Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Student Report/FINAL

To the Mason Community:

On February 16, 2021, George Mason University received a $10,427,512 supplemental allocation of funding for student emergency grants under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) as authorized under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) signed into law on December 27, 2020.  This second round of funding is commonly referred to as “HEERF II”.

The Department of Education has established eligibility and prioritization requirements for students to receive grants from the HEERF programs.  Recent updates to the eligibility guidelines have expanded the population of eligible students beyond those eligible for earlier rounds of HEERF awards.  Mason estimates that approximately 23,600 students were eligible to receive HEERF II grants based on the guidelines.  Within those guidelines, Mason has the discretion to determine individual award amounts provided to eligible students.

For the HEERF II awards, Mason used a multi-prong approach which included proactive awards to students with existing FAFSA data in our Financial Aid system and application-based awards utilizing our existing Student Emergency Assistance grant process.    Students were identified for proactive awards based on a combination of factors including (but not limited to) estimated family contribution (EFC), unmet need, student level, and residency status.  Application-based awards were provided to eligible students experiencing adverse financial impacts of the pandemic based on information provided in their applications.  The majority of the HEERF II awards were disbursed to students during the Spring 2021 semester. Emergency awards continued to be awarded during the summer 2021 term.

The table below lists the award distributions made during the calendar quarter ended September 30, 2021, along with information on previous distributions for reference.

CRRSAA – HEERF II Awards  

The remaining unallocated HEERF II funds, along with any amounts from adjustments or uncashed checks from previously issued awards have been rolled over into the funds available for distribution under HEERF III grants (funded by the American Rescue Plan Act).  As such, this is the final quarterly report for Mason’s emergency student awards under HEERF II.

Students experiencing on-going financial hardships are encouraged to apply for emergency assistance available from the HEERF funds, and can submit applications for assistance at: https://ulife.gmu.edu/student-emergency-assistance-funding-fall-2021/. The application is updated for each new semester.