A Primer on Emergency Funds for International Students

A parent dies unexpectedly. A hurricane rips through a student’s hometown. A Ukrainian student studying in the United States learns of war back home.

Events like these can upend an international university student’s schooling, leaving her anxious, depressed, or unable to study.

But she doesn’t have the money to get to that parent’s funeral or her storm-ravaged hometown, and it’s not safe for her to return to her home country during the most terrible of situations.

To assist international students in times of need or crisis, more universities are establishing emergency funds. “After a number of years of natural disasters around the world, the university had become unfortunately accustomed to students facing environmental and human security issues that we felt a need to step in and help,” says Aaron D. Clevenger, assistant provost and dean for international programs at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “Our strategic plan gave us the opportunity to allocate emergency funds for these students, helping to ease their burden and continue their studies.”

But there are important considerations for institutional leaders to take into account as they explore the possibility of setting up one of these funds, including eligibility standards, governance, funding sources, and application processes, to name a few.

The Impetus

There are many reasons institutions create international student assistance funds—from global pandemics to geopolitical turmoil and smaller needs in between—but all are based on student need.

COVID-19 was the impetus at Katie Tudini’s school, the University of Buffalo, where the institution launched its fund in March 2020 to help students with travel expenses related to the pandemic.

“We recognized that students were in dire need of funds that ranged between $200 and $700,” says Tudini, who is assistant vice provost and director for international student services. “Advocating for international student emergency funds begins with understanding student need. The funds are not meant to assist with tuition payments or massive financial distress. An emergency fund is beneficial if students could benefit from quick access to $300–$500 for unforeseen expenses, such as [a] broken bike, lost phone, increased utility bill.”

At San Jose State University (SJSU) in California, COVID-19 and geopolitical turmoil worldwide convinced the school to create such a fund.

“We felt that many international students found themselves in an unexpected financial situation and needed some financial support to buy them time to figure things out,” says Parinaz Zartoshty, director of international student and scholar services for the College of Professional and Global Education at San Jose State.

Getting Started

Once an institution determines that there are sufficient student needs that warrant assistance, documenting and establishing the basis for the fund is the first step.

Tudini suggests pulling together the student accounts team; dean of students; and alumni engagement, development, and community relations offices to discuss student need, fundraising, and organization.

“Determine where funds might exist or how to raise them; make administrative decisions,” she says. “Who will do the admin? Who will review? Who will do fundraising? Who will investigate the tax implications for students? Who will research application options and review best practices?”

Zartoshty concurs that it’s critical to have support from other campus partners.

A key partner for her was SJSU Cares, whose main role is to assist students in an unforeseen economic crisis. Counseling and Psychological Services served as another key campus partner. By using data and advocacy from these and other campus stakeholders, it was much easier to justify the need of an Emergency Student Fund (ESF), which are grants that the Institute of International Education provides to international college students in the United States who are affected by unforeseen crises that create financial pressure.

On Zartoshty’s campus, “we were receiving multiple requests from various departments about potential ‘emergency’ funds for international students,” she says. “This enabled us to collect the data and show the need for setting up a small pool of money to support an ESF for international students.”

Eligibility

Another key aspect of assistance funds is determining criteria for eligibility.

“There are many unfortunate circumstances that our international students face,” Zartoshty says. “It is difficult to assess and decide which ones would fall under the category to apply for the ESF. In addition, once the word gets out that you have this funding, […] you can get a large number of emails and inquiries, not only from students but also from campus constituents. It is important to manage expectations from the start.”

At San Jose State, the emergency fund, which is very small, is not publicly advertised, says Zartoshty. In most cases, a student must show that grave circumstances warrant monetary help. In addition to the emergency fund, the school also relies on SJSU Cares—the unit that provides support to any student, not just international students, facing an economic crisis.

“In many ways, this [emergency fund] adds another layer of support for students who secure food or temporary housing through SJSU Cares,” Zartoshty says.

At the University of Buffalo, a student begins with a financial aid counselor, who helps the student apply for scholarships and grants. If the student still needs money after those options are exhausted, the counselor recommends the student to a committee that includes the director of financial aid, senior international officer, and provost. The committee reviews the request and decides how much money can be awarded.

“Our international students are eligible for many other scholarships and grants, but when an emergency occurs that is out of the student’s control, this fund can serve as a last resort to meet their financial needs,” says Tudini.

At Embry-Riddle, preference is given to senior-year students, says Clevenger. The university doesn’t have a strict GPA guideline for receiving aid, but the student needs to be in good academic standing and making adequate academic progress.

“The only strict requirement is that the student demonstrate an emergency need, with an emergency being defined as a loss of funding based on an event that is outside of their control such as a parent’s death, a hurricane, a family member losing their job,” he says.

At the University of Buffalo, Tudini says the student must:

• Demonstrate financial need because of unforeseen circumstances.
• Have considered all other resources, including emergency loans, which were insufficient, unavailable, or not available in a timely manner.
• Be a degree-seeking student in good academic standing.
• Hold and maintain a valid student visa, F-1 or J-1.
• Complete an online application form.

Funding

Funding for an emergency student fund can come from many sources, including budgeted money in the international student and scholar services (ISSS) office, external resources like IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund, endowments, and other alumni donations.

At San Jose State, the program is funded by the ISSS office using the soft funds that have been allocated to scholarships for international students for the most part, with a small percentage earmarked for the ESF. The university has also used the IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund, which is money for international students from certain countries experiencing crisis.

“Our funds are able to support students who are not from the IIE ESF-designated countries,” Zartoshty says. “Many of the students come from the same country where there is some sort of turmoil. Our students from Ukraine or Russia serve as an example. For these students, their families are unable to get their money out to support their tuition fees. These funds help pay some of those fees.”

The University of Buffalo initially used university fundraising campaigns to help grow its fund, but Tudini and others recently worked with campus partners to create the Steven L. Shaw Memorial International Student Emergency Fund to honor their late colleague and friend.

At Embry-Riddle, administrators may use alumni donor funds and school scholarships. Clevenger warns, however, that those administering the ESF should brace for objections from competing departments clamoring for money if they draw on funds shared across campus.

Payouts

With the eligibility requirements and funding piece in place, institutions should create an application process and evaluation rubric, then identify committee members who will review applications.

“Take time to consider the application system,” Tudini advises. “Does it work with other systems on campus? Where will it be housed? Consider the process and guidelines for reviewing applications, and consider how quickly you will be able to issue the funds. If you intend to quickly get money to students, do your research, and make a plan for that to work well.”

“In evaluating a student’s application, we have created a scoring rubric to assess their responses to multiple questions: We review their academic record, their graduation date, and other things to determine the amount to be awarded,” Zartoshty says.

As for payout guidelines, Tudini tries not to issue awards over $500 to avoid taxing the students. In coming up with a number, it’s good to ask questions like: “What types of students benefit from this support? What types of challenges do they face, and how does the fund help them?” she says. Among the needs she’s seen are utilities, off-campus rent, transportation, food, and medical care.

The Bottom Line

Emergency funds for international students can serve as a critical safety net, offering support during unforeseen crises that could otherwise undermine their academic goals. However, these initiatives should be grounded in a deep understanding of student needs—and their implementation and management require collaboration with campus partners and careful planning. With thought and intention, these funds not only provide much-needed financial assistance but also underscore institutions’ commitment to caring for students.