The CRRSA Act that was signed into law on December 27th, 2020, provided funding to schools through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). This fund requires schools to award emergency grants to students to help students with any component of their 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.
Unlike the CARES Act, the CRRSA Act required that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need. MBU used the EFC data from FAFSA submissions to determine need and provided these funds to students in varying amounts relative to their EFC. By this approach, 48% of funding went to our neediest students who had a $0 EFC, and 85% of the funding went to students with an EFC below $7,500.
These funds were awarded to students on March 5th, 2021. No funds were maintained for supplemental applications. The only funds available were paid directly to students as a one-time block grant. The only additional funding that we would anticipate being made available to students after this point would come from additional legislation passed by our federal government.
ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE
We do not expect federal emergency funding through COVID legislation to address every situation a student may have. If you or your spouse have lost employment or sources of income due to COVID, or if you are a dependent student and your parents/legal guardians were impacted in these ways, there may be ways we can adjust your FAFSA through a Professional Judgment review to seek additional financial aid from the government. Please contact us for more information on a Professional Judgment review.
If you have immediate needs for other types of support, please email Covid19response@mobap.edu or review additional information on our page for Financial Aid Information Specific to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak.