The Disadvantages Imposed on Low-Income Students When Denied Access to use EBT Cards at Universities

The student bodies at universities are made up of a diverse financial class of students which utilize various methods to cover financial obligations on campus. The purpose of this study is to evaluate students who receive government assistance to support them while in school, and determine the consequences when their benefits are not accepted at campus stores. This research project focuses on low-income students that are involved in government welfare programs and have been given an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card (which is a plastic card that can be used in a similar manner as a debit card for recipients to obtain a monthly food and cash allowance to offer support while they are in school) and the effects of it being segregated from use as a form of payment. I am attempting to answer, “What are the effects on low income students personal and campus lives when EBT is not accepted at any of the university’s venues?” The subjects recruited for survey analysis are from programs designed to assist low-income students within the university. A potential benefit of this study includes the possibility of identifying an unintentional barrier to full participation in college life for some set of low-income students. The goal for my research is that should my hypothesis, that failure to accept EBT as a form of payment disadvantages low-income students, be borne-out, the administration and associate students at universities will change their policies and thereby increase equality among members of the student body.