In the latest round of America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for higher education, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) allocated funds for colleges and universities to distribute emergency grants directly to students in need. While many schools have disbursed these funds automatically based on data from students’ Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applications, some schools are creating new application processes to make these funds more accessible. By using comprehensive data collection and decision processes, schools can collect student data, set unique criteria for eligibility, distribute funds quickly, and maintain accurate reporting.
Undocumented and International Students Are Now Eligible to Receive Federal Funds
HEERF III differs from past HEERF allocations in that undocumented and international students are now eligible to receive emergency grants. However, because these students cannot file FAFSA, some colleges and universities will need to create new processes for determining eligibility. For example, the University of Mississippi has an online application form with questions related to financial status and needs so that international and undocumented students are not excluded from eligibility. Learn more about it here
University of Florida Revamps System for Distributing Relief Funds to Draw in More Applicants
When the University of Florida (UF) received funds from the federal CARES Act to provide emergency funding to students facing unexpected expenses, their first step was to upgrade their Aid-a-Gator emergency relief program. Historically, Aid-a-Gator forms were completed on paper with very low application rates. By investing in an accessible online form platform, UF received over 12,000 applications and seamlessly distributed $10 million directly to students. Read the case study on how they did it here.
The University of Wisconsin Makes Relief Payments More Accessible with an Open Fund
While the University of Wisconsin (UW) will rely on student FAFSA data to distribute a portion of the $54.3 million that they received in HEERF III allocations, UW has also set aside $19.1 million to create an open fund that all students can apply for. Students simply need to fill out an emergency online form. According to Karla Weber Wandel, who is the Communications Manager at UW’s Office of Student Financial Aid, all students who submitted applications to the open fund received the money. UW created this fund to promote equity as well as collect more information on students, since, as a public school, UW has minimal financial data on its students outside of FAFSA data. Read more here.
Interested in learning more about how a secure and compliant data collection platform with a smart, visual process builder can help your organization make better decisions faster? Click here.
