SUNY is announcing an expansion of its campus emergency aid grant programs with $600,000 in dedicated support in the 2026-2027 proposed state budget.
On Friday, SUNY Chancellor John King held a roundtable with several students to talk about how the program is helping them stay on track to getting their degree despite some life challenges.
“Sometimes I need money to get to school,” said Shawnee Ramos. “Gas, especially now, gas is very expensive. It eases the stress of having to have it all figured out, and it makes me more eager to be a part of the community.”
Ramos, 42, is a student at Fulton Montgomery Community College which is part of the SUNY school system. She is also a single mother to an 11-year-old son.
Ramos shares when life dealt her some hard blows, SUNY’s campus emergency aid grant program provided much needed help by giving her a $50 a month gas card to help her get to class.
“I enrolled in the fall of 2024,” said Ramos. “At the time, I had been in a transition stage. I was in between work, housing, and the opportunity to enroll in school came up. I said I had been planning on it. Never got to it. What else do I have to lose. Let me just go to college.”
Ramos will graduate in the spring with an associate’s degree in human services. She plans on completing her bachelor’s in social justice at the University of Albany and later getting her master’s degree.
“Students are juggling their family, their work life and then school,” said King. “That’s why these small disruptions that might be easy for someone to manage with a lot of resources can really derail someone who is navigating tight family resources.”
The emergency aid funding spans 47 of SUNY’s colleges and universities and works to help support students by covering unexpected expenses including a medical crisis, car repairs, emergency housing and even if their laptop breaks.
The $600,000 in dedicated support from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2026-2027 executive budget will help SUNY build on the school’s 2025 expansion of emergency student aid at 10 community colleges.
“We are very grateful to Gov. Hochul for how supportive she’s been to SUNY throughout her time as governor,” said King. “$600,000 targeted to emergency aid is a huge step forward. We’ve got 47 campuses now that have these emergency aid funds. We certainly have additional campuses that would like to do so. Many of our campuses feel a little additional help from the state would help them help more students.”
This announcement comes on the heels of SUNY expanding its community college food pantries last November with $550,000 in emergency assistance from the governor during the federal government shutdown.