HEERF III (a)(1) – Student Portion  

Emergency Financial Aid Grants Awarded to Students
Approximately 9,400 NJCU students were eligible to apply for grants under the HEERF III program. NJCU received an allocation of $12,361,150 to be distributed to students under the program. Eligibility under the HEERF III program was expanded to include undocumented and international students. All eligible students must have been enrolled at NJCU in the term that the application was open.

As of June 30, 2023, NJCU has awarded 3,927 students a total of $12,307,944.90.  

All Applications for HEERF III funding are closed. 

Distribution of Grants
All enrolled students were eligible to apply for HEERF funding. NJCU administered the HEERF III funding through a series of different programs to address the burden of the cost of attendance:

1. Spring 2022 – Cost of Housing Hardship [Maximum award $5,912.15]
2. Spring 2022 – Cost of Tuition Hardship [Maximum award $1,800]
3. Summer 2022 –Cost of Tuition Hardship [Maximum award $4,409.60]
4. Summer 2022 – Cost of Housing Hardship [Maximum award $1500]
5. Fall 2022 – Cost of Housing Hardship [Maximum award $6,089.50]
6. Fall 2022 – Cost of Tuition Hardship [Maximum award $1,854]
7. Spring 2023 – Cost of Attendance Hardship [Maximum award $ 176.82]

Process, Evaluation, Eligibility: Programs 1-6
For programs 1-6, Aligned with Federal recommendations regarding the Student portion (a)(1) portion of the funding, NJCU identified students who had expressed need and difficulty covering tuition and housing costs via an application process.

As per the federal requirements, all currently enrolled students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens with a valid social security number are eligible for the Higher Education Emergency Relief funding under the CARES Act. Unlike HEERF I and HEERF II requirements, students enrolled exclusively in an online program, International, undocumented, and DACA students are eligible, as well as students who are in a SAP (satisfactory academic progress) denied status, students who have not registered for Selective Service (male only), and/or students who have defaulted on federal student loans.  Funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) was limited to students registered in the term designated by each application.

All HEERF III tuition hardship programs first considered Pell recipients for awards. If funding remained in the program after all Pell recipients received their emergency grant, all other students were considered.

All HEERF III housing hardship programs first considered students living on campus with a demonstrated inability to pay housing term bills. Within this group, Pell recipient students were given grants as a last-dollar award up to the full cost of housing (not including board). Pell students without outstanding on-campus housing balances received up to $5,000 per term. Non-Pell eligible students were then considered to receive up to $5,000 per term regardless of whether they lived in campus housing or not.

All students were asked to affirmatively indicate on the application and sign to that effect whether they wanted their HEERF grant applied to their NJCU student account or whether they preferred a percentage be applied. Students who did not provide affirmative consent had their grants distributed by check or direct deposit.

Process, Evaluation, Eligibility: Program 7
As per the federal requirements, all currently enrolled students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens with a valid social security number are eligible for the Higher Education Emergency Relief funding under the CARES Act. Unlike HEERF I and HEERF II requirements, students enrolled exclusively in an online program, International, undocumented, and DACA students are eligible, as well as students who are in a SAP (satisfactory academic progress) denied status, students who have not registered for Selective Service (male only), and/or students who have defaulted on federal student loans.  

For Program 7, students with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $0 were prioritized to receive this funding.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the Vice President of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management at VPSAEM@njcu.edu.

HEERF III (a)(2) – Minority Serving Institution

Emergency Financial Aid Grants Awarded
NJCU received $1,485,596 to be distributed to students. This allocation was made to NJCU based on two priorities under Section 314(a)(2) of the CRRSAA.

1. Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (DHSI) ($1,262,960)
2. Promoting Post-baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) ($222,636)

As of June 30, 2023, NJCU has awarded 504 students a total of $1,469,582.27.  

The Application for HEERF III (a) (2) funding is closed.  

Distribution of Grants
NJCU administered the HEERF III funding through a series of different programs with the aim of addressing the burden of the cost of attendance:

1. Fall 2021: Cost of Housing Hardship [Maximum award $5,912.15]
2. Fall 2022 Graduate Cost of Attendance Hardship [$200 per credit registered for a maximum award of $3,600.00]

Program 1: Cost of Housing Hardship
The maximum emergency assistance grant was $5,912.15 per student. A team of professionals from student service offices will review requests. Funds will be directly applied to student accounts to help cover the costs of Fall 2021 on-campus housing or to students seeking postgraduate study.

In alignment with Federal recommendations regarding the Minority Serving Institution (a)(2) portion of the funding, NJCU prioritized students living in on-campus housing, through an application process, expressed difficulty paying their housing costs.

As per the federal requirements, all currently enrolled students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens with a valid social security number are eligible for the Higher Education Emergency Relief funding under the CARES Act. Unlike HEERF I and HEERF II requirements, students enrolled exclusively in an online program, International, undocumented, and DACA students are eligible, as well as students who are in a SAP (satisfactory academic progress) denied status, students who have not registered for Selective Service (male only), and/or students who have defaulted on federal student loans. Funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) was limited to students registered and living in on-campus housing for Fall 2021 or seeking postgraduate studies.

Program 2: Fall 2022 Graduate Cost of Attendance Hardship
As per the federal requirements, all currently enrolled students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens with a valid social security number are eligible for the Higher Education Emergency Relief funding under the CARES Act. Unlike HEERF I and HEERF II requirements, students enrolled exclusively in an online program, International, undocumented, and DACA students are eligible, as well as students who are in a SAP (satisfactory academic progress) denied status, students who have not registered for Selective Service (male only), and/or students who have defaulted on federal student loans.  

For Program 2, students who had a balance on their student account filed a FAFSA and did not receive previous CARES funds were awarded these funds.

For More Information

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the Vice President of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management at VPSAEM@njcu.edu.