In case of a financial emergency, all students can apply for the Warhawk Emergency fund. This fund is on campus for students who have run into a financial emergency. The grant does not have to be paid back and rewards up to a thousand dollars. A student must qualify for the grant and the allowance can only go toward non-tuition fees. For example, a student may apply for the grant to help pay for utility bills or for food.

“I received the money through a gas card for BP. But I know that there are other forms that they offer depending on the need of the person. This is completely free, you do not have to pay back any of the funds, you only have to attend a financial literacy meeting,” said Kaz Tyson, UW-Whitewater student and recipient of the emergency fund.

It is required to have an EFC (Expected Family Contribution) of 7000 or less and provide documentation of the financial emergency. A student will have to submit the bill or explain what they are applying for in order to prove that the award is not being used inappropriately.

If approved, in most cases, payments will be made payable to a third party. The payment amount and type will be determined by the university on a case-by-case basis. Once the application process is complete, the fund recipient can expect that the award payments will be available within two business days.

“Since first hearing about it, I have been really excited about the program. I haven’t used it myself but it is a great opportunity for students who are struggling financially to have this outlet. I think it’s been a huge benefit for students and it gives comfort to students knowing that whether they are in a crisis and they’re not able to get to campus because something happened to their vehicle that there’s this place they can go to where they can get up to a thousand dollars for this one time to be able to have the support that they need to continue their education,” said Alex Ostermann, Whitewater Student Government Vice President.

“It has expanded to UW-Rock County. They have a separate fund but extending to both of the campuses is very exciting to be able to offer that same support to all of the students at UW-Whitewater.”

This fund has helped many students and can help improve the lives of many more who are in need of financial help. The goal is to allow all students the opportunity to remain in school and have one less financial setback. During the pilot program, the student retention rate increased by nearly eight percent; from near 92 percent to 100 percent as of spring 2019.

“We got the grant March of 2017 and we started the actual process of helping students in late August of 2017. Now we are using a combination of foundation account gifts and university money so now we are considering it to be a retention program because it does help a great deal with retention,” said Dr. Lauren Smith, professor and department chairperson.

More information regarding the Warhawk Emergency Fund can be found on their website, www.uww.edu/students/warhawk-emergency-fund#ApplyforAssistance as the account to apply for the fund is, www.uww.dreamkeepers.org. To speak with a staff member regarding any particular circumstances, the Warhawk Emergency Fund office is in Roseman  2017A.