Following up on yesterday’s post. How does a student get cash from his school’s emergency student aid grant under the CARES Act? It depends on the school, and most have not formalized their policies yet.
First, how do these funds work? The CARES Act funds– officially HEERF – Student Share (Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund)– are not Title IV education funds and therefore are not subject to Title IV rules. The only statutory requirement is that the funds “are only intended to cover a student’s expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).” The Department of Education also suggests capping grants to individual students at the amount of the Federal Pell Grant ($6,195); however, that is a guideline rather than a requirement. Each school can determine whether the funds will be awarded on a need-basis or not; however, the school must sign a funding agreement that stipulates that all grants go “directly to students for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses.” The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators recommends that these grants also cover travel expenses for students who needed to return from study abroad or fly home due to classes being cancelled.
If your student is impacted, here is what they can do:
- Reach out to their school’s financial aid office to get information about eligibility and process.
- Keep documentation of all expenses incurred that could be eligible for reimbursement so that the student is ready when their school is.
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Is there any possibility that students will be eligible for funding from loss of income from a Work Study job they had on campus?
That’s a good question and one you’ll need to take directly to your financial aid office. The CARES Act funds are not Title IV funds; Work Study falls under Title IV. Original COVID guidance from the Department of Education on Title IV funds was that the Dep’t of Ed would continue funding Work Study if the school continued funding its share, regardless of whether the student is working at the job. (Typically the school covers 25% and the DoE covers 75%.) So I would encourage you to reach out to your school’s financial aid office directly. Under the CARES Act provisions, unfortunately it appears the answer is “no.” From the NASFAA site: “it is NASFAA’s understanding that student expenses do not include reimbursing students (or parents) for lost wages due to unemployment. Lost wages do not constitute an expense. Professional judgement (PJ) can be used to address any loss of wages.” https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/21575/Trending_AskRegs_Q_A_What_Factors_Do_We_Consider_When_Awarding_Emergency_Funds_To_Students_Under_the_CARES_Act
So, Work Study will be handled on a school-by-school and potentially case-by-case basis, and separate from the CARES Act.
What if my college is only giving the funds to people who sign up for summer courses? They’re even allowing transfer students who are only attending summer classes to get money as well. The more credits you’re taking the more money the school is giving. Is that allowed?
That’s an interesting set of choices for the school to make. Unfortunately the guidelines are pretty minimal and schools do have a great deal of latitude in determining how to disburse the funds. The good news is, this approach has allowed the Department of Education to get funds out quickly and given schools a degree of latitude in addressing needs that may be different from what was reported on the student’s FAFSA. The bad news of course is that schools may make choices such as what you’re seeing. However, it doesn’t seem consistent with the guidance to offer funds to transfer students given that the one statutory requirement is that the funds “are only intended to cover a student’s expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).”
Is it too late to get funding through CARES?
It’s up to your school. Best bet is to contact your financial aid office directly. Each school was allowed to set its own terms for distributing this money.