Hats off to Northern Michigan University for putting forth a program that will help what may turn out to be a substantial number of students whose finances have been strained by the COVID-19 pandemic.

NMU is making available what is being termed emergency grants in the amount of $700 to students who qualify.

The money, according to a Mining Journal story, can be used to cover food, housing and utilities, course materials, technology expenses, child care and other expenses.

NMU is using its share of the recently approved CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund monies for this purpose, the Journal story states.

“Our goal is to make this funding available to as many eligible students as possible,” NMU President Fritz Erickson said in a news release. “We hope this assists those who are in financial need due to the pandemic, and that it helps students recover unexpected costs.”

In terms of qualifications, there are a handful of hoops students will have to jump through to actually receive funds, but all seen manageable and reasonable.

To qualify for the grants, students must be eligible to receive Federal Title IV financial aid programs such as Pell Grants, direct loans or federal work-study. They need to have been enrolled for the winter 2020 semester in courses not offered exclusively online prior to the start of the COVID-19 crisis.

Students must also have filed a 2019-20 or 2020-21 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, so NMU encourages eligible students to complete that as soon as possible if they haven’t already.

We urge all eligible NMU students to investigate this program. Will $700 solve all of their financial problems? Probably not. But it will help a good number of them and is therefore worth checking out.