ARP (HEERF III)

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) passed an additional round of emergency funding to assist college students with the financial impact related to the pandemic.

SUNY Corning Community College received $3,440,901 through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) to be disbursed in the form of emergency grants to students.

Campus Plan

Purpose

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III), created under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), authorizes SUNY Corning Community College to award emergency grants to eligible students that can be used for any component of a 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.

SUNY Corning Community College was allocated $3,440,901 in federal funds under HEERF III or ARP for the exclusive purpose of providing financial aid grants to students, and colleges must continue “to prioritize students with exceptional need, such as students who receive Pell Grants or are undergraduates with extraordinary financial circumstances.”  More information about the student portion of HEERF III and ARP can be found on the following websites:

ARP: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerfiiistudent.html
FAQ: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/arpfaq.pdf
Supplemental Agreement: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/arpheerfiiisupplementa1student.pdf
Allocations: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/arpa1allocationtable.pdf
NASFAAA: https://www.nasfaa.org/heerf_iii

This document establishes a campus plan to award Federal Stimulus Grants under HEERF III and ARP in accordance with ED Guidance, the Supplemental Agreement, SUNY Guidance (see HEERF III Appendix 1), SUNY Template (see HEERF III Appendix 2), and all applicable laws as of August 23, 2021. It was drafted by a Workgroup of representatives from Financial Aid, Student Accounts, Enrollment Operations, Registrar, Student Support Services, and the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Workgroup Members

Shalena Clary- Senior Director of Financial Aid

Tara Bauman- Financial Aid Counselor

Bernadette Wesolowski- Bursar

Loretta Hendrickson- Registrar

Paul Andrews- Associate Dean of Student Affairs

Chris Kull- Director of Enrollment Operations

Susan Chandler- Executive Director of Finance

Stacy Johnson- Assistant Dean of Student Services

Plan

SUNY Corning Community College awards Federal Stimulus Grants to every matriculated student enrolled in the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters per SUNY Guidance and SUNY Template (see Appendix 1 & Appendix 2). The grant amount awarded to each eligible student is determined based upon a combination of level EFC range (levels 1 to 5) and enrollment status (full-time versus part-time). Higher grant amounts are awarded to students with higher financial need based upon the prescribed SUNY Template. Below are the grant amounts for each combination of these two factors for the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters:

Per SUNY Guidance and SUNY Template (see Appendix 1 & Appendix 2), a minimum of 80% of the total federal allocation is awarded as a block grant to every eligible student with an EFC of $14,615 or less (2.5 times the 2021-22 Pell threshold of $5,846). A maximum of 20% of the total federal allocation is awarded as a block grant to other eligible students via the grant application. SUNY CCC plans to award these block grants to matriculated eligible students during the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters according to the following fiscal plan:

Grant recipients are notified of their Federal Stimulus Grant via their college email account (see Email Notification). By default, the entire grant amount is refunded to a student via their BankMobile refund preference irrespective of any outstanding account balance with the college. Within the email notification, there are directions on how students can use the grant money to pay any outstanding balance at the college for fall or spring semester.

A small amount of the budget allocated to each semester may remain available after all eligible students that fall into the SUNY defined EFC range have been awarded a Federal Stimulus Grant in a semester. Additional federal funds may also become available due to returned refunds from BankMobile (ex. returned checks) and due to additional federal allocations.  To be considered for this portion of the funding, the enrolled student will need to complete a grant application

Corning plans to start to award fall 2021 eligible students and refund the majority of Federal Stimulus Grants at the beginning of October for Fall 2021 (>=September 27).  For Spring 2022, will award eligible students and refund the majority of Federal Stimulus Grants at the beginning of March (>=February 28 for Spring 2022) and expend entire Spring 2022 portion of the federal allocation by the end the semester.

Definitions

The award term is defined as the term assigned to the Federal Stimulus Grant in the college information system for disbursement. For example, Federal Stimulus Grants disbursed to the Fall 2021 term would have an award term of Fall 2021.

The EFC Ranges are the following:

Level 1: $0 to $2,923
Level 2: $2,924 to $5,846
Level 3: $5,847 to $8,769
Level 4: $8,770 to $11,692
Level 5: $11,693 to $14,615

At the time of the Federal Stimulus Grant notification and disbursement, the student must have been matriculated and registered in coursework after census date for the award term of the Federal Stimulus Grant (>=September 27 for Fall 2021 and >=February 28 for Spring 2022).
For grant amounts based upon EFC, at the time of Federal Stimulus Grant notification and disbursement, student must have an EFC as determined by a valid FAFSA on file (i.e., non-rejected FAFSA) for the award term of the Federal Stimulus Grant.
For grant amounts based upon EFC, eligible students do not need to satisfy all criteria for being eligible for Title IV financial aid. They must satisfy all Title IV financial aid eligibility criteria that are required to generate an EFC from a valid FAFSA (i.e., non-rejected FAFSA).
Enrollment status is based upon the number of billed.  Full-time is defined as 12 credits or more and part-time as less than 12 credits.

Allowable expenses are defined as any component of a student’s cost of attendance or emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or child care.

Original award date is defined as the start date of the first round of Federal Stimulus Grants for the award term. This is the date that data is captured to determine student eligibility.

According to federal regulations (Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)) a student is eligible for federal Title IV financial aid if all of the following criteria are met:

  • Be enrolled in a degree, certificate or other recognized educational credential (including a program of study abroad approved for credit by the eligible institution at which such student is enrolled)--that is, a regular student under 34 CFR 600.2);
  • Not be enrolled in elementary or secondary school and have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent;
  • Be maintaining satisfactory academic progress (SAP);
  • Not owe an overpayment (refund) on Title IV grants;
  • Not be in default on a Title IV loan;
  • File with ED “as part of the original financial aid application process” a certification (Statement of Educational Purpose) that includes: a) A statement of educational purpose, and b) The student’s Social Security Number (SSN);
  • Be a U.S citizen or national, a permanent resident, or an eligible noncitizen;
    Have returned any fraudulently obtained Title IV funds, if the student is convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to charges;
  • Not have fraudulently received Title IV loans in excess of annual or aggregate limits;
  • Have repaid any Title IV loan overpayment amounts in excess of annual or aggregate limits, if obtained inadvertently;
  • Have a valid SSN, except for residents of the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau; and
  • Not have a federal or state conviction for drug possession or sale, with certain time limitations.
    Responsibilities

Financial Aid: Manages the implementation of the Federal Stimulus Grant program. Establishes the grant amount for each eligible student. Notifies each eligible student of their grant amount and allowable expenses. 
Student Accounts: Based on eligible list of students and dollar amounts provided by Financial Aid, appropriate AR Detail codes to each student’s account on TSAAREV in order to generate a refund for the entire amount of the Federal Stimulus Grant.
Financial Aid and Student Accounts will reconcile awarded versus disbursed funds.

Procedures

(Block Grant portion of Grant for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022)  Financial Aid utilized Clearance Report in Argos to determine eligibility of students based on billable credit hours, FAFSA status, and EFC.  Financial Aid Office notifies each eligible student of their Federal Stimulus Grant via their college email account. This email also notifies each grant recipient of the allowable expenses and informs students to notify the Financial Aid Office immediately if they will not incur expenses that meet or exceed the amount of their Federal Stimulus Grant.

Student Accounts temporarily adjusts standard operations to ensure that all Federal Stimulus Grant refunds are sent to BankMobile separately and not mixed in with other title iv and state  refunds. The refund process for the Federal Stimulus Grant is run on a separate day of the week from the other refunds.  
Student Accounts “CARES Grant Refund Returns” procedure for all uncashed or returned refund checks from BankMobile. This procedure includes additional outreach to students with uncashed or returned refund checks, establishes a reasonable time for the student to claim the refund, and includes email notifications regarding a deadline for a response to avoid the loss of the Federal Stimulus Grant.

(Application portion of Grant Funding) Financial Aid Office will send email to all enrolled students in credit bearing classes as well as non-credit students enrolled in career programs who DID not receive block grant that they are eligible to apply for an American Rescue Plan Emergency Grant up to $1,500.  This email will be sent the last week of March and application will remain open until remaining balance of ARP has been exhausted.
Student Account process will be the same as above for the application portion of the grant.

Email Notification

Below is a copy of the Federal Stimulus Grant email notification sent to students for those eligible for the Block Grant.

Subject: SUNY Corning Community College Federal Stimulus Grants

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, funds have been made available through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act to award emergency grants to students for expenses related to any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus. Eligible expenses include tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), or childcare.

The Campus has deemed you eligible to receive a Federal Stimulus Grant in the amount of $XXX.
This amount will be refunded to your BankMobile refund preference irrespective of any outstanding account balance with the college. If you have one of the electronic means of refunding with BankMobile (direct deposit into a checking account or VIBE Account), we anticipate these funds will be deposited in your account within two weeks.
This is not a loan and will not need to be paid back and will not affect your financial aid award amounts for academic year 2021–2022.
It is your responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office immediately (caresact@corning-cc.edu) if you will not incur expenses that meet or exceed the amount of your Federal Stimulus Grant.

Below is a copy of the Federal Stimulus Grant email notification sent to students for those eligible for the Grant Application (not eligible for block grant)

Subject: American Rescue Plan Invitation to Apply

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, funds have been made available through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act to award emergency grants to students for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus.

Eligible expenses: tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), or childcare.

Complete the ARP Application.

Funds are limited so apply now.

·         You can give permission on the application to have the grant applied to any outstanding balance to the college.

·         If you do not chose to use grant towards your balance, it will be refunded to your BankMobile account. If you have already set up your Bank Mobile account by indicating your refunding preference (direct deposit into a checking account or VIBE Account), funds should be available within 10-15 business days.

·         If you have not yet set up your refunding preference with Bank Mobile, please do so at your earliest convenience by going to RefundSelection.com and clicking Need a Code.

Note: This is not a loan and will not need to be paid back and will not affect your financial aid award amounts for academic year 2021–2022.