HEERF Spring 2022 Policy

In May 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) announced additional funding available toinstitutions of higher education to serve students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding established the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (“HEERF III”) and was authorized by the American Rescue Plan (“ARP”), which was signed into law on March 11, 2021.

Under ARP, HEERF III Institutional funds may be used for additional financial grants to students for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, healthcare (including mental health care), or child care.

Under ARP, students enrolled at an institution of higher education on or after March 13, 2020 (thedate of declaration of the national emergency due to the coronavirus) are eligible for emergency financial aid grants from the HEERF III, regardless of whether they completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (“FAFSA”) or are eligible for Title IV.

The ARP requires that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need. ED encourages institutions to prioritize domestic students, especially undergraduates, in allocating this funding. Domestic students include citizens, permanent residents, refugees, asylum seekers, DACA recipients, other DREAMers, and similar undocumented students.

Loyola University Chicago (“LUC” or “the University”) is allocating $5.8 million of its HEERF III Institutional Share towards additional financial grants to students (“HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grants”). This policy presents the University’s methodology for making these grants to eligible students under ARP, as well as the process and procedure for distributing and disbursing these grants.

LUC will make available the HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grants to eligible students, consistent with the requirements of ARP, and any subsequent guidance by ED.

The University will not (1) condition the disbursement of HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grants to students on continued or future enrollment in the University, (2) use the HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grants 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 Spring 2022 Student Grants.

To be eligible to receive a HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant, a student must generally meet both of the eligibility criteria listed below (“Eligible Student”):

1. Student was enrolled at LUC on or after March 13, 2020.

   For purposes of this policy, an “Enrolled” student is defined as:

   i) a student who, at any time after March 13, 2020, received a letter grade [A, B, C, D, F, I, P, NP, Wor WF] related to an LUC course

   OR

   ii) a student who is registered in an LUC course as of end of day on January 31, 20221 (i.e. the Spring 2022 official 10th day of term for reporting purposes)

2. Student submitted the University’s HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant Application.

HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grants 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 (“Eligible Expenses”). Students determine how they may use their emergency financial aid grant within the allowable uses.

As part of the HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant Application process, students will be asked to certify they have Eligible Expenses as described above.

Consistent with federal guidelines, the University will prioritize students with exceptional need, especially undergraduates, in awarding HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grants, as follows:

i. For Eligible Students who have completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (“FASFA”) and have an official Expected Family Contribution (“EFC”) on file with Loyola’s Financial Aid Department:

The University will utilize the most recent official EFC available for measuring a student’s need.

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

ii. For Eligible Students who have not completed a FAFSA or do not have an official EFC onfile with Loyola’s Financial Aid Department, as part of the Application process, Eligible Students will be asked to self-certify as follows:

1. The Eligible Student will be asked to self-certify as to whether they are currently participating in any federal or state need-based programs (such as: Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children, All Kids health insurance, Head Start, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Supplemental Security Income, Illinois Aid tothe Aged, Blind or Disabled, Temporary Aid for Needy Families, Illinois General Assistance and Medicaid)

   OR

2. The Eligible Student will be asked to self-certify that their current Estimated Annual Household Income (“AHI”) is in one of the following ranges:

For Eligible Students without a FAFSA or EFC, to the extent reasonably possible, the University will compare the Eligible Student’s self-certification information with information available within the University’s Financial Aid Department, such as receipt of an Illinois MAP Grant, Loyola Commitment or other need-based financial aid awards.

For Eligible Students without a FAFSA or EFC, the University may also share the Eligible Student’s self-certification information with other appropriate University Departments for purposes of providing information to the student about other available assistance programs.

An Eligible Student may apply for a HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant by completing an online application on the University’s website (the “Application2”). Once the Application is made available to students, the University will accept such online Applications for an initial period of atleast two weeks (the “Priority Application Period”).

Completion of an Application does not guarantee that the Eligible Student will receive a HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant.

The University retains discretion to extend or make available subsequent application periods basedon available HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant funds.

As part of their Application, Eligible Students will indicate their interest in receiving a HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant and certify that they have incurred Eligible Expenses.

The University will not require the student to provide receipts or other expense documentation. Students are encouraged to retain documentation supporting the Eligible Expenses.

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 Spring 2022 Student Grant funds, the University will determine a fixed dollar amount to be distributed to students within some or all of the categories defined in Section III. C. HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant Prioritization Methodology, with priority given to students, especially undergraduates, in EFC Category 1 and AHI Category 1. The University may also take into account amounts an EligibleStudent received for previous HEERF grants.

Depending on available HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant funds and the number of Eligible Applications received, it is possible that certain EFC or AHI categories may not be allocated any HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant funds.

The University will notify students via their Loyola email address of the amount of the HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant available to them.

As part of this notification, students receiving a HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant will have the option of completing an online Disbursement Instruction3, to instruct the University to apply none, some, or all of the HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant as a payment towards any outstanding balance owed by the student to the University (“Student Account Balance”). 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, to be used by the student for Eligible Expenses.

Students notified of their HEERF Spring 2022 Student 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 Spring 2022 Student Grant award be paid directly to them, will receive the HEERF Spring 2022 Student Grant (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 and mailed to the student’s permanent address in LOCUS.