Students at the University of Central Missouri will be receiving funding from a second round of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF II).

  Bill Hawley, Vice President of Finance and Operations, said funds will be sent out to students on March 25 and 26, with those with direct deposit, or ACH, set up receiving payments sooner than those who will be mailed physical checks.

  The amount each student receives depends on their enrollment status and estimated family contribution, and it ranges from $150-$1,200 per student. 

  Hawley said the HEERF II funding is intended to assist both the university and its student body, and there will be another round of HEERF funding in the future.

  “We’re getting those additional funds, so as the rules come out, we’re figuring out the best way to utilize those funds for the good of the students, the staff and the campus as a whole,” Hawley said.

  David Pearce, UCM’s Executive Director of Governmental Relations, said the funds are for emergency relief and to help with the retention of at-risk students.

  “It’s designed to help them stay in school, for any extra expenses that they might have had,” Pearce said.

  The funding won’t apply to the entire student body, however. Pearce said dual credit high school students, students who are less than part time and international students won’t receive funding. 

  The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the UCM student body in many different ways. 

  Brock Bookout, junior occupational safety and health major, said he feels being on campus is more boring this semester, but hopes the HEERF II funding can help with events COVID-19 has impacted. 

  “With the restrictions we have, we aren’t able to do as much as what we could be doing without COVID, and with the extra funding, that may help us out with some things that were missing out on.”

  Junior marketing major Alex Gamblin said the HEERF II funds are beneficial for college students because of the challenges COVID-19 has brought.

   Many students take out loans to pay for the cost of attending a university, but the HEERF II is intended to relieve this strain.

  “It would be extremely helpful because with COVID, it’s been harder to work and that means less money and less money to pay for tuition, for housing and for every college costs there is, so that extra little bit would definitely go a long way,” Gamblin said.