Eligible students at the Community College of Aurora (CCA) who encounter unexpected financial challenges will soon have a new resource to assist with emergency expenses.

The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) has named the college as a recipient of a $10,000 grant to provide emergency financial support directly to students. This support will help them address urgent needs, such as housing, food, transportation, car repairs and unexpected medical expenses.

More than 300 colleges and universities applied for the grant, with only the top five selected.

CCA joins four other higher education institutions — Grambling State University, LaGuardia Community College, South Louisiana Community College and University of Houston-Downtown — that will get the grant money.

“As living expenses continue to rise, ensuring basic needs support remains essential to making socioeconomic mobility through education a reality,” said Andrea Rascón, CCA Project Coordinator for the Office of Student Advocacy. “NASPA’s Emergency Aid Microgrant will expand the Division of Student Success’ capacity to deliver timely assistance to students facing emergency situations, helping them stay enrolled and on track.”

A survey conducted by NASPA in March said one in five students shared they could probably not come up or certainly could not come up with $500 in the next month should a financial emergency arise.

The grant is part of NASPA’s national effort to strengthen college retention by addressing non-academic barriers that disproportionately affect low-income and first-generation students.

CCA officials said the college will use the funds to expand its emergency aid resources.

“This microgrant underscores CCA’s ongoing commitment to fostering a supportive academic environment where students can persist and thrive, regardless of life’s unpredictable challenges,” Rascón added.

The Community College of Aurora is a two-year public, open-access institution located in Aurora and is one of 13 community colleges in the Colorado Community College System. With an enrollment of more than 11,000 students, the college offers 72 degree and certificate programs.