Emergency Financial Assistance for Students
Emergency Assistance provides support to hard-working students facing unforeseen financial hardships or financial emergencies, so they have the resources they need to stay in school.
- Student must be currently enrolled at WNMU and attending class
- Student must be degree/certificate seeking in an undergraduate program
- Maintain a 2.0 GPA
- Provide documented facts confirming emergency (What is an emergency? Examples include: medicine for a sick dependent, mechanical issue that will keep student from having transportation to and from school, loss of home in fire or some other unforeseen circumstance, medical crisis without insurance)
- Receipt for medicine
- Quote from repair shop for auto repairs
- Report for lost home and itemized list of items to be purchased
- Application must be complete; details provided in additional information and cannot only say “N/A” or “None”
Emergency Funds May NOT:
- be used to cover school expenses (parking, fines, tuition, books, supplies, required tools/ equipment, etc. )
- be used to pay prior balances owed to the school
- for expenses that are considered recurring
- be released without a completed application and supporting documentation
NOTE: Applications are approved depending on availability of funding. Meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee approval of your application.
What you need to know
To receive the Emergency Aid Grant, you must:
- be enrolled at WNMU.
- be an undergraduate.
- have at least a 2.0 GPA and be in Academic Good Standing with no probation
- have an unexpected emergency expense.
- have reason to believe that your unexpected emergency expense will impede your academics in some way.
- provide an invoice from the business you owe.
With the Emergency Aid Grant, you cannot:
- seek to pay school expenses.
- pay a reoccurring bill.
- receive money unless you demonstrate that you will be able to pay the bill in full using the provided aid.
An emergency in this case is any situation that may prevent you from completing your academics for the semester. Examples include:
- An unexpected car problem that prevents you from making it to class. (A bill for regular car maintenance does not count.)
- A visit to the hospital that impacts you enough financially that you’d be unable to pay your tuition.
The amount of emergency aid you receive depends on the case. You are eligible to receive up to $500, although if the invoice indicates that your situation can be resolved with less, that amount will be paid.
No. You are allotted $500 for the lifetime of the program. So, if a situation requires $200 to resolve, then you would still have $300 to aid you in a different situation.
As long as you will be able to pay the invoice in full with the aid, you will receive the aid.
Example: You have an invoice for $862.92. If you can pay the $362.92 balance, you may receive $500. If you can only pay $200 toward the total due, the maximum amount of aid will still not enable you to the pay in full, so you will not receive aid.
A committee will meet to review your application and determine your eligibility. They will also discuss and share with you some other avenues of help you can pursue.
Because the committee will make their decision based on what you include in the application, it is important that you provide as much detail possible. Explain why this is an unexpected emergency and how it will impact your academics.
Once you apply, a committee will meet and notify you whether your application was approved or rejected. If you have not received communication within three business days, please contact the Department of Student Life for follow up.
No. The Emergency Aid Grant is intended to help students continue their studies at Western New Mexico University by preventing situations out of students’ control from damaging their grades or forcing them to drop out. As such, this aid is not a loan and will not need to be paid back to WNMU.
You must contact the Center for Student Success for an interview before you can fill out the application.
Please see below in the How to Apply section for instructions.
How to Apply
- Please review the FAQ information above. The Emergency Aid Grant is for students who meet certain criteria. If you do not qualify, your application will be rejected. For questions, please contact the Department of Student Life: 575.538.6905 or css@wnmu.edu.
- Fill out the application here.
- Please remember to complete the application honestly, to provide details about your unexpected emergency and to describe how the situation might impact your academics. The application will also require an invoice from the business you owe. If there is no invoice attached, your application will be rejected.
- Once you apply, a committee will meet and notify you whether your application was approved or rejected. If you have not received communication within three business days, please contact the Department of Student Life for follow up.
- Important: You are not guaranteed funding. Do not promise anyone the funds or purchase ahead of time, in the case that you are not approved the funds
Have questions?
Stop by the Student Life Dept’s Center for Student Success in the Student Life Lounge (3rdfloor SMB), or call 575-538-6905 to schedule an appointment (in person, telephone, or via zoom), or email us at css@wnmu.edu.