(April 2, 2021) Northern Oklahoma College received a second round of stimulus funding of $985,509 from the Coronavirus Relief and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) to award as financial aid grants to students and help support our students’ needs and challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic.
These funds are similar to the CARES Act funds that were distributed by the college last year. The funds will continue to support any component of the students’ cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arising due to COVID, such as tuition, food, housing, course materials, technology, health care (including mental health) and child care.
The Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations ACT (CRRSAA) was passed by Congress and signed into law December 27, 2020 to provide economic relief from COVID. The grant funds are from the U.S. Department of Education Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II). The funds were established to prioritize students with the greatest financial need.
Most NOC Students who are enrolled for Spring 2021 as of March 22, 2021 will be eligible for a portion of the CRRSAA funds under the HEERF II. CRRSAA emergency assistance funding is federal grant assistance that does not need to be repaid.
Eligible students will receive an email regarding the CRRSA Funds. Additional information including date of disbursement will be made available soon. CRRSAA requires institutions to prioritize grants to students with exceptional financial need. Therefore, Pell eligible students will receive $60 per credit hour based upon their enrollment as of March 22, 2021. Non-Pell eligible students will receive $50 per credit hour based upon the same census date above.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, qualified students must have filled out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, last year. The criteria to participate in programs under Section 484 of the HEA include but are not limited to the following: U.S. citizenship or eligible noncitizen; a valid Social Security number; registration with Selective Service (if the student is male); and a high school diploma, GED, or completion of high school in an approved homeschool setting.
Students in the following categories will not be eligible to receive CRRSAA funding:
- DACA students
- Undocumented students
- International students
- Concurrent students
- NOC/OSU Gateway Program students billed by OSU
Attention NOC Students: You will have the option to apply CRRSAA grant funds to your account balance by clicking this link: NOC Student Financial Aid System . You will need to login using your online financial aid credentials and answer accept or decline to the CRRSAA question by April 5th. If you do not wish to apply funds to your students account balance, then you will not need to take any action.
If you have not designated your refund option, please go to MyNOC, then under the Students tab, click Billing. The direct deposit designation is in the middle of the page. Instructions for the direct deposit designation and financial aid login instructions are attached to this email. Please have this completed before midnight on April 9th.
With questions or for more information about the NOC CRRSAA Funds, please contact the NOC Financial Aid office at financial.aid@noc.edu.