Emergency Assistance Funds

What are emergency assistance funds?

Students can apply for emergency assistance funds if they are facing extraordinary financial circumstances.

What can I use the funds for?

You can use the funds for the following educational expenses:

• Academic-related technology (for example, laptops, webcams, hotspots and specialized software for courses)
• Books
• Bus passes
• Childcare
• Course-required items from HACC bookstores (for example, uniforms, equipment and supplies)
• Emergency auto repair expenses to attend in-person activities related to instruction (for example, clinicals and classes held on a HACC campus)
• Personal home catastrophe (for example, fire or flood that directly affects your ability to attend classes)
• Physicals and medical tests (for example, Tuberculosis tests)
• Rent and mortgage assistance
• Testing fees (for example, MBlex, NCLEX and TEAS exams)
• Utilities assistance

Emergency assistance funds do not cover all expenses. The emergency assistance funds cannot be used to assist with auto-related expenses for students taking fully virtual and/or fully remote classes. Exceptions are students who are officers of HACC student organizations that require them to travel to HACC campuses.

Can the funds be used for HACC tuition?

No, you cannot use emergency assistance funds for tuition or a prior outstanding bill owed to the College.

Am I eligible for emergency assistance funds?

You are eligible if you meet the following criteria:

• Credit students with a GPA of 2.0 or higher
• Credit students who were enrolled at HACC during the previous semester (Please note: This requirement will be waived for new HACC credit students. New credit students are those who did not take HACC credit courses in the past.)
• Credit and noncredit students who are enrolled at HACC in the current semester

You are not eligible if you:

• Are a guest student
• Are satisfactory academic progress (SAP) suspended
• Are on academic probation
• Have received emergency assistance from HACC twice
• Have an unpaid balance or financial hold on your account
   

How does this process work? If I am approved for this funding, do I need to pay my emergency expense first and get reimbursed by HACC, will HACC give me the money to pay my emergency expense or will HACC pay my emergency expense directly?

If you are approved for this funding, you can pay your emergency expense first and get reimbursed by HACC. Also, if you are approved for this funding, HACC will give you the money to pay your emergency expense. HACC will not pay your emergency expense directly.

How do I apply for emergency assistance funds?

To receive funding, please:

• Review the emergency assistance funds below
• Complete and submit the online form below. Documentation of need and a copy of your unofficial transcripts (for credit students) are required.

What documentation will I need to provide?

Please provide:

• Current unofficial transcripts (for credit students)
• Current invoices if your emergency expense has not been paid, and you want HACC to pay it. An invoice is a bill that needs to be paid.
• Current receipt if you paid your emergency expense and want HACC to reimburse you for it. A receipt is proof that a bill has been paid.
• Current copy of the testing fees invoice if the fees have not been paid and you want HACC to pay them
• Current copy of the academic-related technology bill and/or link to the academic-related technology if the bill has not been paid and you want HACC to pay it.

Please note:

• The invoices and receipts must include a date for no more than 60 calendar days. For example, if you submit your application on June 13 and your invoice or receipt is dated for March 3, the documentation will not be accepted and you will not be considered for funding. However, if you submit your application on June 13 and your invoice or receipt is dated for May 3, the documentation will be accepted and you will be considered for funding.
• In addition, the invoices and receipts must include the vendor name and address, your full name, your mailing address and the total costs. Your mailing address must match the mailing address that is in HACC’s records. If you need to update your mailing address in HACC’s records, please contact the HACC Welcome Center.
• When seeking rent or mortgage assistance, please provide a rent or mortgage payment invoice with your name and mailing address on it. If such an invoice is not available, please provide a signed lease or mortgage document. We must have official documentation proving that you live at the residence and have a financial need related to the residence.
• When seeking testing fees assistance, please provide documentation that includes the name of the test and the total costs.
• When seeking academic-related technology assistance, please provide documentation that includes the name of the academic-related technology and the total cost of the technology.

If I am approved for emergency assistance funding and submit my thank-you letter by the deadline, when and how will I receive the money?

Once the thank-you letter is submitted, your funds will be processed within two business days. When we use the word “processed,” we mean that we will contact BankMobile and send the funds to them within two business days. You would then receive the funds within five to 10 business days after they are processed by HACC employees.

How soon you receive the funds after they are processed by HACC employees will depend upon your BankMobile preferences. HACC has NO control over your BankMobile preferences. For more information on BankMobile, please visit HACC’s BankMobile webpage.

HACC does not have any control over the emergency assistance funds once they have been processed through BankMobile. Please make sure your BankMobile information is correct and updated. HACC will not give additional funding to students for any lost emergency assistance funds due to BankMobile issues.

Additionally, students who have pending financial aid and are approved for emergency assistance funds will receive the money in one combined payment. For example, if you are approved for $500 in emergency assistance funding and have $1,500 pending in financial aid, you would receive one combined payment of $2,000.

What is the timeline for this process?

We realize how important this funding is to you. Therefore, our goal is to process your application as soon as possible.

• When you apply for the funding, you will receive an immediate email message confirming that we received your application.
• If you provide incomplete documentation, we will give you three business days to provide the missing documentation.
• Once we confirm that your documentation is complete, a committee will make a decision about the funding within three business days.
• If the committee approves the funding, we will request a thank-you letter from you.
• After we receive your thank-you letter, you will receive the funding within five to 10 business days.

How many times can I apply for funding?

Students are eligible for the emergency assistance fund (EAF) twice while they are enrolled at HACC. Each time a student applies, they are eligible for up to $500. This means a student may potentially receive up to $1,000 in emergency assistance while enrolled at HACC.

However, the second application for emergency assistance funds has to be submitted at least 30 calendar days after students receive the funding from the first application. Second applications received sooner than this will be denied.

Who can I contact for more information?

Please contact emergencyassistance@hacc.edu.

What additional assistance can I receive beyond emergency assistance funding?

HACC proudly established the Consultation, Advocacy, Referrals and Empowerment (CARE) Center as a single stop where students can go for assistance with non-academic challenges. This is a free resource available to all current HACC students. Please visit the CARE Center website for more information. 

Last updated: Oct. 18, 2023