WEATHER-RELATED ANNOUNCEMENT: The Wadena Advisory Board Dinner has been rescheduled to Monday, April 1; the Moorhead Advisory Board Dinner has been rescheduled to Tuesday, April 9. Both events will still begin at 5 p.m.

ARP Act Information

ARP Student Emergency Aid Grant Report

On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (ARP) was signed into law. In total, ARP authorized $39.6 billion in support for higher education across the nation to be used for student aid and institutional support for hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minnesota State Community and Technical College completed the required certifications to receive funding from ARP and was awarded $ 5,346,014 for distribution to students in the form of student emergency aid.

Through consultation with our Student Government Association and using guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, a three-tiered approach was implemented for awarding direct grant payments to students. It was determined that the authorization would be disbursed in both semesters, with approximately 60 percent allocated for fall semester and 40 percent distributed in spring semester.

Grants were distributed to students with a demonstrated need according to their calculated Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) as determined by their completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Based on their EFC, students were eligible to receive grants in the amounts of $780, $600 or $360.

As of December 31, 2021, M State has distributed $2,917,260 in direct emergency grant payments to 2,222 eligible students.

In addition to the direct grant payments, eligible students were able to apply for additional emergency grants when they could demonstrate exceptional need that exceeded the base grant they had received. The application-based grants were funded through the institutional portion of our HEERF III authorization. As of December 31, 2021, a total of $261,565 was awarded to 224 students through this process.

During the time period from January 1, 2022, through March 31, 2022 the college had two rounds of ARP student aid distributions.  On February 11, 2022, based on the student EFC, disbursements in the amounts of $850, $625, and $400 were processed.  This disbursement resulted in 1,950 students receiving a total of $ 1,466,200 in ARP aid.  A second disbursement was processed on March 31, 2022, in which 1,908 students received aid payments in the amounts of $520, $400, or $240 depending on their EFC.  During this second disbursement a total of $ 879,260 was distributed.

As with prior quarters, the college also allocated institutional HEERF III grant funds to eligible students who showed exceptional need though a grant application process.  Between January 1, 2022 and March 31, 2022, 306 students were awarded a total of $425,700.01.

 

Updated posting: 10.11.2021
Updated posting: 1.06.2022

Updated posting: 4.5.2022