HEERF I - CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief - Email Template
Dear <Student_Name>,
The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released guidance related to CARES Act emergency grant funding to higher education institutions. USDOE guidelines require emergency grants only be distributed to students who are eligible to participate in federal Title IV aid programs as outlined in Section 484 of title IV of the Higher Education Act. Students exclusively enrolled in online courses prior to March 13, 2020 are not eligible.
Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following Secretary of Education DeVos’s guidance, Pell eligible students received priority funding. However, based on our institution’s determined criteria, certain non-Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding. Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to you by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on the method you have setup with the college. A payment is not necessarily a reflection of your current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.
Although you are considered qualifying based on institutional criteria and affected by the transition to online learning due to COVID-19, USDOE regulations require funds be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care). Therefore, any emergency grant funds disbursed to you must be used for such qualifying expenses. Your acceptance of the funding is considered confirmation you have a qualifying expense. If you wish to return the funds to the institution, you must contact Accounts Receivable.
Our staff are available and willing to assist you with any additional questions you may have at this time or as you think about re-enrolling for the summer and/or fall terms. Please do not hesitate to reach out to them at: <insert institutional contact information here>.
Stay safe!