Middle-class students at California’s public universities will likely feel a tinge of financial relief in the near future, as a new state programs designed to offer aid to families making up to $150,000 annually kicks off.

About 156,000 undergraduates throughout the state will receive tuition grants over the next month, up to $1,450 for UC students and $650 for Cal-State enrollees.

The program is designed partly to help students whose families make between $80,000 and $150,000 per year. Families of this income bracket find themselves too wealthy to qualify for the variety of grants that low income students can benefit, but not wealthy enough to pay for college outright.

READ MORE: In California, A Fight For Public Education

Families on the upper end of the pay scale would receive proportionally less than those on the lower end, but the program ultimately hopes to eventually cover almost 40 percent of the state tuition by 2017—if promised state funding comes through.

It’s a small start, but it’s good to know that state legislators are at least trying to combat the mounting student debt crisis. Right now, the average graduate holds about $30,000 of debt, totaling nationwide to about $1 trillion dollars.

Contact Staff Reporter Matthew Tinoco here. Follow him on Twitter.