When the pandemic led to rapid campus closures, many students were forced to make emergency financial decisions as they found themselves without access to child care centers, dorms, libraries, and other facilities. While emergency aid established under the Department of Education’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund was a good start, emergencies happened before the pandemic and will continue to occur in the future. Today’s students need permanent solutions to unexpected financial barriers that keep them from persisting in their postsecondary programs.