INFORMATION FOR
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) established and funded the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) in March, 2020. Since then, two additional acts were passed by Congress providing additional emergency relief funding for higher education. All three of the acts provided grants for both institutional costs related to the pandemic and for direct pass-through aid to students. HEERF III is the funding provided by the American Rescue Plan act (ARP). A summary of the three acts follows:
HEERF I Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) 3/27/2020HEERF II Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) 12/27/2020HEERF III American Rescue Plan (ARP) 3/11/2021
CARES/HEERF I funding was defined as specific to students’ expenses resulting from the disruption of campus operations due to the COVID-19 emergency.
Expenses applicable for HEERF II funding were defined as:
Eligible expenses are essentially the same in HEERF III as HEERF II.
Also, with HEERF II, institutions were required to prioritize students with exceptional need and authorized students exclusively enrolled in distance education (WPOnline) to receive awards.
HEERF II required students to be matriculated, whereas HEERF III does not.
HEERF III awards do not require Title IV eligibility, and eligibility was expanded to include international, undocumented, and DACA. Additionally, students who were enrolled in any term between spring 2020 and spring 2021 are eligible, even if they are not currently enrolled. HEERF III continues to require prioritization of “exceptional need” students.
The total funds available to WPUNJ students from the three acts was/is:
Applicants for the HEERF III awards must complete an online application form. Eligible students will receive a notification with a link to the application form.
Applicants must identify the type and amount of expenses relevant to this funding source in the application. If no expenses are indicated, no award will be made.
To be eligible for a HEERF III award, students must be enrolled in the spring 2021 semester, or must have been enrolled in another semester from spring 2020 through spring 2021.
Under HEERF III, eligibility includes:
To be considered for this award, the application must be completed and submitted by 11:59pm, Friday, July 9, 2021.
Notifications will go out during the week of July 12th letting all applicants know if they will be receiving an award.
Recipients will receive their awards no later than Thursday, July 22, 2021.
Awards can be credited to your student account or paid to you through the normal student refund process. You must make this selection when you complete the application form.
Students’ cost of attendance and emergency costs arising from the coronavirus pandemic are eligible expenses. Examples of these costs include:
The total pool of funds to be awarded is $14,610,467. The estimated individual award range is between $300 and $1,800 per student depending on category*, however these amounts will increase if the number of students who apply is less than the number who are eligible (as was the case with the CARES and HEERF II awards). Individual award amounts will depend on several factors:
If the total actual expense you show on your application form is less than the calculated award, your award will be limited to your actual expense. If you do not list any actual expense on your application, you will not receive any award.
*There are eight categories of award amounts:
No.
However, HEERF III requires that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need, and WPUNJ fulfills this requirement by using the financial aid criteria that determines federal Pell grant eligibility. Such criteria can only be obtained from the FAFSA. (This is an acceptable methodology for determination of “exceptional need” under the ARP.) Therefore, only students who have a fully completed FAFSA on file will be able to receive the higher award amount given to “exceptional need” students.
You can make changes to your application up to 11:59pm, Friday, July 9th. To access your form, click here.
No, there is no appeal process regarding the decision or the grant amount.
If you are currently enrolled, and your family has experienced a loss of full time wages for more than ten weeks, we encourage you to appeal for a review of your special circumstances – this process is called Special Conditions. With this process, your Financial Aid Counselor will be able to review documentation related to unemployment or other factors that led to a change in the household income and with this information, make changes to your FAFSA to reflect the current income. This important process may qualify you to receive additional funding for the 2021-2022 aid year. The link to the Special Conditions form is: https://www.wpunj.edu/financial-aid/assets/21-22%20SPCON.pdf
Submit the form and all supporting documentation to finaid@wpunj.edu .
