CARES Act, CRRSA Act and ARP: Emergency Grants to UIndy Students

Overview

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (HEERF I), CRRSA Act (HEERF II) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) (HEERF III) allocated funds to the University to be used for emergency grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations as a result of the coronavirus. The University received $2,451,072, $2,451,072 and $6,920,577 under HEERF I, HEERF II and HEERF III respectively.

The Certification and Agreement Form was signed and submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. UIndy will use the applicable amount of funds designated under the CARES Act, CRRSAA, and ARP programs to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.

These Emergency Financial Aid Grants are non-renewable cash awards given directly to students for expenses such as, but not limited to, food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child care (as required by the CARES Act). Under the CRRSAA and ARP, the 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 and are provided to students as cash awards or, with the student’s consent,  applied to the student’s outstanding account balance with UIndy.

Student Eligibility Criteria

Under the CARES Act, a student must meet all of the following criteria.

  • Eligible for Title IV funds (approximately 4,040 Title IV eligible during the 2019-20 academic year). This means the student must have filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the financial aid office must certify that the student is eligible based on federal guidelines:
    • US Citizen or permanent resident [DACA and International students are not eligible]

    • Maintained Satisfactory Academic Progress

    • Completed verification including resolution of all “C” code discrepancies of the FAFSA data, if required, and received an award letter 

  • Enrolled as of March 27, 2020 for the 2019-2020 academic year (incoming freshmen are not eligible)

  • Students enrolled exclusively in online courses before March 27, 2020 are not eligible.

  • Under CRRSA and ARP, a student must have been enrolled after March 27, 2020.  All other restrictions were removed. Approximately 5,200 students were eligible during the 2021-22 academic year based on this.

Application Process

Students complete an application online to be considered for an Emergency Financial Aid Grant. Students were notified of the availability of the online application via university email. The email and online application included instructions, directions, and guidance on the application and awarding process. The application asks applicants to provide basic demographic and contact information, to check that they understand the use of the funds, and for them to check whether they want funds applied directly to their UIndy accounts. The application also explains how applications will be reviewed and grants will be awarded.

Applications are reviewed as they are received. Applications from students with exceptional financial need, such as those students who receive Pell Grants, those who may be eligible for other federal or state need-based aid, or undergraduates who have faced significant unexpected expenses will be prioritized and given preference in the awarding of emergency financial aid grants. The application gives students the opportunity to document how COVID-19 created significant unexpected expenses or exceptional need due to the impact of COVID. 

Grant amounts vary depending on the amount requested by the student, prioritization and evaluation of exceptional need, and available funds. The amount will be determined by the Office of Financial Aid based on the application submitted and the explanation of exceptional need and/or significant unexpected expenses provided by the applicant.

Expenses That Can Be Funded

The CARES Act requires the university to provide cash grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus pandemic for expenses such as, but not limited to, food, housing, course materials, technology, child care and health care.

The university may reimburse itself for emergency grants to students that meet the same eligibility criteria as the HEERF grant funds and that were funded by university dollars on or after March 27, 2020.

Under the CRRSAA and ARP, the 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.

Grants Awarded to Date

The table below summarizes the total grants awarded by UIndy.

 

Total Amount and Number of Students
Date Total Amount Number of Students

As of March 31, 2022
All remaining ARP (HEERF III) funding was spent during this quarterly reporting period

$436,963.49

 222

As of December 31, 2021
No additional funding spent from ARP (HEERF III) during this quarterly reporting period

 $0

 0

As of September 30, 2021
Funding spent from ARP (HEERF III)

 $6,338,194.38

 1,749

As of June 30, 2021
Final Report: HEERF II student funding has been spent. HEERF III still active.

$2,609,138.08

876

As of October 6, 2020
Final Report: All HEERF 18004(a)(1) student funding has been spent.

$2,451,072

 1,445

As of September 15, 2020

$2,449,772

1,445

As of August 6, 2020

$2,392,958

1,388

As of June 26, 2020

$2,182,146

1,312

As of May 13, 2020

$825,370

553