The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act provided a variety of supplemental funding opportunities to individuals, colleges and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), the portion of the emergency funding provided to colleges, is designated for students experiencing financial hardships due to the disruption of campus operations occurring from the coronavirus pandemic.
ARP HEERF funding assists students in paying expenses related to any component of their cost of attendance that arose due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As an institution receiving funds under the CARES Act, CRRSAA and ARP, RCC is required to publish information about its campus plan and appropriations.
- The College signed and returned to the Department of Education a Certification and Agreement as required under the CARES Act. By drawing down and expending ARP funds, RCC acknowledges and agrees to be bound by the conditions set forth in the CARES Act and the ARP Supplemental Agreement including using HEERF funds to provide emergency grants to students.
- The total amount of federal funding received for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students and to be awarded under the We Care 3 Fund campus plan is $6,196,028.
- Quarterly reports of the student portion are required to be posted to the College’s website within 10 calendar days after the end of each quarter (July 10, October 10, January 10 and April 10). See the Federal Reporting Disclosures for HEERF charts for detailed information.
- The ARP expanded eligibility to all student types including FAFSA filers and non-filers, citizens and non-citizens. Eligible ARP HEERF students are those who are currently attending RCC at the time the application is available or who have ceased enrollment for any reason and at any point since the beginning of the national emergency, March 13, 2020.
- As required under the ARP, RCC will prioritize awarding to students with exceptional need. In both Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, fifty percent (50%) of all ARP funding will be awarded through block grants given to enrolled students with FAFSA Expected Family Contributions (EFC’s) less than or equal to 14,615. The other fifty percent (50%) of the ARP funding will be awarded through an online application that uses priority points to assess a student’s financial need.
- RCC’s We Care 3 Fund campus plan which includes the detailed awarding methodology is available for review.
- Additional student information is provided on the We Care 3 Fund web page.
- All required quarterly and cumulative reporting can be found on the Federal Reporting Disclosures of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) webpage.
The Department of Education also requires colleges to post their Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reports that itemize the Institutional portion of the ARP HEERF funding.