HEERF III: ARP Student Emergency Grants

SUNY Downstate received Student Aid funding under section 2003(7) of the ARP. This program, with some changes, provides supplemental funds to the CARES Act section 18004(a)(1) program. SUNY Downstate signed and returned to the Education Department a Certification and Agreement as required under the CARES Act section 18004(a)(1) program. We acknowledge that by drawing down the ARP funds, our institution agrees to be bound by the conditions set forth in the ARP Supplemental Agreement including using 100 percent of these funds $798,462, to provide emergency aid grants to students.

Awarding Methodology

SUNY Downstate has prioritized awarding an estimated 100% of ARP Emergency Financial Aid Grants to its Fall 2021 enrolled degree-seeking students in the following manner using the State University of New York (SUNY) awarding methodology: Student financial aid emergency grants will be determined based on a six-tier system. The first five tiers (an estimated 100% of the ARP Emergency Financial Aid Grant) will be based on five Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) ranges from $0 to $14,615.

The Base Grant for eligible full-time (FT) degree-seeking students is $726.01 and the Base Grant for eligible part-time (PT) degree-seeking students is $564.67. The final grant award amounts were determined as follows using a template provided by the State University of New York (SUNY) that takes into consideration a degree-seeking student's status as FT or PT and their EFC range.

Any remaining funds that have not been accepted by the deadline date of Dec 1, 2021, will be utilized as a HEERF III “Discretionary Pool” for campuses to use for emergency grants to students with exceptional need and/or extraordinary financial circumstances, who did not receive a Block Grant or those who need additional emergency grant funds.

Funds may also be awarded to permanent residents, international, refugees, asylum seekers, DACA recipients, DREAMers, and student’s whose EFC threshold is above the SUNY grid maximum. These students may not be eligible to file a 2021/2022 FAFSA application and will receive a standard Block Grant. There may be other students that become eligible through the required ARP Professional Judgment outreach to SUNY Downstate's student body.

After December 1st census date, the Discretionary pool was awarded to :

1. Newly enrolled spring students who meet the same EFC and awarding methodology as in the Fall.

2. Any Discretionary remaining funds are split evenly among all students enrolled.

Eligibility

HEERF III/ARP Student Aid funds may be used by students for any component of the student's cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to COVID-19, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or child care. Students deemed eligible for an Emergency Grant will receive an email notification regarding their award. HEERF III/ARP funds will be auto-refunded regardless of any outstanding account balance with the college. The funds will be electronically for those enrolled in E-Refund.
A student must have been an eligible degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate student registered in coursework on or after the census date for the award term fall 2021 to be considered for HEERF III funds. The census date for fall 2021 was October 1, 2021.

Eligible FAFSA filers do not need to satisfy all criteria for being eligible for Title IV financial aid. However, a student must satisfy all Title IV financial aid eligibility criteria that are required to generate a valid EFC from their 2021/2022 FAFSA (i.e., non-rejected FAFSA).

U.S. Citizens/Permanent residents are encouraged to file the 2021/2022 FAFSA immediately if they have not done so already. International, refugees, asylum seekers, DACA recipients, other DREAMers, and similar undocumented students may also be eligible.

As a part of the ARP/HEERF III regulations to assist FAFSA filers with changes to their economic situation, SUNY Downstate has partnered with EdFinancial to perform “Professional Judgment” outreach to all FAFSA filers. Students who have a FAFSA on file with Downstate will receive communications from EdFinancial to assess their situation and the student will provide Financial Aid Services with documentation to reevaluate their EFC.If a student has a 0 EFC, their HEERF III award will not increase; however, Financial Aid Services can provide other college and governmental resources that the student may apply for.

SUNY Downstate has determined an estimated 1,103 enrolled degree-seeking students are eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under section 2003(7) of the America Rescue Plan.

Direct Outreach for Professional Judgment

SUNY has established the option for campuses to meet the direct outreach for professional judgment requirement by using the services of the “Re-Enroll to Complete” vendor. The vendor, Edfinancial, is a federal student loan servicer whose customer service team can answer level 1 and 2 financial aid questions, including those specific to this direct outreach effort and to inform students of the option to apply for professional judgment. Below is a brief description of the services provided by Edfinancial.

• Edfinancial has third party vendor authorization currently in place for 59 SUNY campuses; no additional authorization is needed to participate in the outreach effort.
• A secure, data upload process via an encrypted data upload portal process created by Edfinancial will be used to identify eligible students.
• Using the data provided in the upload, the vendor, Edfinancial, will begin the mandated direct outreach and provide appropriate reports to the 59 SUNY campuses.
• Outreach will include email, multiple phone calls, and virtual messages.
• Edfinancial will answer general Title IV questions as well as questions regarding the requirements for the use of federal professional judgment. This will significantly reduce phone and email inquiries to the individual campuses, allowing more staff resources to conduct professional judgment reviews. Edfinancial will also provide activity metrics to be used for reporting requirements and data analytics.
• Direct Outreach Communications will meet the ARP requirement by providing information regarding professional judgment availability.
• Edfinancial outreach efforts may be customized to include links to specific campus requirements for submitting a request for professional judgment, special conditions landing page, and specific virtual phone messages.

Repayment

There is no requirement for repayment of a Federal ARP Grant.

Impact on Financial Aid

This funding will not have any effect on a student’s current or future financial aid eligibility.

For additional inquiries, please email financialaid@downstate.edu