Higher Education Emergency Relief
Funds III (HEERF III) created under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP).
The ARP appropriated approximately
$39.6 billion for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF). The
coronavirus relief funding was signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021.
Laredo College is pleased to
announced that it has received a funding allocation of $13.3 million in
American Rescue Plan under the HEERF funds to provide emergency aid grants for
students.
HEERF III emergency funds may be
used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency
costs that arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as tuition,
housing, food, health care (including mental health care) or childcare.
The ARP funds will be distributed to
eligible students that meet certain criteria set by the Department of
Education. Laredo College will prioritize students with exceptional need, such as students who receive Federal Pell Grants,
SEOG in awarding (HEERF II) grants to students; beyond PELL eligibility such as
loss of employment, reduced income, or food or housing insecurity. These grants
will be used to assist Title IV and Non-Title IV eligible students due to the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
ARP funds has two new required uses
of HEERF III- Implement evidence-based to monitor and suppress coronavirus in
accordance with public health guidelines and conduct direct outreach to financial
aid applicants about the opportunity to receive a financial aid adjustment due to
the recent unemployment of a family member or independent student.
Eligible students will meet the
following requirements:
- Students must have been enrolled at least one credit
hour on or after March 13, 2020
- Demonstrate exceptional financial need
Financial Hardship Allowable
Expenses:
- Any component of cost of attendance
- Tuition
- Books
- Lack of educational support
(including technology)
- Food
- Housing Health Care Child Care
- Transportation & Personal
Expenses
Laredo College Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund
Report
1. An
acknowledgement that the institution signed and returned to the Department the
Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or
intends to use, at least 50 percent of an institution total allotment must go
to student grants.
2. The total amount of
funds that the institution will receive or has received from the Department
pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement [for] Emergency
Financial Aid Grants to Students under the American Rescue Plan (ARP).
- Laredo College has received the
U.S. Department of Education Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds
(HEERF) under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), Laredo College received a
total amount $26,538,441.00 of which $13,383,222.00 or more will be
distributed to eligible
students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. The total
amount of Supplemental Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF III)
distributed to students under Section 314(a)(1) of the HEERF III (ARP) as of
the date of submission (i.e., as of the 30-day Report and every 45 days
thereafter).
- As of 06/2021, Laredo College
has distributed $2,617,678.00.
- As of 07/2021, Laredo College has distributed $1,022,928.00.
- As of 08/2021, Laredo College has distributed $2,222,453.00.
- As of 09/2021, Laredo College has distributed $1,710,500.00.
- As of 11/2021, Laredo College has distributed $4,890,100.00.
- As of 12/2021, Laredo College has distributed $919,563.00.
4. The
estimated total number of students at the institution eligible to participate
under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) Funding to students under Section
314(a)(1) of the HEERF III.
- Laredo College has identified
approximately 22,791 eligible students to receive the ARP Act
Funding.
5. The total
number of students who have received the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) Funding
(HEERF III) to students under Section 314(a)(1).
- Out of 22,791 eligible students 15,011 have received Emergency Financial Aid Grant.
6. The method(s) used by the institution to determine which
students receive the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) (HEERF III) and how
much they would receive under Section 314(a)(1) of the HEERF III (ARP). As
required by ARP, Laredo College prioritize students with exceptional
need.
- Laredo College awarded:
- From $100 - $1,700 based on exceptional need and fund availability.
7. Any instructions,
directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the
Emergency Financial Aid Grants.
- Laredo College created a HEERF
Funds website dedicated to provide up-to-date HEERF Act Funding
information to Laredo College students and community.
Emergency Financial Aid Grant to Students
Questions
1. Question: Which students are
eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants?
Answer: As announced in
the Department’s final rule, the term “student,” for purposes of the phrases
“grants to students,” “emergency financial aid grants to students,” and
“financial aid grants to students” as used in the HEERF programs, is now
defined as any individual who is or was enrolled (as defined in 34 CFR § 668.2)
at an eligible institution (as defined in 34 CFR § 600.2) on or after March 13,
2020, the date of declaration of the national emergency due to the coronavirus
(85 FR 15337). Thus, students are no longer required to be eligible for Title IV
student financial aid in order to receive HEERF grants to students.
Put more plainly, students who are
or were enrolled in an institution of higher education during the COVID-19
national emergency are eligible for emergency financial aid grants from the
HEERF, regardless of whether they completed a Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) or are eligible for Title IV. As under the CRRSAA,
institutions are directed with the ARP funds to prioritize students with exceptional
need, such as students who receive Pell Grants or are undergraduates with
extraordinary financial circumstances in awarding emergency financial aid
grants to students.
Beyond Pell eligibility, other
types of exceptional need could include students who may be eligible for other federal
or state need-based aid or have faced significant unexpected expenses, such as
the loss of employment (either for themselves or their families), reduced
income, or food or housing insecurity. In addition, the CRRSAA and ARP
explicitly state that emergency financial aid grants to students may be
provided to students exclusively enrolled in distance education.
2. Question: May undocumented
students and international students receive HEERF?
Answer: Yes. The Department’s
final rule on student eligibility for HEERF states that all students who are or
were enrolled in an institution of higher education during the COVID-19
national emergency are eligible for emergency financial aid grants from the
HEERF, regardless of whether they completed a FAFSA or are eligible for Title
IV. That includes citizens, permanent residents, refugees, asylum seekers,
Deferred Action for 8
Childhood Arrival
(DACA) recipients, other DREAMers, and similar undocumented students.
International students may also
receive HEERF. However, as noted in Questions 11 and 12, institutions must
ensure that funds go to students who have exceptional need. The
Department encourages institutions to prioritize domestic students, especially
undergraduates, in allocating this funding. This includes citizens, permanent
residents, refugees, asylum seekers, DACA recipients, other DREAMers, and
similar undocumented students.
3. Question: Can students who
are studying abroad receive HEERF emergency financial aid grants?
Answer: Yes. Students
studying abroad may receive HEERF emergency financial aid grants from the
recipient institution where they are enrolled. These students must meet the
criteria based on prioritizing exceptional need that the institution has
established for distributing its HEERF emergency financial aid grants.
4. Question: What civil rights
requirements must institutions comply with when distributing emergency financial
aid grants to students under the HEERF programs?
Answer: HEERF grantees
must not distribute student emergency financial aid grants in a manner that
discriminates against individuals on the basis of race, color, national origin,
disability, or sex. See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., (Title VI), 29 U.S.C.
§ 701 et seq. (Rehabilitation Act), 20 U.S.C. § 1681 (Title IX).
5. Question: What are the
requirements for making emergency financial aid grants to students?
Answer: Students who are
or were enrolled in an institution of higher education on or after the date of
the declaration of the national emergency due to the coronavirus (March 13,
2020) are eligible for emergency financial aid grants from the HEERF,
regardless of whether they completed a FAFSA or are eligible for Title IV. The
CRRSAA requires that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need,
such as students who receive Pell Grants or are undergraduates with
extraordinary financial circumstances, in awarding emergency financial aid grants
to students.
Beyond Pell eligibility, other
types of exceptional need could include students who may be eligible for other
federal or state need-based aid or have faced significant unexpected expenses
either for themselves or that would affect their financial circumstances, such
as the loss of employment, reduced income, or food or housing insecurity. In
addition, the CRRSAA explicitly states that emergency financial aid grants to
students may be provided to students exclusively enrolled in distance education
provided they have exceptional need.
The Department encourages
institutions to prioritize domestic students, especially undergraduates, in
allocating this funding. Domestic students include citizens, permanent 9 residents,
refugees, asylum seekers, DACA recipients, other DREAMers, and similar
undocumented students.
Institutions may not (1) condition
the receipt of emergency financial aid grants to students on continued or
future enrollment in the institution, (2) use the emergency financial aid
grants to satisfy a student’s outstanding account balance, unless it has
obtained the student’s written (or electronic), affirmative consent, or (3)
require such consent as a condition of receipt of or eligibility for the
emergency financial aid grant.
Institutions should carefully
document how they prioritize students with exceptional need in distributing
emergency financial aid grants to students, as the Department is exploring
reporting requirements regarding the distribution of emergency financial aid
grants to students (see 2 CFR § 200.334).
6. Question: When might the
Department determine that an institution has failed to prioritize emergency
financial aid grants to students with exceptional need?
Answer: The Department
will make an individualized determination about whether an institution failed
to prioritize emergency financial aid grants to students with exceptional
need. The Department may determine an institution has failed to do so if
the institution established preconditions for students to receive emergency
financial aid grants (e.g., (1) establishing a minimum GPA, (2) imposing other
academic or athletic performance or good standing requirements, (3) requiring
continued enrollment in the institution or (4) required the student to first
pay any outstanding debt or balance) that results in failure to prioritize
students with exceptional need.
7. Question: How may students
use their emergency financial aid grants?
Answer: Emergency
financial aid grants may be used by students for any component of their cost of
attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as
tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or child
care. Students determine how they may use their emergency financial aid grant
within the allowable uses.
8. Question: Can an institution
direct or control what students may use their emergency financial aid grants
on?
Answer: No. The student
emergency financial aid grant is provided to the student, and may be used by
the student for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for
emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing,
health care (including mental health care), or child care.
For example, as described in
Questions 11 and 12, institutions may not compel a student to use a portion of
their grants to satisfy any existing debts or balance. 10
9. Question: Are emergency
financial aid grants to students under the HEERF program considered taxable
income?
Answer: No. Emergency
financial aid grants made by a federal agency, State, Indian tribe, higher
education institution or scholarship-granting organization (including a tribal
organization) to a student because of an event related to the COVID-19 national
emergency are not included in the student's gross income. For more information,
please see the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) bulletin Emergency aid granted to
students due to COVID is not taxable (March 30, 2021).
10. Question: Should
institutions include a student’s receipt of a HEERF emergency financial aid
grant when calculating that student’s Expected Family Contribution?
Answer: As stated in the
Department’s April 3, 2020 Electronic Announcement, “[a]ny aid (in the form of
grants or low-interest loans) received by victims of an emergency from a
federal or state entity for the purpose of providing financial relief is not
counted as income for calculating a family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
under the Federal Methodology or as estimated financial assistance for
packaging purposes.” As such, any HEERF emergency financial aid grant received
by a student under the CARES Act, CRRSAA, or ARP should not be counted as income
when calculating a family’s EFC.
11. Question: Can institutions
include the amount of a HEERF student emergency financial aid grant in
students’ financial aid award package?
Answer: No, these
emergency financial aid grants are not financial aid. As always, students have
discretion about how they receive their grants, and institutions must receive
affirmative written consent from students before using emergency financial aid
grants to satisfy a student’s outstanding account balance. Additionally, as described
in Question 27, institutions may not use HEERF grant funds to advertise or
recruit students by promoting the opportunity to receive a student emergency
financial aid grant.
12. Question: What steps can my
institution take if a student does not cash a check issued for student’s
emergency financial aid grant?
Answer: If a student does
not cash their emergency financial aid grant check by a reasonable date, the
institution may choose to void the check and redistribute the funds to other
students by the end of their HEERF grant performance period. Institutions
should engage in reasonable attempts to contact a student prior to voiding a
check for an emergency financial aid grant and should document the procedures,
policies, and general student contact efforts made and followed as part of
their administration of their HEERF grants.
Please see Question 19 of the Higher
Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Rollup
Document for more details as to how institutions may distribute the emergency
financial aid grants to students, if not applying directly it to a student’s
account after obtaining the student’s written (or electronic), affirmative
consent.
13. Question: Can my institution
use HEERF grant funds for students (ALNs 84.425E or 84.425Q) to recover
stop-payment fees incurred due to voided and re-issued student financial aid
checks that were lost or never received by the student?
Answer: No. Stop-payment fees on checks that were lost or never
received by the student are administrative costs associated with administering
the Student Aid Portion award. Such administrative costs are not allowable
expenses under the ARP (a)(1) Student Aid Portion and (a)(4) grants since all
those funds must be distributed to students as emergency financial aid grants.
However, stop payment fees may be an allowable expenditure under the HEERF
(a)(1) Institutional Portion grant provided the fees are reasonable.
Please check your LC Email and/or
the Financial Aid Website: http://www.laredo.edu/cms/fa/ for details and updates. In addition, stay tuned for communications from Laredo
College regarding the distribution of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund
(HEERF) Grants.
For further information or
questions, please email finaid@laredo.edu or call 956-721-5361/956-794-4360.