YSU signed and returned the Certification and Agreement for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and assured the institution would use the $15,342,446 funds received for HEERF III designated under the CRRSAA and ARP (a) (1) and (a) (4) programs to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
The total amount of funding YSU received from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students was $25,718,908. For HEERF III Grants, the amount of funding was $15,342,446 – along with $5,188,231 for HEERF II Grants, and $5,188,231 for HEERF I Grants.
$15,343,254 in HEERF III funding has been distributed to YSU students.
The number of students we estimated would be eligible for HEERF III grants was 11,650 due to the elimination of the FAFSA requirement and based upon the expanded student populations now eligible.
The total number of students that received HEERF III grant disbursements from YSU was 11,430.
YSU used a block grant approach to prioritize the release of HEERF III grant funds to students with exceptional financial need as required (Pell grant recipients) who were enrolled during the Summer and Fall 2021 semesters to assist them with expenses such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) and childcare since the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create financial challenges and disruptions.
Additional HEERF III block grants continued to be awarded as emergency grants with priority given to newly identified Pell eligible students as FAFSA’s were completed or updated. The second round of priority block grants following Pell eligible disbursements were awarded to domestic students with financial needs, especially undergraduates, that were not Pell Grant eligible. The third and fourth rounds of block grants were awarded as emergency grants to domestic Graduate and International students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
A HEERF III Grant application was made available on November 17, 2021 so that students with additional financial needs could use to apply. The remaining HEERF III funds were distributed by application during the quarter ending December 31, 2021.
In addition to HEERF III Grant awarding, YSU conducted direct outreach to financial aid applicants about the opportunity to receive a financial aid adjustment due to the recent unemployment of a family member or independent student, or other circumstances. Communications to students using targeted emails, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships Dollars and Sense newsletter, the Division of Student Affairs - The Pulse newsletter, and with post cards mailed to their homes. The financial aid special circumstance review message expresses the following: If you, or your family, have experienced a financial hardship during the calendar year 2020, or 2021, please contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to discuss a potential reassessment of your federal and state grant aid eligibility.
YSU assisted students with financial needs until HEERF III grant funds were exhausted in December 2021.
In December 2022, 13 student refunds in the amount of $13,500 were processed and returned for HEERF grant checks not cashed. In January 2023, an additional 4 student refunds in the amount of $4,000 were processed and returned for HEERF grant checks no cashed