More than 1,300 students on Kansas University’s Lawrence campus will be getting a $1,000 holiday gift from KU for the spring semester.

One-time Jayhawk Assistance Grants are being paid for with federal stimulus dollars. The grants are being given to students facing the greatest challenges in affording college, as determined by their federal student aid application forms.

Eligible students include those with an expected family contribution of $10,000 or less and an unmet need of $12,000 or higher after gift aid. Students must also meet other financial aid requirements.

Jack Martin, a KU spokesman, said the university’s financial aid staff used a formula to devise a

“They still have a significant portion of their education that they’re paying for through work or other means,” he said.

An additional 150 grants are being distributed to students at the KU Medical Center.

The $1,000 grants will be credited to students’ accounts in early January. If students have already paid their tuition bills, then the $1,000 would be reimbursed to them.

KU administrators made the decision to use some stimulus dollars to directly benefit students with the most need, while other Kansas universities are using the money in other ways.

At Fort Hays State University, the school is using stimulus money to pay back $5 for every credit a student earns with a grade of “C” or higher. Pittsburg State University used $375,000 in federal stimulus money to provide an across-the-board $50 reduction in tuition for all in-state students.

Kansas State University chose to use its funds to provide need-based grants to students in unusual financial situations, with amounts differing based on an individual student’s need.

KU students have been notified of the award through e-mail, and students may check their financial status in the online Enroll and Pay system to see if they’ve received the award.

“The recession has made this a trying time for the university, but it has had an even greater effect on many of our students and their families,” Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said in a statement. “Some students have seen their parents lose their jobs, while they themselves may have seen their own working hours cut back.”

Only in-state students are eligible, because the funds are being drawn from Kansas’ share of federal stimulus dollars.

KU encouraged students who encounter unexpected difficulties in affording college — such as the loss of financial support from a parent — to contact the school’s Office of Financial Aid at any time to see if additional assistance is available.