November 3, 2021
November 3, 2021 – At the midpoint of the fall semester, Northland has awarded over $1.4 million in emergency relief grants to help students enrolled during the fall 2021 semester to cover any component of their cost of attendance or other emergency expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants are part of the nearly $2.8 million allocated to Northland for emergency student financial aid from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) III, as authorized by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021.
On March 21, 2021, the ARP Act was signed into law. The bill authorized $39.6 billion in COVID-19 relief funding for higher education. Northland was allocated $2,791,361 from this fund. Of that, $1,297,750 has been disbursed as automatic grants to students who are identified as having exceptional need by their estimated family contribution (EFC) results of their 2021-22 FAFSA. Additionally, $158,550 has been distributed as emergency financial assistance grants to students who have applied due to COVID-related issues. More than 1000 students have received funds from this initiative. Northland will continue to award financial emergency assistance grants until the amount allotted for fall is fully utilized.
“We hope these funds will help provide some relief to students in mitigating the disruptions that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused,” affirmed Lisa Bottem, Northland’s Interim Dean of Student Services & Director of Financial Aid. “The goal of these funds is to ensure that learning continues for students during the ongoing pandemic.”
In order to provide continued support for students, Northland has earmarked just over $1.1 million for spring semester 2022. This second round will be available to currently enrolled Northland students as well as incoming students. Similar to fall semester, the funds will be distributed as both automatic grants to students with exceptional need as well as emergency financial assistance grants for those who have experienced financial difficulty or hardship related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information about Northland’s ARP grant funding, visit www.northlandcollege.edu/arp.