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Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) was established when Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March, 2020.

Since then, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) have also allocated money to HEERF which provides funding to colleges and universities for student grants.

The college received $4,959,888 in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds to go to students in the form of financial grants for expenses students incurred related to the disruption of campus operations or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus. Expenses and costs include things like tuition, technology, health care, course materials, rent/housing, food, child care, or moving fees.

Allocating FundsHow is Hope College allocating the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds?

Student Data

Hope College signed and returned to the Department of Education the Certification and Agreement for HEERF funds.

Hope College has received and distributed $1,081,939 of Emergency Financial Aid Grants to 2,165 students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act (HEERF I) as of December 31, 2022.

Hope College has received and distributed $1,081,939 of Emergency Financial Aid Grants to 2,727 students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA – HEERF II) as of December 31, 2022.

Hope College has received and distributed $2,796,010 of Emergency Financial Aid Grants to 2,830 students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the American Rescue Plan (ARP – HEERF III) as of December 31, 2022.

Hope College used FAFSA data to determine which students received the grants and Estimated Family Contribution data to determine the amount of the grants. An institutional application was available for additional requests. There were 2,973 students who were eligible for grants under HEERF guidelines.

Institutional Data

Hope College was granted, as a part of the Department of Education HEERF $5,942,693 in funding for institutional relief. Through December 31, 2022, the college has recovered $5,942,693 in refunds processed for room, board, activity fee and parking registrations ($4,066,421) and in coronavirus testing expenses ($1,876,272).

Previous Reports

Grant EligibilityWho is eligible for a Hope HEERF Grant?

The U.S. Department of Education determined that only students who met basic federal student aid eligibility criteria could be considered for CARES-HEERF funds. To ensure this, only students who have filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) were eligible. We estimate that approximately 2,165 Hope students were eligible to receive CARES-HEERF funds. Recipients were notified of their grant amount via email on Friday, May 15, 2020.

The Department of Education removed the requirement that a student meet basic federal student aid eligibility criteria for the CRRSAA and ARP-HEERF funds. However, FAFSA data was used to determine the amount of the CRRSAA-HEERF Grants. We estimate that approximately 2,700 students were eligible for CRRSAA-HEERF funds. Recipients were notified of their grant amount via email on March 23, 2021.

ARP-HEERF Grants have been given to students who applied for assistance for summer term expenses, incurred quarantine/isolation expenses or experienced significant financial circumstances. Grants were also distributed to nearly 3,000 eligible students in January, 2022. Remaining grants were distributed throughout the one-year period of grant eligibility. FAFSA data was used to identify students with exceptional financial need and an institutional application was available to assist students with extraordinary financial circumstances. We estimated that approximately 3,000 students were eligible for ARP-HEERF funds.