Dean of Students
The Persistence Fund
The Persistence Fund provides students with financial support for unexpected circumstances that affect their ability to stay enrolled at Union and be successful. By covering one-time emergency expenses, the fund ensures that students are able to continue to focus on their academic work during a time of unanticipated personal difficulty or hardship.
Students may apply for funds when they are experiencing a financial barrier AND have exhausted all other resources. The need must be urgent, necessary and unexpected, and students will not be asked to repay the funds.
*The Persistence Fund does not cover tuition, classroom fees, and other expected academic related expenses such as textbooks. For assistance with any of those, please see the Emergency Loan section below.
Examples of expenses covered by the Persistence Fund include:
- Emergency medical expenses not covered by insurance (dental work, replacement of prescription eyewear, ER visit)
- Basic Living expenses (emergency food and/or transportation, sudden loss of housing, personal care items)
- Replacement of essential personal belongings due to fire or natural disaster
- Last minute travel expenses due to serious illness or death in the immediate family
- Replacement of educational supplies (broken laptop, mouse)
To apply for assistance, please complete the Persistence Fund Application. You can expect to receive a decision within 3-5 business days of submitting your application.
Emergency Loans
The Student Emergency Loan Fund provides full-time Union College students with loans from $100 to $300 for short-term emergencies. This fund is meant to provide support in cases that do not meet the requirements of the Persistence Fund.
Loans provided to students through this fund are required to be repaid.
Examples of expenses covered by the Student Emergency Loan Fund include:
- Textbooks and classroom supplies
- Travel expenses
- Basic Living Expenses (winter clothes, meals, bills)
Questions?
Contact your class dean or the Class Deans office at classdeans@union.edu.