The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act was passed by Congress and signed into law 03/11/2021 to provide economic relief from COVID-19.
Included in ARP is a third round of stimulus funding for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), which will be sent to schools to use for financial aid grants to students for account balances or as emergency grants directly to students for emergency costs that have directly resulted from Coronavirus. Scroll down for FAQs and consumer information and disclosure.
ARP FAQs
CARES Act established the Higher Education Emergency Relief fund (HEERF) to assist enrolled students (excluding exclusively online students and non-degree seeking students) for expenses related to the disruption of on-campus operations due to the pandemic in Spring 2020. CARES funding to students has been fully exhausted. CRRSAA is a supplemental for HEERF to assist Spring 2021 enrolled students who have “exceptional need” with their account balance or with emergency costs that have directly resulted from Coronavirus. ARP is a third supplemental for HEERF to assist ANY student who was enrolled at ANY point since the pandemic started in March 2020 and who has “exceptional need” with their account balance or with emergency costs that have directly resulted from Coronavirus. However, ARP must prioritize undergraduate, domestic students in the allocation of funding.
Because CARES in Spring 2020 was administered to assist students who were on-campus during the pandemic’s disruption to on-campus operations, all on-campus students at the time of the disruption were given some amount of CARES to assist with the sudden loss of on-campus services. On the other hand, CRRSAA is meant for those with “exceptional need,” and as such only those students with a Pell eligible EFC (EFC = expected family contribution as determined on your FAFSA) are eligible for an automatic CRRSAA grant. Likewise, students with an Pell eligible EFC are eligible for an automatic ARP Grant. The distinction between CRRSAA and ARP is that undergraduate students are prioritized under ARP. If you have a need that has arisen as a direct result of Coronavirus, please contact the Financial Aid Office for more information.
If you were not enrolled during Spring 2020 or if you were enrolled in an exclusively online program in Spring 2020, you were not eligible for CARES. For CRRSAA, you were identified as an enrolled student for Spring 2021 with a Pell eligible EFC (EFC = expected family contribution as determined on your FAFSA). Consequently, you received a CRRSAA Grant. Likewise, for ARP, you were identified as a currently enrolled student for Spring 2021 or Summer 2021 with a Pell eligible EFC and, as such, received an ARP Grant.
If you are identified as an enrolled undergraduate student for Spring 2021 or Summer 2021 with a Pell eligible EFC (EFC = expected family contribution as determined on your FAFSA) at the time that we received the ARP funding, you will receive a ARP Grant.
Yes. However, because we do not have a FAFSA on you (non-citizens do not file a FAFSA), we will need an appeal form to determine your level of need. Please contact the Office of Financial for an appeal form.
Because ARP is meant for undergraduate students with exceptional need (those with a Pell Grant eligible EFC (EFC = expected family contribution as determined on your FAFSA)), eligible students were identified by reviewing students’ EFCs, and students’ ARP Grant amounts were determined by the student’s EFC according to the table below:
| 2020-2021 EFC | ARP Grant Amount |
| 0 | $2550 |
| 1-1000 | $2500 |
| 1001-2000 | $2400 |
| 2001-3000 | $2300 |
| 3001-4000 | $2200 |
| 4001-5000 | $2100 |
| 5001-5711 | $2000 |
Once ARP was signed, legislators began work on establishing and issuing guidance to schools regarding expectations for and application of the funding. SWU then had to wait until it actually received its funding. Additionally, SWU had to wait until it received each student’s ARP Authorization Form, which tells SWU how to process the grant for each student (be sure to check SWU email for the ARP Authorization form). Funding was received 05/25/2021, at which time SWU immediately began writing and administering policy to identify eligible students.
No. But, the expectation is that the ARP grant will be used, if not as a financial aid grant for the student’s account balance, then as an emergency grant directly to student for emergency costs that have directly resulted from Coronavirus.
Students are not required to apply the grant to their account balances, but it is definitely an option if a student has an account balance. ARP Grant eligible students will receive a ARP Grant Authorization Form via their SWU email. This form, once submitted by the student, will tell SWU how each student wants the grant applied: either to the account balance or directly to the student to be used toward emergency costs that have directly resulted from Coronavirus.
Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have an immediate need directly related to Coronavirus. We will continue to make requests based on individual needs with appropriate demonstration of need.
Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have an immediate need directly related to Coronavirus. We will continue to make requests based on individual needs with appropriate demonstration of need.
At this time, we do not have an answer to this question. The US Department of Education is constantly re-evaluating the effects of Coronavirus. As information is released, SWU will communicate any and all information that affects student grant funding.
ARP Consumer Information and Disclosure
Southern Wesleyan University (SWU) received notification from the U.S. Department of Education on May 25, 2021 that $1,612,433 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds were available for student grants. We have begun administrative work to get the funding out to eligible students and to notify those students.
Funds will be expended in the following manner:
Phase One – identify Pell Grant eligible students that were enrolled at SWU Spring 2021 or Summer 2021 and administer baseline grants according to a tiered metric system similar that used for Pell Grant eligibility. In effect, students’ ARP grant amounts will be determined by the student’s EFC as calculated by the student’s 2020-2021 FAFSA. The table below demonstrates the tiered metric system:
| 2020-2021 EFC | ARP Grant Amount |
| 0 | $2550 |
| 1-1000 | $2500 |
| 1001-2000 | $2400 |
| 2001-3000 | $2300 |
| 3001-4000 | $2200 |
| 4001-5000 | $2100 |
| 5001-5711 | $2000 |
Phase Two – for those students who have exceptional need and need more than that offered in phase 1 or for students who did not receive a baseline grant but appeal on the basis of exceptional need, appeal opportunities will be offered. Appeals can be on the basis of 1) having extenuating difficulty with paying their account balance or 2) paying for emergency costs that have arisen due to Coronavirus, such as costs related to the basic needs of food, housing, health care or child care. The appeals will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, may require documentation for substantiation, and will be assessed using financial aid administration’s professional judgment.
Access the appeal form here. Submit completed form to Tasha Morgan, Director of Financial Aid at
During Phase 1, SWU identified 490 automatically eligible students (those that had an expected family contribution (EFC) on their 2020-2021 FAFSA that was less than 5712) and allocated $1,190,650 in ARP COVID Relief Grants to those students, leaving $421,783 for COVID emergency appeals.
As of September 27, 2021, SWU has granted 19 appeals. With appeals included, the total ARP COVID Relief allocated during Phase 1 & Phase 2 equals $1,267,711 and assists 508 students. We continue to receive and review COVID emergency appeals. If you did not receive a relief grant during phase 1 and you have a COVID need or if you have a need beyond the relief that you received, please contact the Financial Aid Office at 864-644-5500 or at .