Financial Aid

d)Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) II:

On December 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Response Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) bill that was passed into law and signed. The CRRSAA Act is a stimulus bill that provided $23 billion for higher education institutions and students. The HEERF model was established under the CARES Act, hence it is called HEERF II.

Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP) was given an allocation of $309,036, pursuant to Section 314 (a)(4). The CRRSAA requires that proprietary institutions receiving the funds under this section must use all their grant endowments to provide financial aid to students, prioritizing students who may be experiencing financial hardships of exceptional need due to the coronavirus pandemic. This grant may be used to ease students’ financial burdens related to tuition, food, housing, healthcare, mental health needs, and/or childcare.

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) of 2021 (or HEERF III):

On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) was passed into law and signed. This represents the third stream of funding appropriated in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Hence, it is labeled as HEERF III.

The ARP Act appropriated $39.6 billion, of which $396 million were appropriated for proprietary institutions as defined in section 102(b) of the HEA, to be used ONLY for emergency financial aid grants to students.

Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP), which received (a)(4) funding under CRRSAA-HEERF II, was included on the ARP(a)(4) allocation table and was given an allocation of $197,311.00.

Combined allocation from HEERF II and HEERF III totaled to $506,347.00. These allocations were made available on:

• March 29, 2021 – HEERF II – $309,036.00
• July 27, 2021 – HEERF III – $197,311.00

Eligible Students:

The CRRSAA required that these emergency grants help students who are most in need. Students must meet the criteria of “exceptional financial need”, or have significant unexpected expenses such as loss of employment for themselves or a household member, reduced income, or food and housing insecurity.

Eligible students are those who were enrolled on or after March 13, 2020, the date of declaration of the national emergency due to coronavirus (85 CFR 15337), regardless of whether they completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), or are eligible for Title IV.

In awarding the emergency financial aid grants, RMU determined the selection of students based on:

1. Students with exceptional need. This included those who were experiencing significant unexpected expenses, loss of employment for themselves or a household member, reduced income, or food and housing insecurity.
2. Emergency costs that arose due to the coronavirus pandemic such as healthcare, mental health needs, and/or childcare.
3. Cost of attendance, such as tuition, food, and housing.

The estimated number of students at RMUoHP eligible to participate and receive the HEERF emergency financial aid grants was about 2,124 students.

Eligible students may have used their HEERF financial aid grant for:

• Any component of the cost of attendance, such as tuition, food, and housing.
• Emergency costs that arose due to the coronavirus pandemic such as healthcare, mental health needs, and/or childcare.

Impact of the HEERF financial aid grant on Title IV eligibility:

The HEERF financial aid grant is not be considered as part of estimated financial assistance (EFA) (for cost of attendance purposes). Likewise, these grants are not considered taxable and are not reported on IRS Form 1098-T.

Notification to Students:

RMU notified eligible students about the availability of HEERF financial aid grants via email. This included instructions on how to apply for the grant and on how to claim it using the student’s RMUoHP Gmail account.

The HEERF financial aid grants were disbursed through direct deposit.

NOTE:

All funds from HEERF II and HEERF III (totaling $506,347.00) were disbursed to eligible students as of December 13, 2021. Please refer to the final quarter report in the above link or click here >>> 04193200_HEERF_Q42021_12312021.pdf