Update - 3 March 2021
A message from Sharon Maxwell, Vice President for Finance:
In December 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) to provide additional assistance to individuals and families impacted adversely by the ongoing COVID-19 emergency. One purpose of the money is to help college and university students whose lives continue to experience disruption due to the coronavirus pandemic. The role of Aurora University is to distribute emergency cash grants to students according to the terms set forth by the federal Department of Education.
The university’s role in this process is largely administrative. AU serves as a dispensing agency through which these federal dollars flow. AU is required to make emergency aid grants to students, which may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arose due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), or child care. Unlike the CARES Act distributions in Spring 2020, students enrolled exclusively in distance education are eligible for consideration.
The Act explicitly requires the university to prioritize grants to students with exceptional need. Distribution decisions are made in accordance with guidelines under the Act and consistent with existing federal financial aid programs such as the Pell Grant Program.
AU is pleased to announce it will begin emergency aid distributions to eligible students in mid to late March.
No application or other action is required; however, you must have a 2020–2021 FAFSA on file to be considered for an emergency grant. If you do not have a FAFSA on file for the 2020–2021 academic year and would like to be considered for an emergency grant, please complete your FAFSA form here (AU School Code: 001634) or contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@aurora.edu or 630-844-6190 for assistance.
Students eligible for emergency grants will be notified via their Aurora University email accounts in the next 7–10 business days. To ensure efficient delivery of funds, please make sure your mailing address and/or e-refund direct deposit banking information is up to date.
If you have any additional questions, please contact Sharon Maxwell, vice president for finance, at smaxwell@aurora.edu or 630-844-5630.