More than 680 Eastern Oklahoma State College students recently received emergency federal funding provided by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to assist them with unexpected costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, the ARP was signed into law by President Joe Biden. It is in addition to the CARES and CRRSAA funds to be used by colleges and universities for emergency financial aid grants for students who have expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the pandemic.

“Eastern has distributed $471,380 to 689 students with payments ranging from $210 to $1,020 depending on the number of credit hours the students were enrolled in during the Spring 2021 semester,” said Director of Finance Trisha White.

White said Eastern received a total of $937,568 from the ARP. The remaining ARP funds will be distributed at a later date.

To be eligible for ARP funding distribution, students must have been enrolled in face-to-face or online classes during the Spring 2021 semester and be in financial need due to the pandemic. Unlike the CARES and CRRSAA funds, these funds are available to all students including International students and concurrent students who was enrolled in at least three credit hours in the Spring 2021 semester.

Eastern is required to report information about distributions on its website at eosc.edu/righttoknow. For more information regarding ARP funds and student eligibility, contact the EOSC Business Office at 918-465-1831.