Federal Funding: CRRSAA of 2021

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) is intended to support RIT students with expenses incurred as a result of the COVID-19 national emergency.

This financial distribution is part of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II), which was funded through the CRRSAA. The purpose of the funding is to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CRRSAA student grant distribution may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to COVID-19, such as tuition, food, housing, healthcare (including mental health care) or childcare.

The university distributed nearly $5.2 million of the funding to provide Emergency Grants to the RIT students (not affiliated with NTID) with the highest need in accordance with federal guidelines. 

The National Technical Institute for the Deaf received a separate appropriation to assist NTID and NTID-supported students, under rules mirroring CRRSAA’s. RIT/NTID distributed approximately $2.5 million of that funding to provide Emergency Grants to its students in accordance with federal guidelines. The university processed payments to students in late March.

A sign language interpreted translation of this information is available

Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting

Quarter ending 3/31/2021 – report dated 6/30/2021

Quarter ending 6/30/2021 – report dated 7/09/2021

Quarter ending 9/30/2021 – report dated 10/10/2021

Quarter ending 12/31/2021 – report dated 1/10/2022

Quarter ending 3/31/2022 – report dated 4/10/2022

Quarter ending 6/30/2022 – report dated 7/11/2022

Quarter ending 9/30/2022 – report dated 10/10/2022

Quarter ending 12/31/2022 – report dated 01/10/2023

Quarter ending 3/31/2023 – report dated 04/10/2023

Quarter ending 6/30/2023 – report dated 07/10/2023

RIT Student Eligibility

All eligible students have received an email from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships with details regarding their grant.

The U.S. Department of Education has determined only U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens are considered for these funds. International students are not eligible to receive the CRRSAA Emergency Grant.

Group 1: University-coordinated Pre-arrival Hotel Quarantine

A portion of the CRRSAA funds ($221,375) were designated to offset use of the university-coordinated hotel quarantine option for 360 students who were required by RIT and New York state to quarantine before circulating on campus. The charges for the university-coordinated hotel quarantine were applied to a recipient’s account or reimbursed to the student. Non-domestic students were also reimbursed using RIT funding, not CRRSAA funding.

Group 2: Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $28,555 or less

RIT used information provided on the 2020-21 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to measure the socioeconomic status of students. A total of $4,991,284 was made available to 6,907 students who had a valid FAFSA on file with RIT, were enrolled in Spring 2021 as of March 10 and who had an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $28,555 or less. RIT utilized the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) to determine the amounts distributed, which ranged from $300 to $1,000 per student.

Group 3: Uncashed check redistribution

Some paper checks issued as emergency grants to students in the Spring 2021 term were never cashed despite multiple attempts to reach the recipients. Checks totaling $19,625 had to be voided and redistributed as a result. These funds were awarded to 42 students who were determined to have exceptional need during the Spring 2021 term. These grant amounts ranged from $300 to $650 per student.

NTID Student Eligibility

The National Technical Institute for the Deaf received a separate and different appropriation to assist NTID and NTID-supported students. All eligible students received an email from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships with details regarding their grant.

The U.S. Department of Education has determined only U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens are considered for these funds. International students are not eligible to receive the CRRSAA Emergency Grant.

A total of $2,560,185 was distributed to 840 National Technical Institute for the Deaf students in March 2021. Another round of $2,829,575 was distributed to 943 National Technical Institute for the Deaf students in December 2021. All eligible students received an email from NTID with details regarding this second grant in December 2021.

Group 1: University-coordinated Pre-arrival Hotel Quarantine

A portion of the CRRSAA funds ($59,685) were designated to offset use of the university-coordinated hotel quarantine option for 99 students who were required by RIT and New York state to quarantine before circulating on campus. The charges for the university-coordinated hotel quarantine were applied to a recipient’s account or reimbursed to the student on March 5, 2021. Non-domestic students were also reimbursed using RIT funding, not CRRSAA funding.

Group 2: NTID-Supported Students with Valid FAFSA on File with RIT

A total of $2,500,500 was distributed to 840 National Technical Institute for the Deaf students on March 31, 2021, and a total of $2,829,575 was distributed to 943 National Technical Institute for the Deaf students on December 14, 2021. Grants were made available to all NTID-supported students with a valid Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file with RIT, enrolled in Spring 2021 as of March 10, and to all NTID-supported students with a valid Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file with RIT, enrolled for Fall 2021 as of November 15, 2021. A total of $2,744,550 was made available on April 27, 2022 to 891 students who were enrolled in a degree-seeking program in Spring 2022 as of April 15, 2022, and had a valid FAFSA on file. In all cases, RIT used information provided on the 2020-21 FAFSA to measure the socioeconomic status of students, with the neediest students receiving the largest grants. RIT utilized the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) to determine the amounts distributed, which ranged from $875 to $3,800 per student.

Frequently Asked Questions

No action on the part of the student is required. However, in order to expedite receipt of funds, students are encouraged to set up Direct Deposit for student accounts (different than Payroll account). To set up your direct deposit, login to eservices; under the refund navigation within the Financial Services section, click “Add Bank Account” and follow the steps to set up direct deposit.

For students who have signed up for direct deposit with Student Financial Services, funding will be sent to the student’s financial institution via electronic funds transfer (EFT).  For students not enrolled in direct deposit, a paper check will be mailed to the student’s permanent home address.

RIT has received its authorization from the Department of Education and will begin processing grants as soon as possible.

Federal guidelines indicate the fund can be used for any number of financial costs related to disruption of education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CRRSAA student grant distribution may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, including but not limited to tuition, food, housing, healthcare (including mental health care), or childcare. CRRSAA money may be used to pay an outstanding balance on a student account.

No. Grants received from the CRRSAA are independent from other aid sources you may have received.

No. The IRS has determined that CRRSAA Emergency Grants are not taxable and are not reported on a U.S. tax return. To find out if the grant is taxable in your state, check with your individual state tax agency. Visit the IRS website for more information.

No. All first and second Economic Impact Payments have been sent and a third will be sent to those that qualify shortly. Visit the IRS website for more information.