Frequently Asked Questions

What is Edquity?

Edquity is a technology provider based in Brooklyn, NY that helps colleges improve students’ basic needs and financial security by increasing access to emergency resources and funding. To help students, including the 3 million who drop out every year due to a time-sensitive financial crisis of less than $500, Edquity provides partner colleges with a white-labeled mobile app and web platform where students can apply for emergency cash grants, discover emergency resources, receive personalized financial management, and more. At our core, we’re an anti-poverty company working to create a world where financial outcomes aren’t predetermined by a person’s race, sexual orientation, or geographic location.

Edquity for Students

Edquity for Administrators

All of our Edquity partners also have access to a live support team with extended hours to answer student inquiries, custom marketing graphics to drive traffic to the app, and personalized training sessions for both administrators and students.

How long does it take to launch with Edquity?

Typically, it takes between 5-6 weeks to launch the Edquity platform, assuming there are no unique product specifications that would require custom development work. In general, we work with five core stakeholders to accomplish a successful launch:

How does Edquity determine who receives emergency aid?

At Edquity, we want to make sure students in need of emergency support have the funds and resources they need as soon as possible. We also want to make sure institutions are maximizing their precious and scare emergency aid dollars and that these dollars have the most impact.  To do this, we've worked with Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, Edquity's Chief Strategy Officer and nationally-recognized emergency aid researcher, to develop an evidence-based approach to determining aid distributions.

After students apply for emergency aid through the Edquity app, all submissions are evaluated on a case-by-case basis using our research-driven, evidence-based evaluation system. The goal of the system is to ensure students demonstrating significant need that may cause unenrollment will receive aid.

How do students receive emergency funds?

If a student qualifies for emergency aid, they can either receive funds via direct deposit or through a physical or digital prepaid card.

If the student has a bank account and selects to receive a direct deposit, Edquity makes a direct cash disbursement to the student within 24-48 hours.  If the student does not have a bank account and chooses to recieve a prepaid card, Edquity loads money onto either a physical or digital Visa prepaid gift card via on of our financial partners.

What does Edquity do with student data?

Data security and user privacy are a top priority for Edquity, and we’ve taken the necessary steps to ensure compliance with FERPA and other policies that protect students. Edquity does not sell, rent, or share user data with third parties.

With regard to social service referrals and general utilization, Edquity provides de-identified (or anonymized) data to the schools and organizations we work with in the form of an analytics dashboard. With regard to applications for Emergency Aid, Edquity provides full reporting via the same analytics dashboard to individual schools.

Can students apply for funds multiple times?

Yes. Institutional partners have full control over program length and ability to reapply.

How does the application review process work?

In an effort to eliminate any implicit bias that manifests in application interviews and interactions with students that can contribute to a culture of “performing poverty”, there is no human that physically reviews student emergency fund applications. After students apply for emergency funds through the Edquity app, all submissions are evaluated on a case-by-case basis using our research-driven, evidence-based evaluation system. The goal of the system is to ensure students demonstrating significant need that may cause unenrollment will receive funds.

What is the process for SFTP setup?

The student verification process is essential to a successful launch with Edquity. Therefore, we require a file transfer from the school to be made (via SFTP setup).

When Edquity receives that file, which includes a list of eligible students, we lock it in our AWS server and segment it accordingly. This process enables us to verify that students submitting Emergency Aid applications meet the eligibility factors specified by their home institutions (our college and university partners).

Eligibility Requirement

Confirmed Student Validation Criteria