Coronavirus Information 

Campus locations are scheduled to open on September 7 for the purposes of providing services to current and prospective students. On-ground instructional services are scheduled to resume at campuses on October 25, which is the first day of Fall Session II.

Campuses remain closed in the interim. One Stop Specialists, Academic Advisors, and other Brandman employees are working remotely and can be reached via their work email addresses or telephone numbers.

This timeline is subject to change if necessary to safeguard the Brandman community from COVID-19.

Detailed information and FAQ's can be found on the CARES Act Funding web page.

Employees working remotely have access to university email. Please contact them as you normally do, unless otherwise instructed.

Yes. Financial aid awards are not affected by the change from blended to entirely online classes. Students’ awards will only change if they change the number of units they are taking or the number of sessions they attend.

Nearly all Fall Session I classes will be delivered entirely online in 2021. The university plans to resume face-to-face instruction when Fall Session II begins on October 25. Please see MyBrandman and Blackboard for additional details.

This timeline is subject to change if necessary to safeguard the Brandman community from COVID-19.

Announcements relating to campus closures or other emergency policies will be communicated here, over university email, MyBrandman and Blackboard.

On December 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act was signed into law. This new COVID stimulus bill included $23 billion for higher education institutions and students, using the same Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) model established in the previously passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This second round of federal emergency funding is often referenced as “HEERF II.” HEERF II funds must serve a variety of purposes including providing nontaxable federal grants to selected students. Brandman University received $920,314.00.

Students may use HEERF II grant funds to pay for educational expenses or emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as:

  

• Tuition and fees
• Books and other educational supplies
• Room and board including utilities
• Transportation (but not for purchase of a vehicle)
• Medical/dental care (including mental health care)
• Computer purchase
• Dependent care
• Expenses related to a disability
• Other necessary personal expenses such as insurance, taxes, etc.

To be eligible for HEERF II grant funds, students must have attended Brandman University between January 1st and April 1st of 2021, and have a complete 2020-2021 application for financial aid including submission of a FAFSA to the U. S. Department of Education and submission of any federally required supplemental documents to the Financial Aid Office.

In addition, federal law requires that funds be provided only to U. S. Citizens or eligible non-citizens. Generally, an eligible non-citizen is a documented immigrant who is in the United States for a purpose other than temporary. For more information on who qualifies as an eligible non-citizen, visit: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/eligibility/requirements/non-us-citizens.

Lastly, funds must go to students in exceptional financial need. Accordingly, for the 2018 calendar year, students must:

• Have had a household (student and spouse) income of less than $26,000, AND
• Have had dependents other than a spouse, AND
• Have met at least one of the following five criteria:
  • Receipt of any of the following means tested federal benefit programs: Medicaid, SSI, SNAP, Free or Reduced Price School Lunch Program, TANF, and WIC. OR
  • Filed a 2018 IRS Form 1040 but were not required to file a Schedule 1 OR
  • Filed a tax form from a Trust Territory OR
  • Was not required to file any income tax return OR
  • Was a dislocated worker or married to a dislocated worker.

This eligibility information is obtained from the 2020-2021 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

You may apply for federal financial aid at any time, and we will provide you with federal educational assistance if you are eligible. HEERF II funds are limited and once awarded no further funding will be available.

Regrettably, HEERF II funds are limited, and we are unable to assist every deserving student. Accordingly, we have determined that the students who have been experiencing economic hardship for the greatest amount of time should be given priority.

  

However, we sincerely sympathize with your situation. A significant loss of income is a challenging and stressful circumstance, and we want to help. We urge you to contact your campus One Stop Specialist to learn if you would be eligible for increased federal student financial aid. In addition, as stated in our answer to the previous question, additional HEERF moneys are forthcoming, and we will certainly consider your eligibility for them.

No. It is an emergency federal grant.

No. Eligibility is determined based on information provided on the 2020-2021 FAFSA.

No.

No. Although you are certainly welcome to complete your education at Brandman, there is no obligation that you do so.

A check for the proceeds from the HEERF II grant program will be mailed directly to the address you have on file with the university. It is important you check your address in the student portal on MyBrandman to make sure it is up-to-date.

TBA

No.

No. The IRS has declared that HEERF II grants are nontaxable income that should not be reported. For more information, visit: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/emergency-aid-granted-to-students-due-to-covid-is-not-taxable

No.

Brandman University has provided students with more HEERF II grant moneys than have been allocated to us by the federal government. At present, no further HEERF II funds are available, but you may be eligible for additional federal financial aid. Your campus One Stop Specialist can advise you. Additional HEERF funds from the American Rescue Plan Act are forthcoming. When they are available, we will let you know.

No. The grant will be paid directly to you through a check in the mail. If you have a balance due on your student account, you can choose to use the funding to pay your balance or use it for other expenses.

If you do owe a balance, please pay the balance as soon as possible so that you may enroll in the next trimester.

No.

Brandman University only recently received the funds and clarified the criteria for eligibility based on guidance provided by the U. S. Department of Education and the University’s legal counsel.

Please contact your One Stop Specialist.

 

For a copy of the HEERF II letter, please click here.

Brandman administrators at the chancellor level who are assigned to the Central Administrative Office are scheduled to resume in-person work on September 7. Employees assigned to the Central Administrative Office in Irvine are scheduled to resume in-person work, in stages, on September 7.

All campuses and offices are scheduled to complete their transition back to in-person work by October 18. The only exception is the Enrollment Coaching Center in Portland, where employees are scheduled to resume in-person work in February 2022.

As of September 7, all Brandman employees must provide proof of being fully vaccinated before entering a university facility. The mandatory vaccination policy will not apply to faculty who only teach via online modalities. Faculty and staff would also be exempt from the mandatory vaccination policy if they receive an approved medical or religious declination from Human Resources.

This timeline is subject to change if necessary to safeguard the Brandman community from COVID-19.

Chancellor Gary Brahm is leading the COVID-19 Policy Committee. There are layers of communications and consultations throughout the entire university. The Deans Council and campus directors are involved in the consultation process.

The prohibitions against business-related travel, attendance of professional conferences, and events are in effect until further notice. As such, employees are encouraged to make plans to communicate with one another through Zoom or other virtual platforms.