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Financial Aid

Create your personalized student financial aid plan. We work with your unique and individual situation.
Serve | Advocate | Care
RMU is committed to cost transparency! We are one of 200+ higher education institutions currently committed to the following principles & standards of the College Cost Transparency Act (CCT). Learn more about financial aid disbursement and tuition/fee information.
Financial aid is intended to help with your education-related expenses. It is not intended to meet the total cost of your living expenses but is designed to supplement them.
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Federal Student Loans

Most of RMU’s graduate programs are eligible for Federal Direct Student Loans. Eligibility for federally-funded financial aid is established by the U.S. Department of Education.

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Private Student Loans

Private student loans are an alternative to federal financial aid and are, therefore, NOT part of the federal student loan program. They are offered by credit unions and third-party lending institutions.

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Scholarships

RMU offers internal scholarships. We recommend you apply to any for which you are eligible. Our Financial Aid Office is also available to help you search for external scholarships.

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VA Benefits

We care about our veterans. Our Financial Aid Office can help you understand and connect you with any resource available to you.

Financial Aid Office Mission

The Financial Aid Office at RMU strives to provide the highest quality service to graduate and professional students in pursuit of their academic goals. We serve as the primary advocate for students and families, assisting them in securing necessary financial resources. We will utilize our expert knowledge to update our technologies, streamline processes, maintain full compliance with federal mandates, and effectively manage financial aid resources. We are committed to providing exemplary service to our students, families, the university community, and the community at large. Our philosophy is service.

Financial Aid Team

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Maria Sager

Assistant Vice President, Financial Aid Services

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Alex Jackson

Associate Director, Outreach and Development

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Krista McEntire

Associate Director, Advising and Reporting
Advises – College of Optometry

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Jeffrey Albee

Financial Aid Technical Development Specialist

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Joe Coleflesh

Manager, VA Benefits, and SCO

Leslie Garcia

Manager, Financial Aid Scholarships and Grants

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Josefina Sechtem

Manager, Financial Aid Regulation and Compliance

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Lauren Pickering

Financial Aid Advisor Advises – College of Health Science(DMSc, MPAS, MSHS, MSATP, Nursing, PhD, Professional Counseling)

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Kaila Sharo

Financial Aid Advisor Advises – College of RehabilitationScience(DPT, MS-SLP, OTD, SLPD, tDPT)

Important Information

Read about consumer information, rights and responsibilities, and student loan repayment information.

Cares Act Information 2020

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. It provides financial compensation and support to multiple layers of the U.S. economy, including businesses, individuals, unemployment benefits, and education.
The CARES Act allocated nearly $14 billion to support colleges and universities around the country. RMUoHP will received $223,276. The Department of Education guidelines require at least 50% of received funds be used to provide emergency cash grants for students. RMUoHP intended to put 100% of the funds toward emergency aid for students.
Funds have been provided to support students who may be experiencing financial hardships or exceptional need due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Department of Education awarded funds based on a formula prescribed in the CARES Act, which was weighted significantly by the number of full-time students who were Pell Grant eligible. It also took into consideration the total population of the school, as well as the number of students who were not enrolled online on a full-time basis before the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Department of Education provided guidance on how to use a portion of the funds: “to provide cash grants to students for expenses related to disruptions to their educations due to the COVID-19 outbreak, including things like course materials and technology as well as food, housing, healthcare, and childcare.”
Immediately following the passage of the CARES Act, the Financial Aid Office reviewed the legislation and made a recommendation for the delivery of the funds to students. RMU leadership designated a Student Relief Fund Committee that consisted of representatives from departments across campus, to determine how to award CARES Act funds as well as emergency aid provided by RMU.

All students who received this funding were federal financial aid-eligible. To be eligible for funding consideration, you needed to have:

  • Been enrolled in at least 3 credits during 2020
  • Completed the 2019-2020 and/or 2020-2021 FAFSA and were eligible to receive federal financial aid.
  • Completed the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund application by the deadlines of May 15th, 2022 (for the first half of the CARES Act funds) and November 4, 2020 (for the second half of the CARES Act funds).

Note: The CARES Act funds allocated to RMU in the amount of $223,267 were fully disbursed to awardees as of December 15, 2020.

Eligible students were notified via their RMU email accounts. Awards were disbursed via direct deposit on June 5th and November 20th.

A full report of the allocation of CARES Act funds is available in the link above (“30 Day Report”).

As outlined by the Department of Education, the funds should be used to address unexpected expenses related to disruptions of campus operations due to the coronavirus pandemic, such as food, housing, healthcare, technology, course materials, and childcare.

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) 2021– General Information


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

Disclaimer

Nothing on this website should be construed as authoritative financial advice. Your circumstances are unique, and you may want to consult a financial advisor. The author of this website is not a financial advisor.