OPAIC has been providing financial support to students facing hardship due to Covid-19, through two rounds of funding this year.

Applications for our first round of Financial Hardship Support opened in March and we launched a second round of support during the August lockdown.

In total 154 students have had discussions with our Student Success Team about hardship funds and received additional information and application forms. Of those students, 55 applied for the funding.

We approved 31 grants for 22 students (as some applied more than once). We helped out students who had lost their jobs due to Covid-19, including some who had families to support.

Student feedback has been positive. We recently sent a survey to those who were granted funds. They said they were appreciative of how supportive the OPAIC team had been when they were in need.

Here’s what some of our students had to say:

• “I have benefited from this support as it came at a time where I lost my job and was in deep need of help and support. The team were really supportive and I received the funds fast. I thank you for your help in my time of need.”
• “I had benefited in multiple perspectives through this support. It provided a mental relief at that time and I could easily focus on study. I purchased some groceries and paid rent for two weeks. It was a big support financially and mentally. I will never forget this support in my entire life.”
• “That support was very helpful for that difficult time. I spent the Financial Hardship Support for my room payment.”

We are continuing to financially support students. Feel free to reach out to Student Success on Level 1 or at studentsuccessaic@op.ac.nz if you are in a difficult financial situation.