Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds Report #2

AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDS REPORT #2 — ARP (4th Quarter)

While the U.S. Department of Education (ED) develops a process for institutions to directly provide the required reporting data, it has in the meantime called for institutions to make easily accessible to the public — via the institution’s website — the following items:

1. Acknowledgment that the institution signed and returned the certification and agreement form and that the institution has used, or intends to use the funds to provide the mandated amount of at least $29,440,152 of the emergency financial aid grants to students:

On June 16 , 2021, Dr. Richard Rhodes, ACC chancellor/CEO, received the Grant Award Notification (GAN) from the Department of Education (ED) under the American relief Plan (ARP Act HEERF III). ACC intends to use the maximum amount possible for emergency aid to students. In compliance with ED who provided a new formula of funding in financial aid grants to students to be provided under sections ARP (a) (1) allocation table and ARP (a) (1) methodology table of the American Rescue Plan (ARP Act). The minimum allocated to emergency aid to students is $29,440,152.

2. The total amount of funds that the institution will receive, or has received under the HEERF student portion.

ACC has received $59,916,182 of which $29,440,152 to be used for ARP Act Student Aid.

3. (a) The total amount that has been distributed to students as of December 31, 2021: $15,357,223.72

(b) The total amount distributed between October 1 and December 31, the fourth

reporting period: $7,803,058.56

4. The estimated total number of students at the institution that are eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the ARP (a)(1) and (a)(4) programs.

36,215 students

5. The total number of students who have received an emergency financial aid grant through ARP funds:

6,879 students

6. How the institution determined which students did, or will receive emergency financial aid grants and how much funding they did, or will receive.

Austin Community College convened a committee with membership from the Chancellor’s cabinet, the Business Office, the Financial Aid Office, the ACC Foundation, Student Affairs Communication, ACC Marketing, Student Support Advocates, and Enrollment Management. The following brief was developed:

Overview: On June 16, 2021, ACC received $29,440,152 from the Department of Education as part of the ARP Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. ACC will distribute these emergency funds to students who have experienced or are faced with disruptions of education due to COVID-19. The coronavirus has negatively impacted the health and wellness of ACC students and their families, as well as the regional economy. ACC is keenly aware that the COVID-19 impact has exacerbated pre-existing systemic inequalities and has affected Central Texas’s marginalized communities more deeply than others. In a coordinated effort, ACC will swiftly distribute funds in such a way that it empowers students to use them for their greatest priorities, such as food, housing, health care, child care, learning materials, and more. With the distribution of funding, students will have access to ACC’s full social support resources. ACC has limited the award to $2,500 per student per semester.

ARP requires that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need, such as students who receive Pell Grants or with extraordinary financial circumstances, in awarding emergency financial aid grants to students. Due to limited funding, ACC will prioritize currently enrolled students, Pell-eligible students, and other high need populations. ACC prioritized undocumented and DACA students (starting summer 2021 after updated HEERF guidance was provided in May 2021) because these students have faced significant challenges qualifying for financial aid and emergency relief.

On May 11, 2021, ED issued the following updated guidance regarding student eligibility for any remaining ARP HEERF III funds:

• The definition of “eligible student” for all HEERF funding was changed to be any student who is or was enrolled at an eligible institution on or after March 13, 2020 opening eligibility up to students who were, but may not currently be, enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• ED’s changed it’s opinion about applying the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) to emergency funds making undocumented, international, and DACA students eligible for all HEERF funding.
•  If students are ineligible for ARP Student Aid, their application will then be considered for ACC’s Student Emergency Fund. Students will not be required to complete an additional request.
• FAFSA no longer required

Application:

○ ARP Act Student Aid Website: https://www.austincc.edu/students/financial-aid/american-rescue-plan

○ The application is hosted on a secure Client Resource Management (CRM) system, Maxient, which our teams use to process and follow-up on requests.

○ ChatBot implemented to answer student questions on a 24/7 basis.

Processing and Distribution of Emergency Funds

○ The new online application for Student Aid is a single point of entry for ARP and Student Emergency Funds.

○ After a student submits their ARP application, it is be routed for funding based on the eligibility status of the student

○ It may take 3 – 5 days for disbursements of funds once an application is complete (during peak)

○ ACC Business Office processes disbursements 5 days a week

 7) Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the emergency financial aid grants.

ARP Act Student Aid Design

Below, is an example of the ARP Student Aid design used across multiple web and social media channels to build awareness of and promote access to the ARP funds for students.

Student Communication

Fall 2021 (ARP)

Communication Mode	Student Population	# students	Constant Contact Link	Date Proposed to send	Date Sent	Open Rate on CC Email
Email	Pell-eligible enrolled 221F (eligible & ineligible SAP – still qualify for ARP)	3,148	https://conta.cc/3fBZNRf	8/05/2021 Resend 8/08/2021	8/05/2021 Resend 8/08/2021	Results: 90% Open Rate 49% CTR
Email	ACC Students Who Had Debt Forgiven	888	https://conta.cc/397eFTV	9/15/2021	9/15/2021	Results: 26.9% Open Rate 7.6% CTR
Email	All Fall 21 Trad Students	30,286	https://conta.cc/3nzJNnJ	9/16/2021 Resend 9/19/2021	9/16/2021 Resend 9/19/2021	Results: 61.6% Open Rate 21.2% CTR
Email	Opt-In Text – Financial Aid Students	7,827	https://conta.cc/3zGQirj	9/28/2021 Resend 10/1/2021	9/28/2021 Resend 10/1/2021	Results: 50% Open Rate 7% CTR
Email	All Students with a 2021-2022 FAFSA	18,944	https://conta.cc/3icOOiF	9/28/2021 Resend 10/1/2021	9/28/2021 Resend 10/1/2021	Results: 49% Open Rate 9% CTR
Email	Parents of Dual Enrolled ACC Students	1,098	https://conta.cc/3mg9irO	10/1/2021	10/1/2021	Results: 52.2% Open Rate 3.6% CTR

Spring 2022 (ARP)

Communication Mode	Student Population	# students	Constant Contact or Google Link	Date Proposed to send	Date Sent	Open Rate on CC Email
Email	Pell-eligible enrolled 222S (include TASFA based on EFC)	4,378	https://conta.cc/3Dn188g	11/15/2021 Resend 11/19/2021	11/15/2021 Resend 11/19/2021	81% Open Rate 35% CTR
Email	Reminder to non-openers – Pell-eligible enrolled 222S (include TASFA based on EFC)	801	https://conta.cc/3rrFhtg	11/30/2021	11/30/2021	32% Open Rate 9% CTR
Email	Non-Pell eligible FA students (including TASFA) enrolled 222S	2,926	https://conta.cc/3lnuOvc	12/1/2021 Resend 12/4/2021	12/1/2021 Resend 12/4/2021	79% Open Rate 24% CTR
Email	Opt-In Text – Financial Aid Students	9,403	https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-xXdcSq9sWf4AIB7U5Dx3dcETvoq9Qcg/view	12/7/2021 Resend 12/8/2021	12/7/2021 Resend 12/8/2021	NA
Email	Undocumented Students without financial aid enrolled 221F	243	https://conta.cc/3dajGNu	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	76% Open Rate 17% CTR
Email	Ascender enrolled 221F	46	https://conta.cc/3IsTRXo	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	59% Open Rate 7% CTR
Email	BRASS enrolled 221F	60	https://conta.cc/3orPOCX	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	86% Open Rate 21% CTR
Email	TRIO enrolled 221F	41	https://conta.cc/3ockxUe	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	63% Open Rate 15% CTR
Email	Dual Credit enrolled 222S	4,980	https://conta.cc/3GnmcwO	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	46% Open Rate 1% CTR
Email	CE enrolled 222S	669	https://conta.cc/3cgLu2l	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	53% Open Rate 8% CTR
Email	AE enrolled 222S	1,591	https://conta.cc/31E6PRu	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	12/7/2021 Resend 12/11/2021	54% Open Rate 5% CTR

ARP Web Traffic from June 30, 2021 through September 30, 2021

Analysis: The overall page views for the information 25,933 total. We see a major spike in early November and December after a period of lower traffic volume that correlates with messaging and promotions on available funds/application open/close dates as previous patterns have shown.

Media Outreach from June 30, 2021 through September 30, 2021

Advisories/Pitches

1. August 9, 2021: More money for financial aid than ever before
2. August 23, 2021: More money for financial aid than ever before
3. September 3, 2021: Get extra financial support right now through the new American Rescue Plan

Media Coverage

1. September 16, 2021: ACCENT | Financial Aid for Beginners

http://sites.austincc.edu/accent/financial-aid-for-beginners/

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