Portland State University – College of Education’s (COE) Student Emergency Fund provides limited emergency financial assistance to currently enrolled COE students who are unable to meet essential expenses due to a temporary and/or unexpected hardship. If you think you may qualify, please submit the Student Emergency Fund Application, along with supporting documentation of your hardship, for review by COE personnel.
Fund stipulations
These awards are only open to currently enrolled COE students. Average award amounts for support with basic living expenses and/or textbooks range from $100 to $500 per student and are awarded no more than once per academic year. If you are requesting more than this amount for tuition support, you may be eligible for consideration for COE Emergency Remission Funds. The maximum remission amount is $5,000 per award, and you can only receive a single award per program of study.
Awards are technically considered loans, but do not necessarily require repayment. We strongly encourage you to, at a time when you are able, contribute to the fund to help support other students that may be experiencing temporary or unexpected hardship. The funds are considered income and therefore subject to federal taxes. If you are currently receiving financial aid, receiving funding from this fund may affect your financial aid package. If you have questions about this, contact the Office of Student Financial Aid at 503-725-3461 to discuss your options.
Types of expenses considered
Examples of expenses considered for funding include but are not limited to:
- Overdue rent and utilities
- Child care
- Food / groceries
- Insurance costs for self and dependents
- Medication / prescription expenses
- Books, base tuition, some mandatory fees, or other school related expenses
- Replacement of belongings lost in a fire or natural disaster
- Issues related to transportation
- Safety related needs (i.e. changing locks, short term emergency shelter)
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible, students seeking financial assistance must be/have:
- Currently enrolled in a COE program. Note: Freshman and sophomore undergraduate students who have declared a COE major but have yet to be formally admitted and enrolled in a COE program cannot receive support.
- In good academic standing or show evidence of recent satisfactory progress
- Experiencing an unexpected financial hardship resulting from an emergency or crisis situation
- Exhausted all other possible financial aid and/or other financial resources before applying for student emergency funds (e.g., student loans, Medicaid, personal financial accounts, and community resources)
- Able to provide documentation of their financial hardship (e.g., billing statements, receipts, repair estimates)
- For COE Emergency Remissions Fund Only
- Students must be enrolled at least half-time status.
- If a graduate student is on a leave of absence, they can apply for remission support to help them return to COE classes.
- Students who have received Proactive Remissions are ineligible for Emergency Remissions.
- A student can only apply for and receive a single award per current program of study. An exception may be considered for students who are in danger of not completing their program of study.
What qualifies as an emergency or crisis situation?
Situations include, but are not limited to, accidents, medical or dental emergencies, natural disasters, travel emergencies, need for temporary housing due to unanticipated events.
Application process
- Complete a Student Emergency Fund Application. You will need to be signed into your PSU account to complete this form. A request will be considered complete when the online form is submitted and documentation of need is received.
- The completed request is reviewed for approval and appropriate amount is determined. Criteria for approval and granted amounts will be based on eligibility, documentation of need, and availability of funds.
- During the review process, we may contact you for additional clarifying information.
- You will be notified of the decision with follow-up instructions.
Note: We review these applications on a rolling basis. We try to make decisions quickly, within 1-2 weeks, as we recognize the circumstances leading to your need to complete this application.
Other resources
- Office of Financial Aid – Most graduate students are eligible for student financial aid through the federal government. If you have not yet applied for aid, visit FAFSA to submit an application. If you have already applied and need additional funding contact the Office of Student Financial Aid at 503-725-3461 to discuss your options.
- Graduate School – Apply for the Graduate Retention and Completion Fund
- Office of Student Financial Services – If you need to establish a payment plan or discuss your payment options, contact Student Financial Services at 503-725-3440 or StudentFinancialServices@pdx.edu
- Financial Wellness Center – Managing money is an important part of student success. Through education, awareness and mentoring, the Financial Wellness Center is designed to give all students tools and resources needed to empower them to make healthy financial decisions.
- PSU Basic Needs Hub Student Emergency Funds – Information about the General Student Emergency Fund, as well as various student hardship funds throughout the university
- Dean of Student Life (DOSL) Office – DOSL has a great resource page for other university resources available to students.
- 2-1-1 Oregon – For a comprehensive list of financial and support services by county, visit 211info
The COE Student Emergency Fund is made possible through the generous donations of College of Education Students, Staff, Faculty, and Alumni. In addition, we fundraise for this account on Giving Tuesday (the Tuesday following Thanksgiving), during our Annual PSiloveU Campaign (February 14th), and personal fundraising drives by individual donors.