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Loyola University of Chicago HEERF II Student Share Grant Policy for the Award and Administration of Funds Adopted March 24, 2021

I. Background

In January 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) announced additional funding available to institutions of higher education to serve students and ensure learning continues during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding established the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (“HEERF II”) and was authorized by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (“CRRSAA”), which was signed into law on December 27, 2020.

Under CRRSAA, HEERF II Student Share Grant funds may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), or child care. 

The CRRSAA requires that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need and authorizes grants to students exclusively enrolled in distance education.

II. Purpose and Scope

Loyola University of Chicago (“LUC” or “the University”) is eligible to receive up to $5,021,974 in HEERF II Student Share Grant Funds. This policy presents the University’s methodology for determining eligibility under CRRSAA, as well as the process and procedure for distributing and disbursing the HEERF II Student Share Grant Funds.

III. Policy

LUC will make available $5,021,974 of HEERF II Student Share Grants to eligible students, consistent with the requirements of CRRSAA, and any subsequent guidance by ED.

Students enrolled in associate’s, bachelor’s, graduate, professional, and certificate programs, including those students exclusively enrolled in distance education, may be eligible for the HEERF II Student Share Grant Funds.

The University will not (1) condition the disbursement of HEERF II Student Share Grant funds to students on continued or future enrollment in the University, (2) use the HEERF II Student Share Grant funds to satisfy a student’s outstanding account balance, unless the University has obtained the student’s written (or electronic), affirmative consent, or (3) require such consent as a condition of receipt of or eligibility for the HEERF II Student Share Grant funds.

A.    Eligibility

To be eligible to receive HEERF II Student Share Grant Funds a student must meet all eligibility criteria listed below (“Eligible Student”):

i. Students must have completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (“FASFA”) for the 2020-2021 Financial Aid Year and have an official Expected Family Contribution (“EFC”) on file with Loyola’s Financial Aid Department based on that FAFSA.

The University has concluded that the only practicable way to determine a student’s financial need is if the student has a completed FAFSA, has received an official Student Aid Report (“SAR”), and has an official EFC on file for the 2020-2021 Financial Aid Year.

Loyola students who had not previously submitted a FAFSA were notified in early 2021 via various University communications (email as well as social media). These communications were sent both to the University at large as well as to more targeted distribution lists. Students were advised to submit a FAFSA by going to studentaid.gov.

ii. Students must be enrolled as of end of day on March 19, 2021 (Spring 2021 academic term).

iii. Students must submit a University HEERF II Student Share Grant application.

iv. Students NOT eligible for HEERF II Student Share Grants

Examples of students who are not eligible for HEERF II Student Share Grants include: international, undocumented, and DACA students.

B. HEERF II Student Share Eligible Expenses

HEERF II Student Share Grant funds may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), or childcare, (“HEERF II Student Share Eligible Expenses”).

As part of the HEERF II Student Share Grant Application process, students will be asked to certify they have eligible expenses as described above.

C.    HEERF II Student Share Grant Prioritization

Consistent with CRRSAA, the University will prioritize students with exceptional need in awarding HEERF II Student Share Grants to students.

For purposes of this policy, the University has determined that EFC is an appropriate metric for measuring a student’s need.

The University will use the following EFC categories for purposes of prioritization:

EFC Category

EFC Range

1

Less than or equal to $5,711

2

More than $5,711 but less than or equal to $10,000

3

More than $10,000 but less than or equal to $40,000

4

More than $40,000


Students in EFC Category 1 are considered by the University as “Students with Exceptional Need.” 

IV. Procedures

A. Applying for a HEERF II Student Share Grant

An Eligible Student may apply for a HEERF II Student Share Grant by completing an online application on the University’s website (the “Application”). Once the Application is made available to students, the University will accept such online Applications for an initial period of two weeks (the “Priority Application Period”). See Appendix A of this Policy for a Sample Application.

Completion of an Application does not guarantee that the Eligible Student will receive a HEERF II Student Share Grant award.

The University retains discretion to extend or make available subsequent application periods based on available HEERF II Student Share Grant funds.

B. Application Information

As part of their Application, Eligible Students will indicate their interest in receiving HEERF II Student Share Grant funds and certify that they have incurred HEERF II Student Share Eligible Expenses. 

The University will not require the student to provide receipts or other expense documentation, but students are encouraged to retain documentation supporting the HEERF II Student Share Eligible Expenses.

C. Review and Decision Regarding HEERF II Student Share Grant Award Amounts

The University will accept Applications during the Priority Application Period and verify student eligibility in order to establish eligible applications (“Eligible Applications”).

Based on the number of Eligible Applications received and available HEERF II Student Share Grant funds, the University will determine a fixed dollar amount to be distributed to students within some or all of the EFC categories defined in III C above, with priority given to students in EFC Category 1.

The largest dollar amount (per student) will be awarded to students in EFC Category 1.  The dollar amount (per student) awarded to EFC Categories, 2, 3 or 4 will be less than the amount (per student) awarded to Students with Exceptional Need.  Depending on available HEERF II Student Share Grant funds, and the number of Eligible Applications received, it is possible that certain EFC Categories may not be allocated any HEERF II Student Share Grant awards.

D. Disbursing HEERF II Student Share Grants

The University will make every effort to disburse the HEERF II Student Share Grants as soon as practicable following the close of the Priority Application Period.

The University will notify students via their Loyola email address of the amount of the HEERF II Student Share Grant awarded to them.

As part of this notification, students receiving HEERF II Student Share Grant funds will have the option of completing an online Disbursement Instruction form, to instruct the University to apply some or all of the HEERF II Student Share Grant funds as a payment towards any outstanding balance owed by the student to the University (“Student Account Balance”). See Appendix B of this Policy for a Sample Disbursement Instruction. Any Student Account Balance remaining after applying such payment remains the responsibility of the student. If applying this payment to the Student Account Balance results in a credit balance, the credit will be refunded to the student as part of the Bursar’s refund process.

Students notified of their HEERF II Student Share Grant award but who 1) do not complete a Disbursement Instruction or 2) request via the Disbursement Instruction that some or all of the HEERF II Student Share Grant award be paid directly to them, will receive the HEERF II Student Share Grant funds (or portion thereof) via electronic transfer to the student’s bank account indicated in LOCUS. Students who do not have bank account information in LOCUS will be paid via check mailed to the student’s permanent address in LOCUS.

The University will disburse the HEERF II Student Share Grants to students via the LOCUS Student Account system, but in no event shall the University apply any portion of such funds to pay down any balance owed by the student to the University, without the student’s written Disbursement Instruction.

E. Reporting and Tax Compliance

The University will comply with ED and IRS reporting requirements regarding funds awarded to students under CRRSAA.

The University will issue the appropriate tax documents to students for these HEERF II Student Share Grants as required by the Internal Revenue Service.

V. Resources

COVID-19 INFORMATION

For Coronavirus (COVID-19) information and university updates, visit LUC.edu/coronavirus.

To inquire about general Loyola information related to COVID-19, please email COVID-19support@luc.edu

Students, faculty, and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 must report their case to the University as soon as possible at COVID-19report@LUC.edu or by calling 773-508-7707.

For information on the university's plans for returning to campus, visit LUC.edu/returntocampus.

View the Return to Campus Checklist here.