CRRSA Act Information

CRRSAA Student Emergency Aid Grant Report

On December 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) was signed into law. In total, the CRRSAA authorized $22.7 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 the CRRSAA and in March 2021 was awarded $1,416,310 for distribution to students in the form of student emergency aid.

After consultation with our student government, the college disbursed the student aid portion of the CRRSAA package in two phases. The first group of aid payments were disbursed to all students who are considered Pell eligible and met the eligibility requirements as set forth in the CRSSAA criteria. The disbursement was for an amount equivalent to three credits of tuition, or $511.35. This first round of payments were disbursed starting on March 4, 2021. A total of $748,105.05 in aid funds was distributed to 1,463 students.

Based on feedback from students, the remaining funds were disbursed to eligible students who demonstrated an exceptional need that was defined as those with an expected family contribution (EFC) of $10,000 or less as determined by their 2020-2021 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). With the second round of aid, a total of $662,948.49 was distributed to 1,655 students.

As of December 31, 2021, a total of $1,411,053.54 has been distributed to 1,733 students.

In addition to direct student aid payments, the college also designated $400,000 from the institutional portion of CRRSAA funding to be used for the emergency grant application process. This represents 18 percent of the total amount received for the student aid portion of the bill. 

Eligible students were provided with a link to a simple CRRSAA Emergency Grant online application through their student portal by a button that students can click on to activate their application. There was also an email and texting campaign to eligible students alerting them to the funding and the application location and process. The college social workers reviewed the completed CRRSAA Emergency Grant applications and provide other relevant support and services based on the information provided by the student in the application. Students were notified via email of their application decision.

As of December 31, 2021, a total of $400,000 of the emergency grant application pool has been distributed to 479 students who applied and verified exceptional need.

Updated posting: 7.21.2021
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