BOONE, N.C. — In response to the hardships caused by Hurricane Helene, the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority is awarding additional financial aid to eligible students at Appalachian State University, University of North Carolina Asheville and Western Carolina University, and to eligible students from impacted counties at the other UNC institutions.

North Carolina resident students with family incomes below $80,000 will receive an average of $850 in additional grant aid to help offset some of the unexpected costs from Helene’s disruption. Financial aid recipients at affected community colleges are also eligible for the one-time increase in funding. Eligible students are already receiving the Next NC Scholarship, a financial aid program that combines federal and state dollars to help families pay for college. The extra funds will be added to the scholarship for 2024-25.

“Many students had to evacuate, make an additional trip home or deal with other expenses related to the storm,” said Andrea Poole, executive director of NCSEAA. “This extra funding should help keep students on track as they navigate the aftermath of Helene and continue to work toward graduation.”

Individual campuses have also established relief funds to help students, faculty and staff who were especially impacted by the storm. UNC System officials are focused on helping western campuses recover and ensuring that students can successfully finish the semester.

“Helene has done enough damage already,” said UNC System President Peter Hans. “We can’t let this tragic storm undermine the progress our students have made.”

More than 20,000 students are expected to benefit from the $19.1 million allocation of aid funding provided by the North Carolina General Assembly last week for university and community college students, including almost 12,000 UNC System students.

The legislature further appropriated $5.5 million to cover tuition for UNC Asheville students for the spring semester, and another $5 million in emergency grants to UNC System students impacted by the hurricane.

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