CARES ACT REPORTING ON EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS

On March 27, 2020, the Federal government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Pub L. No. 116-136, providing funds to institutions from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) to make Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, including eligible expenses under s student’s cost of attendance, such as food, course materials, technology, health care, and child care. The law requires institutions to report certain information related to the use of these funds.  The following information is reported for the period, May 28, 2020 to July 29, 2020. 

I.          This statement shall serve to acknowledge that our institution signed and returned to the US Department of Education the Certification and Agreement - Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.  We further attest that our institution has used, and/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.

II.          The total amount of funds that the institution has received from the Department pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement [for] Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Student is $7,519.00.

III.          The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of July 16, 2020 is $1,409.82.

IV.          The estimated total number of students at our institution eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act is <10. 

V.          The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to date is <10. 

VI.          The following is the method used by our institution to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much each student will receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

Eligibility

CiAM follows the U.S. Department of Education Eligibility Requirements for CARES funding.  These requirements will be verified by CiAM through submitted FAFSA documents:

• U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen
• Valid Social Security number
• Registered with Selective Service if the student is a male
• Earned a high school diploma, GED or completed high school in an approved homeschool setting
• Student is not in default on a Title IV loan
• Certification of a statement of educational purpose
• Student does not owe a refund on grants previously received at any college
• Maintaining the minimum satisfactory academic progress standards
• Student has not been convicted of a crime involving fraud in obtaining Federal financial aid
• Student has not been convicted of a drug offense while receiving Federal financial aid

In the initial distribution, all eligible students enrolled during the Winter 2020 and Summer 2020 semester who meet the criteria established by the U.S. Department of Education detailed below and have completed a FAFSA for 2020 are eligible for these emergency grants.

By accepting the funds, students are confirming that they incurred expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus.

Students may decline part or all of the funds, in which case those funds will go into the pool to be made available to other qualified students in need. Please contact the Financial Aid office at financial.aid@ciam.edu to decline the funds.

VII.          The follow instructions/directions/guidance was provided by our institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress and signed into law to provide economic relief from COVID-19. One section of the CARES Act established the Higher Education Emergency Relief fund (HEERF) and sent money to schools to use for emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.

Procedures

Following guidance from the CARES Act, the funds shall be disbursed in the following manner:

1. Eligible students must have completed and returned the required Request for Emergency Grant Funds form.
2. An eligible student is a student that is Title IV eligible.
3. The total amount of grant funds CiAM received is $7,519.00.  A total of 50% of the funds received will be divided equally among all currently enrolled eligible students. The remaining 50% of the funds received will be disbursed to future enrolled students affected by COVID-19.
4. Once the school receives the signed Emergency Grant Funds form, the funds will be disbursed by check. The check will be mailed to the address listed on the Emergency Grant Funds form.
5. Student disbursements will be tracked using the HEERF Grant template.
6. A copy of the Emergency Grant Funds form will be maintained in the student financial aid file.
7. A copy of the cashed check will be maintained in the student financial aid file.
8. Students who have not cashed/deposited the disbursement checks within 15 calendar days will be contacted by phone to ensure the disbursement has been received.
9. Upon a 60 calendar day lapse, uncashed disbursements will be subject to Stop Payment and a new disbursement will be issued once communication with the student reconfirming the mailing address has occurred.