Emergency Financial Aid

Are you experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19? If so, you are eligible to apply for FREE money through grant funds.

Direct aid for students in need

Emergency relief grants like the CARES Act and the CRRSAA can be used to ease financial burdens issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as expenses incurred due to health care, mental health care, childcare, and the cost of college attendance.

Emergency Funding Applications

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II) is authorized by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) to provide emergency grants to qualifying students.

All you need to do is apply. The application takes around 10 minutes to complete and asks how you've been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apply in WebAdvisor

Am I Eligible?

Students are eligible if:

  • You have COVID-19 related financial needs
  • You are enrolled for the current term
  • You have chosen a home college (MVC, NC, RCC)

How to Apply

  1. Log into WebAdvisor
  2. Find the CARES/HEERF application under the Financial Aid Menu
  3. Complete the Application
  4. Click Acknowledgement Statement
  5. Submit

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about what's involved in requesting emergency aid.

HEERF provides one-time funding to institutions to provide emergency relief grants to students who incur emergency expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as health care, mental health care, childcare, and any component of your cost attendance. In 2020, this grant was known as the CARES Act Funding.

Log into WebAdvisor and complete the one-page HEERF II/CARES Act application under the Financial Aid menu. Once complete, hit submit, agree to the acknowledgement statement, and you're done!

The application takes about 10 minutes to complete if you have a general idea of how you've been impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. Provide estimates for expenses incurred such as food, housing, technology, health/medical, childcare and transportation. Additionally, you'll be asked to indicate whether you've experienced food or housing insecurity, whether you or your family have experienced changes in work hours, employment status, and so on.

Yes! You may apply every term. Your eligibility for the current term will be unaffected by whether you've received an award in prior terms.

HEERF II grants do not have to be repaid and will not affect eligibility for other financial aid. Applications can be filed at any time through WebAdvisor in the Financial Aid section. Be sure to re-file an application each term.

Grant Distribution Information

A RCCD task force in consultation with student representatives determined how CARES Act and HEERF funds will be distributed based on Department of Education eligibility criteria and need. The application – along with a scoring rubric (see below) – will guide the task force in determining awards. Only students who submit an application and demonstrate a COVID-19 related need will be eligible for monies. Funds are limited. See below for current award amounts, quarterly reports, information on the scoring rubric, and more.

Category Total Funds
CARES Act Funding $1,840,922
HEERF Funding $1,840,922
ARP $8,442,171
Total Funding $12,124,015
Total Funds Dispersed $11,870,650
Remaining Funds
(as of September 30, 2022)		 $253,365

Student counts are duplicated as eligible students may receive aid each term.

Category and/or Cycle Number of Awards/Funds
Estimated # Eligible Students
(based on spring 2020 enrollment)		 8,730
Total # of Awards 13,527

Through December 2020

Total # of Awards through Dec 2020
Total Funds Awarded

 

2,807 awards
$1,403,500 awarded

From January 1 - March 31, 2021

Total # of Awards
Total Funds Awarded

 

783 awards
$717,500 awarded

From April 1 - June 30, 2021

Total # of Awards
Total Funds Awarded

 

951 awards
$475,500 awarded

From July 1 - September 30, 2021

Total # of Awards
Total Funds Awarded

 

1,016 awards
$508,500 awarded

From October 1 - December 31, 2021

Total # of Awards
Total Funds Awarded

 

2,970 awards
$3,006,100 awarded

From January 1 - March 31, 2022

Total # of Awards
Total Funds Awarded

 

5,000 awards
$3,587,350 awarded

Student applications are evaluated based on two point-based rubrics with a maximum total of 22 points.

Based on Student Records (Total Points Possible: 9)

  • Pell Eligible (2 points)

  • California Promise Program Eligible (1 point)

  • EOPS (1 point)

  • Foster Youth (1 point)

  • Veteran (1 point)

  • Documented Disability (1 point)

  • CalWORKs (1 point)

  • First Generation (1 point)

Based on Application Answers (Total Points Possible: 13)

  • Reduction in work hours due to COVID 19

  • Student (1 point)

  • Family Member(s) (1 point)

  • Laid off due to COVID-19

  • Student (1 point)

  • Family Member(s) (1 point)

  • Food Insecurity / Hunger (1 point)

  • Housing Insecurity / Homelessness (1 point)

  • Food Cost (1 point)

  • Housing Cost (1 point)

  • Technology Expenses (1 point)

  • Health Care/Medical Expenses (1 point)

  • Child Care Expenses (1 point)

  • Transportation Expenses (1 point)

  • Other (1 point)

In addition to receiving funding for direct aid to students through the CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, RCCD and its three colleges received funding from the US Department of Education through CARES Act Sections 18004(a)(1) Institutional Portion, and 18004(a)(2), Support for Minority Serving Institutions, including Hispanic Serving Institutions. The Department of Education requires that each college post a Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Report. Follow the links below to access MVC's Quarterly CARES Report. For more information, contact the RCCD Grants Office or review RCCD's COVID-19 Funding Resources.

The Riverside Community College District and its colleges have signed and returned to the US Department of Education the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students. More information about the grants to students can be accessed on our COVID-19 Funding Resources page.