American Rescue Plan Act 2021 (ARP)

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) (Pub. L. 117-2) (March 11, 2021), authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide emergency financial aid grants to institutions of higher education. Uses of this funding are governed by section 2003 of the ARP and section 314 of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) (Pub. L. 116-260).

In order to comply with the ARP Act, Illinois College must use $1,637,958 in “Student Aid Portion” funds to provide emergency financial aid grants to students which 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 ARP and CRRSAA Acts require that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need, such as students who receive Pell Grants, in awarding emergency financial aid grants to students. However, students do not need to be Pell recipients in order to receive an emergency financial aid grant.

Illinois College will administer these funds in accordance with its “Funding Certification and Agreement for the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the CARES Act,” dated April 10, 2020, as amended by the U.S. Department of Education on January 17, 2021 and again on May 19, 2021.

Illinois College also received “Institutional Portion” CRRSAA funding. Allowable uses under the ARP and CRRSAA Acts for Institutional Portion awards include:

Defraying expenses associated with coronavirus (including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll);
Making additional emergency financial grants to students, which 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; and
Making additional financial aid grants to students.

Under section 2003(5) of the ARP, Illinois College must use a portion of its Institutional Portion funds to (a) implement evidence-based practices to monitor and suppress coronavirus in accordance with public health guidelines and (b) conduct direct outreach to financial aid applicants about the opportunity to receive a financial aid adjustment due to the recent unemployment of a family member or independent student, or other circumstances, described in section 479A of the HEA (20 USC § 1087tt).

No Institutional Portion funding may be used to fund construction; acquisition of real property; contractors for the provision of pre-enrollment recruitment activities; marketing or recruitment; endowments; capital outlays associated with facilities related to athletics, sectarian instruction, or religious worship; senior administrator or executive salaries, benefits, bonuses, contracts, incentives; stock buybacks, shareholder dividends, capital distributions, and stock options; or any other cash or other benefit for a senior administrator or executive.

Recipient institutions may, but are not required to, use Institutional Portion funds to provide additional emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus. If the recipient institution chooses to use funds designated for Recipient’s Institutional Costs to provide such emergency financial aid grants to students, then the funds are subject to the requirements in the “Funding Certification and Agreement for the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the CARES Act,” dated April 10, 2020, as amended by the U.S. Department of Education on January 17, 2021 and again on May 19, 2021.

In accordance with the CRRSAA and ARP Acts and following the subsequent guidance published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2021, March 22, 2021, and May 13, 2021, Illinois College calculated emergency financial aid grants for eligible students for distribution on November 12, 2021. Students were determined to be eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants based on financial need according the following criteria:

Were enrolled at Illinois College for Fall 2021 semester as of October 12, 2021, in on ground or online classes.
Qualification for emergency financial aid grant was determined by financial need and student enrollment status. Financial need was determined according to a calculation of Expected Family Contribution resulting from their filing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid (RISE). The formula Illinois College used to calculate the amount of emergency financial aid grants for eligible students is:

Illinois College distributed a total of $1,574,800 in ARP Student Aid Portion funds to Illinois College students in November 2021.
The estimated total number of students who were eligible to receive an ARP emergency financial aid grant award in November 2021: 1,088
The total number of students who received an ARP emergency financial aid grant award in November 2021: 1,088
Student recipients received this information with their emergency financial aid grant award: View document

In accordance with the CRRSAA and ARP Acts and following the subsequent guidance published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2021, March 22, 2021, and May 13, 2021, Illinois College calculated emergency financial aid grants for eligible students for distribution on April 15, 2022. Students were determined to be eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants based on financial need according to the following criteria:

Were enrolled at Illinois College for Spring 2022 semester as of March 21, 2022, in on ground or online classes.
Qualification for emergency financial aid grant was determined by financial need and student enrollment status. Financial need was determined according to a calculation of Expected Family Contribution resulting from their filing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid (RISE). The formula Illinois College used to calculate the amount of emergency financial aid grants for eligible students is the same as listed in the two tables above.
- Illinois College distributed a total of $45,050 in ARP Student Aid Portion funds to Illinois College students in April 2022.
- The estimated total number of students who were eligible to receive an ARP emergency financial aid grant award in April 2022: 47
- The total number of students who received an ARP emergency financial aid grant award in April 2022: 47
- Student recipients received this information with their emergency financial aid grant award: View document

In accordance with the CRRSAA and ARP Acts and following the subsequent guidance published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2021, March 22, 2021, and May 13, 2021, Illinois College calculated emergency financial aid grants for eligible students for distribution on May 31, 2022. Students were determined to be eligible to receive emergency grants to alleviate the financial need resulting from summer food insecurity, and were awarded as follows:

Reside in Illinois College campus housing as of May 31, 2022 (or)
Enrolled in Summer 2022 research or internship conducted on the Illinois College campus as of May 31, 2022.
- Illinois College distributed a total of $18,108 in HEERF Student Aid Portion funds to Illinois College students.
- The estimated total number of students who were eligible to receive an ARP emergency financial aid grant award in May 2022: 52
- The total number of students who received an ARP emergency financial aid grant award in May 2022: 52
- Student recipients received this information with their emergency financial aid grant award: View document

For information on Illinois College's use of CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) funding also known as Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF I) and Quarterly report information, click here.

For information on Illinois College's use of Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA), funding also known as Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF II), click here.

For information on Illinois College's use of the GEER Fund (Governor's Emergency Education Relief), click here.