HEERF, CARES Act, CRRSAA Information

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III

and the American Rescue Plan

Ranken Technical College students may be eligible to receive funding through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds III (HEERFIII) Grant Program.  The emergency grants require no repayment.

Eligibility criteria for automatic funding for HEERF III:

• Enrolled currently in the Fall 2021 semester
• Have completed a 2021-2022 FAFSA and have a calculated EFC
• Demonstrate exceptional need based upon an official Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as determined by the Department of Education. Priority grants will be awarded to Pell Grant recipients first.  Additional awards may be tiered.  Students with an EFC of $12,000 or less (but do not receive Pell Grant), may automatically qualify too.

The Federal HEERF III Emergency Grants will be awarded in the Fall 2021 semester and are not necessarily renewable in the Spring semester.  HEERF III also requires the College to prioritize a greater portion of funding to students who exhibit exceptional need.  The College will utilize the EFC to support this requirement.

HEERF III Emergency Grants will be processed through the student account and will be directly refunded to eligible students.  The grants will not be applied to account balances; however, any student who receives the emergency grant can give written permission to the Business Office to use the funds to cover any outstanding or expected balance.

*Eligible students are strongly encouraged to set up an eRefund to obtain funding as quickly as possible.  To sign up, log into your student account at www.insideranken.org and go to finances, pay online and enroll in eRefunds.

Unfortunately, funding is not available to all students in need due to limited funding provided to Ranken through HEERF III and the requirement that the College prioritize funding based on documented exceptional need.  Students who do not receive an automatic grant will have an opportunity to apply for a grant later in the semester.  Applications will be available in the Financial Aid Office after November 1, 2021.  Please do not request an application prior to this date.

Ranken Technical College has received a Grant in the amount of $5,358,399 in HEERF funding to be distributed to eligible students. A total of 2,721 students were eligible and received Grant funds as of September 30, 2021.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2021, 445 students were eligible and received HEERF Grant funds with the total amount distributed to students of $736,800.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2021, 910 students were eligible and received HEERF Grant funds with the total amount distributed to students of $2,020,500.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2022, 191 students  were eligible and received HEERF Grant funds with the total amount distributed to students of $389,480.

Institutional HEERF reporting

Expenditures through September 30, 2020

Expenditures for the quarter ending December 31, 2020

Expenditures for the quarter ending March 31, 2021

Expenditures for the quarter ending June 30, 2021

Expenditures for the quarter ending September 30, 2021

Expenditures for the quarter ending December 31, 2021

Expenditures for the quarter ending March 31, 2022

Institutional and Student HEERF reporting

Expenditures for the quarter ending June 30, 2022

Expenditures for the quarter ending September 30, 2022

2021 HEERF II – Ranken Technical College CARES II Program

We are excited to announce that Ranken Technical College has received our second round of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF) money, authorized by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSAA).

The recently enacted 2021 Federal Consolidated Appropriations Act provided supplemental Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF II) dollars to colleges and universities.  The purpose of the money is to award emergency financial aid grants to students that can be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance (COA) or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, fees, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), or childcare.

Ranken Technical College will soon begin distributing over $1 million in HEERF II Act funding.

We recognize that every student has been affected by the pandemic. We have worked to ensure that we are able to help as many students as we can while acknowledging that students who currently receive high-need federal financial aid in the form of a Pell grant might continue to have increased need. 

Students who received a CARES Act grant earlier this year may not necessarily receive funds this time due to more strict eligibility requirements. 

Automatic disbursements will be processed based on the following criteria:

• Be enrolled for this current spring semester;
• Have completed a FAFSA for 2020-2021 and be eligible to receive federal financial aid;
• Have an estimated family contribution of less than $12,000;

The amount of automatic disbursements will range from $600 to $1200 and will be tiered based on need as determined by the U.S. Department of Education.  All students will automatically receive their grant via eRefund or a mailed check.  The quickest way for students to receive their grant is via eRefund.  Students should strongly consider signing up for eRefund if they have not already done so. 

To sign up, or verify your account information, please log into your student account at www.insideranken.org and go to finances, pay online and enroll in eRefunds.

*Additional funds may be available via an application process for students who do NOT receive an automatic disbursement.  Please check with the Financial Aid Office to determine your eligibility.

The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students under Section 314(a)(1) of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021(CRRSAA) as of the date of submission.(i.e., 10 days following the end of the quarter thereafter).

• • Ranken Technical College has distributed a total of $1,085,100 to date of HEERF II funds and $0 for the quarter ending September 30, 2021.

The total amount of funds that the institution has received from the Department pursuant to the institutions Certification and Agreement (for) the Emergency Financial Aid Grant funds for the institutional costs.

• Institutional CRRSAA reporting

CARES Act 2020

Education Secretary Betsy Devos has announced the release of emergency funds for colleges and universities to help students in financial distress amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ranken will start disbursing funds to eligible students once the funds are released to the college. Current, eligible students, please make sure you have setup e-refunds.

Eligible students that will receive Emergency Relief Grants due to the CARES Act need to sign up for e-refunds ASAP! Please visit this link and follow the instructions on Inside Ranken for applying for e-refunds.

CARES Act Data\Reports 

The Certification and Agreement directs each institution applying for HEERF funds to comply with Section 18004(e) of the CARES Act and submit an initial report (the “30-day Fund Report”) to the Secretary thirty (30) days from the date of the institution’s Certification and Agreement to the Department. The Department will provide instructions for providing the required information to the Secretary in the near future. In the meantime, each HEERF participating institution must post the information listed below on the institution’s primary website. The Department would like to receive the most current information from the date when the institution received its allocation for emergency financial aid grants to students, and the institution should have received its allocation within a few days after submitting the Certification and Agreement. Accordingly, the following information must appear in a format and location that is easily accessible to the public 30 days after the date when the institution received its allocation under 18004(a)(1) and updated every 45 days thereafter:

• An acknowledgement that the institution signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
  • • Ranken Technical College has signed and returned the appropriate Funding Certification and Agreement to the U.S. Department of Education.  In a timely fashion, Ranken fully intends to provide at least 50% of the CARES Act funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) to students in the form of Emergency Financial Aid Grants.
• The total amount of funds that the institution will receive or has received from the Department pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement [for] Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
  • • Ranken Technical College has received an allocation of $1,092,964 to be distributed to students as Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
• The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of the date of submission (i.e., as of the 30-day Report and every 45 days thereafter).
  • • Ranken Technical College has distributed a total of $1,092,964 to date – as Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
• The estimated total number of students at the institution eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
  • • The total number of students at Ranken Technical College who are eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act is 1,233.
• The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
  • • The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act is 1,233.
• The method(s) used by the institution to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
  • • Ranken Technical College is committed to assisting as many students as possible through the COVID-19 pandemic.  The determination was made that to best meet the need of those students, Ranken Technical College would distribute all money equally to those who qualified.  Qualification was determined by enrollment status during the 2019-2020 Spring semester at the time of the emergency declaration and eligibility to participate in Federal Financial Aid Title IV programs.
• Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.
  • • Ranken sent out emails to all eligible students and posted banner messages on our websites to alert students to check on their eligibility and act on it.