CARES ACT EMERGENCY FINANCIAL GRANT REPORTING

May 19, 2020

Over the last two months, Vaughn College has worked diligently to provide support for students both inside and outside the classroom.

A Student Emergency Assistance Grant provided to Vaughn by the United States Government has been provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act which establishes and funds the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and directs institutions of higher education to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus. The CARES Act expressly requires that institutions provide the emergency financial aid grants to students “for 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 childcare).” Only students who are or could be eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), may receive emergency financial aid grants.

  • The institution has signed and returned to the Department of Education the Recipient’s Funding Certification and Agreements and assures that the institution 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.
  • The institution has received $1,070,408 from the Department of Education pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Student.
  • As of September 30, 2020, $1,038,750 of Emergency Financial Aid Grants have been distributed to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
  • It is estimated that 718 students at the institution are 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.
  • A total of 718 students have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
  • The following method was used by the institution to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

Vaughn’s goal was to assist the neediest Title IV-eligible students enrolled as of March 13, 2020 with a minimum of at least six credits. To do that, we are using the $1,070,409 given to the institution to distribute to students who the Federal government already deems the neediest. We did that by using those who qualified for a Pell grant this spring and have an Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) of no more than $5,576. Using that criteria, more than 700 students qualified for an emergency grant. The funding was distributed as follows:

  • $1,500 for full-time students
  • $1,125 three-quarter time students
  • $750 students enrolled with at least six credits

Vaughn did not award funds to anyone whose EFC was above the Pell-eligible limit, and Federal guidelines did not allow the institution to award funds to anyone who was not Title IV-eligible, or any students enrolled exclusively online.

Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Report Form 

CARES Act Reward Letter Tax Info for CARES Act Award Funds