Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (CRRSAA) Student Emergency Grant

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II) is authorized by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA), signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020. This fund allows Maritime College to provide 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.

  • By drawing down the funds, Maritime College acknowledges that the institution has used, or intends to use, 100 percent of the supplemental funds received under Section 314 (a)(1) of the CRRSAA Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students. The Grant Award Notice was approved on Jan. 17, 2021.

  • Maritime College has received $700,121 from the Department of Education pursuant to the Supplemental Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under the CRRSAA Act.

  • Maritime College rolled into CRRSAA funding, $2,352.61 in HEERF I/CARES unspent funds therefore allowing us to distribute a total of $702,653.61 in CRRSAA.

  • Maritime College has distributed the following CRRSAA Act funding to students under Section 314 (a)(1) of the CRRSAA Act:

DATE REPORTING REQUIREMENT UPDATE
March 31, 2021           Quarterly Maritime College has not yet distributed Emergency Financial Aid  grants to students. 
June 30, 2021           Quarterly Maritime College has distributed $702,653 in Emergency Financial Aid Grants to 328 students.
Please Note: The student count is unduplicated and the reported disbursements may include redistributions of unclaimed emergency grants previously reported.

  • Maritime College has determined an estimated 1,565 students at the institution are eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 314 (a)(1) of CRRSAA Act. This number was then applied to our own methodological framework for disbursal of funds to produce a final total of 328 eligible students.

Spring 2021

Awarding Methodology/Distribution of Funds to Students  

Funding will be awarded to Pell eligible students enrolled full or part-time in Spring 2021. The per-student award amount is estimated to range between $880 and $2,348. 

Unlike the CARES Act, the CRRSAA requires that institutions prioritize students with “exceptional need”. Maritime uses the FAFSA data point of Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as the indicator for exceptional need, whereby all students who are Pell eligible based on their EFC number are eligible for an award in the exceptional need category.

“Exceptional need” is defined as demonstrating via the FAFSA an expected family contribution (EFC) number within the Pell eligible range. For the current academic year, that EFC range is 0-5,711.  

Payments will go directly to students without requiring an application and with the following message:

“In response to the coronavirus pandemic, funds have been made available through the CRRSAA 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 an emergency grant in the amount of $XXX. 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. Students must understand it is their responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office immediately if they will not incur expenses that meet or exceed the amount of their emergency grant.”

Awards will be delivered via the normal college refund process for students – that is, via paper checks.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible at the time of distribution, a student must have been enrolled in credit bearing courses at census for the spring 2021 term, filed a 2020-2021 Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), and had a valid EFC ranging from 0 - 5,711.

HEERF II Student Aid funds may be used by students 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 childcare. Students deemed eligible for an Emergency Grant will receive an email notification regarding their award. The funds will be distributed by paper check.

Repayment

Students do not need to repay a Federal CRRSAA Emergency Grant.

Impact on Financial Aid

This funding will not have any effect on a student's current or future financial aid eligibility.

Please contact the Financial Aid Office with questions related to the CRRSAA Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds II.