The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (SEAA) is an agency of the State of North Carolina and is authorized by the General Assembly to administer post-secondary education programs of student financial assistance created under Federal or State law.

North Carolina General Statute 116B-7 provides that the interest earnings from the Escheat Fund, minus administrative expenses, be deposited with the SEAA. The law further provides that this money will be utilized to provide grants and low interest loans to worthy and needy North Carolina students in State-supported schools of higher education.

The General Assembly appropriated $60 million from the Escheat Fund in total to the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina, the State Board of Community Colleges, and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. This funding provided more than $37 million in educational assistance to those in the University system, $16 million to those in the Community College system, and $6.5 million to the Veterans Scholarship Program in the 2017-2018 fiscal year.