ball State University students, 58% of respondents report some form of financial hardship—leading to academic disruptions and, in extreme cases, withdrawal from college.
Minor issues can quickly become major roadblocks and turn into stressors for students. Illness, transportation issues, reduced work hours or job loss, and unexpected expenses can all deplete resources. Balancing family needs, financial obligations, academic expectations, and stress can overwhelm students and be harmful to their overall well-being.
Recognizing these challenges, Ball State and educational institutions across the country are implementing targeted support initiatives to assist students facing adversity. Emergency grants, textbook libraries, and basic needs assistance programs aim to provide a safety net for those on the brink of financial instability. These efforts lessen the likelihood that a student has to choose between essential needs and academic success.
The Jack Beyerl Emergency Aid Fund at Ball State is one such initiative.
Named in honor of Dr. Merrill “Jack” Beyerl for his distinguished 35-year career at Ball State as the University’s first-ever vice president of student affairs and dean of students, this fund is the source of emergency aid grants given to help students overcome financial emergencies. These one-time grants, administered and coordinated by the Office of Student Affairs, typically do not exceed $500. Student Affairs assists between 400 and 600 students in financial need annually. Last year, more than $90,000 in emergency aid funding was disbursed.
“We prioritize students’ basic needs. Students could be late or behind on rent—who may be facing eviction—or students struggling to pay for Wi-Fi, which is critical to academic work; or having difficulties paying utilities,” said Dr. Tiffany Peters, ’06 MA ’08 EDD ’16, Ball State’s assistant vice president for student affairs. “We don’t want anyone to go without electricity or heat. We also focus on filling gaps in other resources, such as food. If students have exhausted all of their other options, we are there to assist.”
Located in L.A. Pittenger Student Center, Room L-27, Cardinal Kitchen provides pantry staples to students facing food insecurity.
Student Affairs personnel also direct students to other resources such as Cardinal Kitchen—an on-campus food pantry where students can obtain free pantry staples, fresh fruits and vegetables, toiletries, and more.
Other resources include referrals to mental health support and services available through the Counseling Center to help address mental health issues. Student Affairs staff can also inform students on how and where to obtain benefits from SNAP (a state government food assistance program in Indiana), Medicaid, or other assistance a student might need.
Recognizing the stigma associated with seeking financial assistance and support for mental health, the University, which prioritizes and respects student privacy, strives to create a supportive and non-judgmental environment. However, it can still be difficult for students to openly discuss their challenges. A senior student, who asked to remain anonymous, shared their experience with receiving support funds.
“I was in an abusive relationship and divorced in the middle of a semester,” the student said. “The divorce process took over a year and left me financially drained, but I was able to find both financial and academic support during this time through the Jack Beryl Emergency Aid Fund and the success coaching offered on campus. Both of these services were key factors in being able to graduate, which I am now on track to do.”
Student Satisfaction Survey
Ball State University conducts a student satisfaction survey to gather anonymous, self-reported data. The University receives around 2,500 responses per semester. It is a great way for faculty and administrators to gauge what hinders student success and retention.
Dr. Eva Grouling Snider, an instructional consultant in the Division of Online and Strategic Learning (DOSL), facilitates the distribution of the student satisfaction survey and synthesizes the results. Dr. Grouling Snider analyzes the data to discover the ways Ball State, as an institution, can help students be more successful and enhance student retention.
“These statistics help paint the broader picture that this is a national problem,” Dr. Grouling Snider said. “Financial hardship isn’t just a Ball State issue, but all of higher education and our current economy. It affects our students, and we have to open our eyes to that reality. Fixing these issues requires effort at all levels, including work with faculty and students at the grassroots level, as well as implementing systemic changes to really make college more affordable. At the end of the day, it all comes down to a place of care to support our students.”
Of the surveyed students facing financial hardship, 30% reported hardship as moderate to severe. Students who are experiencing this hardship are more likely to also be facing issues with fatigue, mental health, and motivation. These findings are closely tied together with students dealing with multiple challenges at the same time.
Ball State Students’ Top 5 Struggles
2,514 respondents
Source: Student Satisfaction Survey, Ball State University, Fall 2023
Expanding Student Support: A Community of Care
With the Our Call to Beneficence campaign, Ball State seeks to amplify these support initiatives by engaging the University’s graduates and benefactors. The Division of Student Affairs’ goal of $16.5 million for student support will directly contribute to enriching student programs and addressing the identified barriers to success. Most will be devoted to scholarships, but $1 million will be allocated to microgrants for emergency funding for students experiencing financial hardship.
“These donation funds do not automatically go toward University charges,” said Ro-Anne Royer Engle, vice president of student affairs. “They go directly to the student so they can use the resources the way they need to in that moment.
“And when we talk with students, the one thing they always tell us is how grateful they are that the University cared for them in their time of need,” she added. “Of course, we care all the time, and we show that in many different ways. But when someone is really at a point where they feel they do not have any options or any resources and they receive a grant, they share how grateful they are that they can continue their education, focus on their academics, and keep going.”
By channeling campaign funds into emergency support, affordable materials, and mentorship programs, Ball State aims to create a more supportive ecosystem for students. The University strives to expand its current support initiatives and direct additional funds toward mental health support, speakers and workshops, mentorship programs, and more. There are also plans to create new support programs, such as funds for graduation regalia.
Every year, a handful of students choose not to attend Commencement ceremonies because they cannot afford the cap, gown, and other regalia. The University intends to set aside $25,000 of campaign funds to assist students in the purchase of these materials so they do not have to pass up on this important milestone because of an inability to pay for regalia.
Another use of campaign funding will be for the health and well-being of students.
College students face challenges that contribute to loneliness and despair, so their mental health and well-being could be at risk. Establishing innovative ways to deliver care, resources, intervention, and support to students is essential. Adding to the existing resource of in-person counseling, the University introduced a 24-hour crisis hotline. There is also Togetherall, a 24/7 peer-support online community. The University is constantly looking at ways to support student health and well-being in the broadest sense.
“One goal we have is that we would love to be able to embed a mental health counselor with our University Police Department as they go out to respond to students of concern,” Ms. Royer Engle said. “Whether that is a student with suicidal ideation, suicide threat, or experiencing some mental health conditions, if we can have an embedded counselor at key points in the day, somebody who can work with our police officers to help people who are in crisis in those moments, that would be so beneficial. So, that’s one of the things we want to explore at the University if we meet our funding goals.”
The college experience goes beyond just grades and textbooks. It is vital to understand and address the non-academic hardships that students face. That’s where the Our Call to Beneficence campaign comes in, aiding Ball State in creating an environment where every student can thrive and embark on a college journey that becomes a stepping stone toward a bright future.
