ARP Act

Last updated 04/06/2022     Go to Federal Aid Summary Page

American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act & Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF III)

The U.S. government provided emergency funding to colleges and universities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ARP Act provides funds similar to the CARES Act and was enacted to provide a third round of emergency funding. All three of these acts extended Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF).

Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding

On May 17, 2021, Chico State University received $27,780,710 in ARPA Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. An additional award of $3,371,003 was received on August 3, 2021 as a minority-serving institution (MSI). 

Spring 2022

For Spring 2022, grant awards totaling over $15 million were distributed to students starting the week of March 21, 2022. These awards included the balance of ARP Student Emergency Aid and MSI funding and were disbursed as follows:

When and how were grants distributed?

The grant award amounts shown above were posted to over 14,000 student accounts between March 22, 2022 and March 30, 2022. The grants were automatic and students did not need to apply for funding. 

Priority was given to students with e-Refund on file, and payments were issued directly into each student’s bank account beginning on March 24, 2022 (if on file in the Student Center under e-Refund by March 22nd). Late enrollments in e-Refund had payments issued directly into students' bank accounts on March 30, 2022. Students who did not enroll in e-Refund were able to pick up checks between Friday, April 1, 2022 and Friday, April 8, 2022. Beginning Monday, April 11, 2022 any checks that had not been picked up were mailed out to students.

For those students receiving checks, we encourage you to cash your check as soon as possible. Any uncashed checks will result in funds being returned to the federal government. Due to the deadlines on the HEERF funding, there is not enough time to redistribute the funds to other needy students and we will therefore lose them altogether, so we appreciate your help in this matter.

This will be the final round of emergency financial assistance to students. We hope these relief payments assisted our students in continuing their academic goals while at Chico State.

For those who continue to experience financial strain, Chico State is here to support you. Please visit the Basic Needs(opens in new window) website for information regarding emergency food and shelter assistance available through our Basic Needs Initiative.

Fall 2021

For Fall 2021 grant awards to students, approximately 60% of the $27.8M ARP Act award was distributed to students leaving the remaining balance for Spring 2022 awards to students. Awards of $1,800 and $900 in Emergency Financial Aid Grants received under the CRRSA Act and CARES Act, respectively, were returned by students. These funds, along with 60% of the ARP Act Emergency Financial Aid Grant award, provided a grand total of over $16.6M in student support.

Students were given the opportunity to apply for additional emergency assistance through the Basic Needs office, and as of Feb. 18, 2022, a total of $64,920 in additional ARP student emergency relief funding was awarded to 58 students.

As of January 2022, $2,200 of Emergency Financial Aid Grants received under the ARP Act was returned by students. 

Who was eligible?

Domestic students did not need to submit a FAFSA application or demonstrate financial need for ARP Act funding. All students, including Dream and undocumented students, enrolled in a program leading to a degree or a teaching credential were eligible, including those enrolled in a completely online program. International students were required to demonstrate financial need and were contacted by the International Education and Global Engagement office regarding a separate application and received funding at the same time.

What can grant funds be used for?

HEERF grant awards were designed to support student expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We recognize that many students are struggling, and our hope is that this round of relief will assist with expenses related to COVID-19, including increased costs for housing, food, course materials, technology, health care, and childcare. Students can choose to utilize the grant funds to pay current or future university charges but that is at the student’s discretion.

Grant Amounts

Grant amounts vary by campus and by student, depending on campus resources and student circumstances. However, grant awards provided via HEERF dollars are not restricted by cost of attendance ceilings and are not counted against a student’s future financial aid award.

Grant Amount Determination

Every student has been affected by the pandemic in one way or another. In order to get the funds to students as quickly as possible and since students did not have to document a financial need, a “block grant” approach was used. ARP Act emergency relief funding to students was allocated to eligible students in the manner shown below, with over $16.6M in relief distributed to students.

When and how were grants distributed?

The grant award amounts shown above were posted to over 15,000 student accounts starting on October 7, 2021. The grants were automatic and students did not need to apply for funding.

Payments were issued directly into each student’s bank account (if on file in the Student Center under e-Refund) or mailed to a student’s local address. Students could expect their payment into their bank account or check mailed out to the local address in the Student Center by Friday, October 15, 2021. We recommended that students visit the Student Center to review their local address information and/or sign up for e-Refund (direct deposit) if they had not already. Information on how to access e-Refund is found on the campus Student Financial Services(opens in new window) website. Students should remain vigilant against phishing or scam emails.

What if I need additional emergency food or housing crisis support?

We understand that the pandemic has caused a lot of financial strain and Chico State is here to support you. Please visit the Basic Needs(opens in new window) website for information regarding emergency food and shelter assistance available through our Basic Needs Initiative.

While no amount of money can compensate for the full burden experienced by so many of our students and families during this pandemic, we hope these relief payments assisted our students in continuing their academic goals while at Chico State.

Higher Education Institutional Portion Funding

ARP Act Institutional Portion funds in the amount of $27,514,807 were also awarded on May 17, 2021. Please see our Institutional Portion Funding(opens in new window) page to see how the combined funds are being spent by Chico State.

Please refer to the Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reports linked on our Federal Aid Summary Page(opens in new window) for more details on the breakdown of these expenditures.

Given the high-profile nature of this funding, be alert for phishing attacks. Remember, Chico State will never ask you to email/text your password or ask you to verify your banking information via email.