INA, Ill. (Aug. 16, 2022) — Federal funding proved very helpful for Rend Lake College students impacted by COVID-19. On March 23, 2020, all RLC classes went to online instruction only. Less than two months later, emergency grants totaling $779,332 were being distributed to 817 students. Over a two-year period the college passed along more than $4 million in federal funds to over 2,500* students — an average of $1,550 per student.
“Things were developing quickly,” RLC President Terry Wilkerson said of March 2020. “Our staff in the office of financial aid and those in our business office who were involved with this did a very good job of creating a plan and getting the funds to students in short time. I believe these emergency grants were the lifeline many students needed to stay in school.”
The main criteria for the grants was to prioritize students with exceptional financial need. To do this, RLC officials decided the first distribution of $591,132 in grants would be divided among PELL recipients based on qualifying enrollment percentages (full-time, ¾-time, half-time, part-time). The second distribution of $191,200 was based on the same percentages, but went to Title IV-eligible, non-PELL recipients.
As of June 30, RLC had received roughly $8.1 million in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds made possible by the CARES Act of 2020, the CRRSA Act of 2021 and the ARP Act of 2021.
In addition to supporting RLC students with direct funding, HEERF has been helpful in RLC meeting nearly $5 million in unexpected costs and lost revenue associated with the pandemic. Of that amount, more than $300,000 was used for extra emergency grants to students.
The lion’s share of RLC’s unexpected costs was from replacing lost revenue, purchasing cleaning and safety supplies, and upgrading technology to provide remote learning. Nearly $3.3 million went to replace lost revenue from auxiliary services and academic sources while more than $1 million was used for technology; such as additional hardware and lab equipment for programs, network switches, wireless headsets, Zoom and video conferencing equipment, test fiber optic cables, software programs, wireless tablets, and enhancements to the Canvas learning management system. Cleaning and safety supplies accounted for more than $250,000. These included things like face masks, signage, disinfecting agents, personal protective equipment, sanitation plexiglass, and COVID testing supplies. Salary and benefits of just under $50,000 went to faculty for developing and teaching online courses.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought on several costly changes to coursework and operations for much of 2020 and 2021 at RLC. When the pandemic began, college leaders monitored the situation closely and adopted several safety protocols in accordance with national and local guidelines. In June, 2020, RLC initiated a plan for the Fall 2020 semester that included both online and hybrid courses. A separate plan was put in place for the Spring 2021 semester where no students were on campus for the first four weeks of the semester. RLC increased its online offerings and waived all online fees for the semester. In Fall 2021, fully in-person classes returned to the schedule, along with more ways to attend than ever before. A student at RLC can now choose his or her favorite type of class. The college offers six options — traditional, online, remote, hybrid, hyflex, and blended flex.
According to the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or, CARES Act, was passed by Congress on March 27, 2020. This bill allotted $2.2 trillion to provide fast and direct economic aid to the American people negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that money, approximately $14 billion was given to the OPE as the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, or HEERF. On Jan. 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced an additional $21.2 billion was available to higher education institutions. This funding, known as HEERF II, was part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). On May 22, 2021, the USDE announced more than $36 billion in emergency grants under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act for postsecondary education (HEERF III). In total, the three rounds of HEERF provided more than $71 billion in funding to support colleges and students across America.
HEERF I, II, III Emergency Grants to RLC Students
Fall 2019 – Spring 2020
CARES $591,132 AWARDS 560
CARES II $188,200 AWARDS 252
Summer 2020 – Spring 2021
CARES $591,132 AWARDS 507
CARES II $103,923 AWARDS 249
Summer 2021 – Spring 2022
ARP $1,211,351 AWARDS 478
ARP $1,205,704 AWARDS 463
TOTAL $3,891,442 AWARDS 2,509
*Duplicated
Click here for complete RLC reports on distribution of HEERF funds.