TRAVERSE CITY — In less than six months, Northwestern Michigan College has awarded more than $1 million in CARES Act emergency funding to students facing economic challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic.
705 students had received awards as of September 8, for an average award of $1,500 per student.
NMC received $2.1 million in federal CARES Act funds for emergency student relief and institutional support in late April, which must be spent by May 2021. At least 50% of that is dedicated to providing emergency aid to students for food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child care expenses. It cannot be used to cover tuition expenses.
“I am so thankful for this fund,” said nursing student Makayla Kramer, 20, recipient of CARES Act funds and scholarships. “It has really lifted a lot of financial issues off of my shoulders during this time.”
“We are incredibly proud of the commitment and care for our students from across the college community and the work to get the help to those in need as quickly as possible” NMC President Nick Nissley said. “This emergency federal relief funding has been an important lifeline to help ensure the continuity of education for students facing tremendous adversity during these challenging times.”
Along with the federal funds, the NMC Foundation announced in May it is raising an additional $1 million to meet the needs of students and the college in response to the pandemic. These funds target three areas: student support including scholarships, food pantry access and flexible funding for emergency needs; academic support to increase capacity of key areas including the Writing & Reading Center and Educational Media Technologies; and program stabilization to ensure programs continue to operate for the benefit of students and the greater community.
The emergency student aid is part of $13.2 million in grants, loans and scholarships that NMC’s financial aid office has awarded to NMC students to date for the 2020/2021 school year, including $1.1 million in scholarships alone.
Release date: SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
For more information:
Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director, NMC Public Relations, Marketing & Communications
(231) 995-1019
dfairbanks@nmc.edu