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Emergency Financial Assistance for Students

Emergency Financial Assistance for Students

Indiana University Bloomington Emergency Financial Assistance for Students

Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) was awarded $12 million from the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in spring 2020 and $12 million for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) in spring 2021 to assist students who meet the funding qualifications and are experiencing financial hardships caused by the pandemic. All IUB students may apply for HEERF emergency funding.

If you have any questions about emergency funding, please email us at emrgfund@iu.edu. Please include your full name, University ID # and IU email address.

To submit an application for emergency funding, please go here.

If you or a student you care about is struggling, please consider completing a Care Referral.

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Reporting

Indiana University Bloomington signed and returned to the Department of Education the Certification and Agreement and will use the applicable amount of funds designated under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) program to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.

The total amount of funds authorized March 29, 2021, from the Department pursuant to the institution's Certification and Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the CRRSAA (a)(1) program is $12,286,461.

$5,780,000 in Emergency Financial Aid Grants were distributed to students under the CRRSAA (a)(1) program between April 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021.

The estimated total number of students at the institution that are eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the CRRSAA (a)(1) program is 42,512.

As of June 30, 2021, 9,948 students have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under the CRRSAA (a)(1) program.

IUB awarded emergency financial aid grants automatically to students enrolled in Spring 2021 classes with exceptional need, evidenced by a FAFSA with an EFC of $9000 or less. Students who did not meet the eligibility criteria for the automatically-awarded grant can complete an application demonstrating their exceptional need to be reviewed and considered for HEERF II funding. Award amounts range from $500-$600. Information on Emergency Financial Aid Grants, including details about the application process, are available to all IUB students here. Students were, and continue to be notified of their grants via email which outlined what funding could be utilized for.

COVID-19 emergency funds will be awarded in accordance with federal, state and institutional regulations.

HEERF II Funding Eligibility

Students need to have been enrolled at IUB in the Spring 2021 semester.
A student's financial hardship must be related to the pandemic in any one or more of the following areas: housing, food, medical (including dental & mental health), child care expenses, educational materials or cost of attendance (including tuition/fees).
International and DACA students are now eligible to apply for these funds.

HEERF II funding

The PDF below documents expenditures from HEERF II funding, section 18004(a)(1-Institutional) and 18004(a)(2), as required by US Department of Education.

Download the report

CARES Act

Indiana University signed and returned the Certification and Agreement to receive funds under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to the Department of Education. By doing so, the university assures no less than 50 percent of the funds will be used to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students. The Bloomington campus of Indiana University received $12,286,461 to provide Emergency Grants to students.

As of February 1, 2021, the total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act at IU Bloomington is $12,286,461.

The total number of students who are eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, who could be eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act, is approximately 21,500. As of February 1, 2021, 13,096 applications have been received and 8,913 have been reviewed and awarded funds.

IUB used an application method to distribute grants to students. Through multiple communications from March – May 2020, students were encouraged to apply for emergency funds. These communications (from both the Provost and Vice Provost offices) included instructions for how to apply if students had faced disruption due to COVID-19 including the requirement of a completed FASFA to determine eligibility. Applicants were encouraged to apply based on their need with a maximum award of $1500. Additional guidance provided to students can be found below.

Students must have meet Title IV federal student aid guidelines, which was demonstrated by completing a Free Application for Federal Student AID (FAFSA).
Students needed to have been enrolled in the Spring 2020 semester.
Students who were not enrolled in an exclusively online distance education program prior to March 23, 2020.
Per Federal guidelines, International, DACA students and students enrolled in fully online programs were not eligible for CARES Act funding.

CARES Act HEERF funding

The PDF below documents expenditures from CARES Act HEERF funding, section 18004(a)(1-Institutional) and 18004(a)(2), as required by US Department of Education.

Download the report

Frequently Asked Questions

Completing a 2021-2022 FAFSA is not required to be eligible for HEERF II emergency funding; however, the Office of Student Financial Assistance encourages all domestic undergraduate and graduate students to file the FAFSA so all possible financial aid (other than HEERF II emergency funding) is made available to you if you need it. The process to file the FAFSA takes less than 1 hour to complete and you can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to pre-populate the federal tax return information. This will save you some time in completing the FAFSA. It will take 2-3 days to process the information before IUB receives it and keeps it on file should you need to access financial aid (other than emergency funding via HEERF II).

Complete your FAFSA here: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.

Emergency funding applications are reviewed in the order they are received on a weekly basis. If awarded you will receive the award notification via your IU email at the beginning of the week and the award will be refunded to you via Direct Deposit of Bursar Refunds the same week on Fridays. Please make sure your Direct Deposit of Bursar Refunds is set up with up to date bank information. Once refunded on Friday, banks take another 1-4 business days to process the refund depending on the bank. If we need additional information regarding your application we will reach out via your IU email to request it.

If you have already applied for emergency funding and have a question or concern about your request, please email us at emrgfund@iu.edu. Please know our response time may be slower due to the volume of calls and emails we are receiving. We thank you for your patience.

All emergency funds will be issued to your designated bank account via Direct Deposit from the Office of the Bursar. Please login to the Direct Deposit of Bursar refunds app on one.iu.edu confirm your designated bank account information is up to date or set it up immediately. If you are awarded emergency funding and wish to have it applied to your current Bursar balance instead of direct deposited to your designated bank account, the award notification email includes a link to request the funds be applied to your Bursar balance. You must submit that request prior to the Friday refund date noted in your award notification email.

HEERF II emergency funding will have no impact on your 2021-2022 financial aid package. If you are receiving emergency funding from another source, the Office of Student Financial Assistance has evaluated your aid package to ensure that your award amount fits in current package. Funds awarded are grants to students and do not require repayment.

For students who are receiving the HEERF II emergency funding, they will need to go to their Bursar’s account statement to see the award and it will be listed as “Federal Emergency Relief Award.”
For students that qualify for IU Foundation supported donor funds, the award will be listed as “Warren Emergency Funds.”

Please email us at emrgfund@iu.edu if you have a question that is not addressed on this website or in the FAQs.

If the award disbursement you receive is different from the amount listed in your award notification email, please contact Student Central to inquire about emergency fund disbursement related questions only.

For other general inquiries about the COVID-19 emergency fund process, please email us at emrgfund@iu.edu. Thank you for your patience as we work to answer your individual inquiry.

To check your Bursar account for the Federal Emergency Relief Award you were awarded, go to Student Billing, click on Statements, look for Federal Emergency Relief Award. There are two transactions to look for. The first transaction is the date the award was posted to your Bursar account, the 2^nd transaction is the date the funds were refunded to you via direct deposit to your designated bank account.

Emergency Financial Assistance for Students

Indiana University Bloomington Emergency Financial Assistance for Students

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Reporting

HEERF II funding

CARES Act

CARES Act HEERF funding

Frequently Asked Questions

I haven’t submitted a FAFSA. Am I eligible?

When will I know if I receive emergency funds?

How will I receive funding if I am deemed eligible?

Will this funding affect my 2021-2022 financial aid package?

How do I know if my award has posted in my bursar account?

What if I have a question about something that is not listed here?

What if my emergency fund award amount is different from what I see when I look at my Bursar record and the direct deposit to my designated bank account?

Where do I look on my Student Billing account to see if the emergency funds were awarded to me?

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