Regents' Higher Education Opportunity Award (Nevada Student Access Aid)
Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Board of Regents; awarded by each NSHE college
Nevada's largest state student aid pool: mostly need-based grants (plus some scholarships and work study) that every NSHE college awards from state and registration-fee funds, based on the FAFSA.
- How much
- Varies by college; each NSHE institution sets its own award amounts (no statewide amount published)
- Who qualifies
- Enrolled at an NSHE institution; mostly need-based; eligibility ends at 150% of the program's required credits; amounts and criteria set by each campus.
- For students starting college, undergrads, grad students, adults going back to school, transfer students, trade school students
- Partly need-based: your FAFSA can affect whether you get it or how much.
- When to apply
- Apply any time FAFSA-driven; each NSHE college sets its own priority dates (file the FAFSA soon after it opens around October 1).
- How to apply
- File the FAFSA and complete your NSHE college's financial aid requirements (some campuses also use a campus scholarship application)
- The college's financial aid office decides and packages Access awards
- What you'll need
- FAFSA only
- Last checked
- October 5, 2026, against the official page (nshe.nevada.edu), page 2 and page 3
The details
Board of Regents policy (Handbook Title 4, Ch. 18, Sec. 8) dedicates a share of registration fees plus state appropriations as 'Student Access Funds'; awards made from them are named the Regents' Higher Education Opportunity Award (commonly 'Access' grants). At least 80% of state-funded Access money and at least 80% of fee-generated undergraduate money must go to need-based aid; the rest may fund scholarships, non-need grants and work study. Eligibility for state-funded and fee-generated Access aid ends at 150% of the credits required for the program (federal satisfactory academic progress rules, with an appeals process). Each NSHE institution (UNLV, UNR, Nevada State University, CSN, TMCC, GBC, WNC) sets its own award amounts and criteria. In 2024-25, Access aid reached about 29,000 students from fee-generated funds and about 6,300 from state operating funds (duplicated headcount), $74.9 million in total.
More money from Nevada
- Silver State Opportunity Grant (SSOG)Up to $5,500 per year (up to $4,400 per year at 12 credits per semester; prorated below 15 credits)
- Governor Guinn Millennium Scholarship (GGMS)Up to $10,000 total; $40 (lower division)/$60 (upper division) per credit at NSHE community colleges, $60 per credit at Nevada State University, $80 per credit at all other eligible institutions; up to 15 credits each semester
- Nevada Promise Scholarship (NPS)Up to three years of community college registration fees and mandatory fees not covered by other gift aid (last-dollar)
Keep looking
- Answer a few questions to see every program you qualify for
- Nearby states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah
- Federal aid and national scholarships (open to students in any state)
- The FAFSA in plain English (2027-28)
- Should I file the FAFSA if I don't think I'll qualify?
- FAFSA deadlines by state (2027-28)
- The FAFSA for parents: what you need to do
- How to save on textbooks: free, rented and cheaper options
We list programs; we don't decide who gets them. Always check the official page before you apply. Spot something wrong? Tell us.