CARES Act Student Emergency Grant

Brief Description
The CARES Act establishes a $30.75 billion Education Stabilization Fund that is composed of the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, and the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF).

The CARES Act provides several different methods for distributing roughly $14 billion in funds to institutions of higher education. The most significant portion of that funding allocation provides that $12.56 billion will be distributed to institutions using a formula based on student enrollment. Of the amount allocated to each institution under this formula, at least fifty (50) percent must be reserved to provide students with emergency financial aid grants to help cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Colleges should not assess any institutional charges, and must make these funds available to students to cover student 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 remaining fifty (50) percent can be used for institutional expenses due to the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, to facilitate distance education, and to award additional grants to students. Institutions will be able to use the institutional Grant funds to cover costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus. The institutional Grant funds must be spent only on those costs for which the institution has a reasoned basis for concluding such costs have a clear nexus to significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is permissible for the institution to use the funds for Institutional Costs to reimburse itself for costs related to refunds made to students for housing, food, or other services that the institution could no longer provide, or for hardware, software, or internet connectivity that the institution may have purchased on behalf of students or provided to students.

Who is the CARES Act HEERF Student Emergency Grant Targeting and What is the Reason
After the President’s declaration of national emergency on March 27, 2020, the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund was enacted to provide funds to institutions to provide emergency financial aid grants to eligible students whose lives have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to cover expenses such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses. The Student Emergency Grant funds must be made available directly to students meeting eligibility criteria in section 484 of the Higher Education Act (HEA). Institutions have the responsibility of determining how grants will be distributed to students, how the amount of each student grant is calculated, and the development of any instructions or directions that are provided to students about the grant. Students cannot apply for assistance directly from the U.S. Department of Education but should contact their institutions for further information and guidance.

Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education
Institutions have received and will continue to receive guidance for each allocation share of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund from the U.S. Department of Education. Added eligibility criteria by the U.S. Department of Education, enforceable effective June 17, 2020, is that students selected to receive funds from the CARES Act HEERF Students Emergency Grant, must meet section 484 of the Higher Education Act (HEA). Section 484 of the HEA states that Title IV eligible students must:

• Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a degree or certificate program.
• Not be enrolled in elementary or secondary school.
• For currently enrolled students, be making satisfactory academic progress.
• Not owe an overpayment on Title IV grants or loans.
• Not be in default on a Title IV loan.
• File “as part of the original financial aid application process” a certification that includes
  • • A statement of educational purpose.
    • Student’s SSN.

    Recipient’s Funding Certification and Agreement
    In order to access these funds, institutions must sign and return the Recipient’s Funding Certification and Agreement via grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html), acknowledging the terms and conditions of the funding. After the U.S. of Department of Education has received the Certification and Agreements, institutions may draw down their emergency assistance funds using the Department’s G5 system.

    The University completed the Certification and Agreement on behalf of all 25 campuses. Funds for the Student Emergency Grant portion were deposited into the University’s bank account on 4/28/2020. The University also submitted the Certification and Agreement on behalf of all campuses for the Institutional portion of the Grant on 4/28/2020. Guidelines required completion and submission of the CARES HEERF Certification and Agreement for the Student Emergency Grant portion before submitting the CARES HEERF Certification and Agreement for the Institutional portion of the HEERF Funds.

    Reporting Requirements
    The following information must appear in a format and location that is easily accessible to the public 30 days after the date when the institution received its allocation under 18004(a)(1) and updated every 45 days thereafter:

    1. An acknowledgement that the institution signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of the funds received
    2. The total amount of funds that the institution will receive or has received from the Department
    3. The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students
    4. The estimated total number of students at the 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
    5. The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act
    6. The method(s) 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
    7. Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants

    Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Formula allocations by CUNY College

    School	OPE ID	Total Allocation	Minimum Allocation to be Awarded for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students	Institutional Portion
    City College of New York	00268800	$15,399,906.00	$7,699,953.00	$7,699,953.00
    College of Staten Island	00269800	$12,595,956.00	$6,297,978.00	$6,297,978.00
    CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College	00727300	$16,563,226.00	$8,281,613.00	$8,281,613.00
    CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College	00269100	$26,420,828.00	$13,210,414.00	$13,210,414.00
    CUNY Bronx Community College	00269200	$9,658,626.00	$4,829,313.00	$4,829,313.00
    CUNY Brooklyn College	00268700	$17,627,330.00	$8,813,665.00	$8,813,665.00
    CUNY Graduate School & University Center	00476500	$776,134.00	$388,067.00	$388,067.00
    CUNY Hunter College	00268900	$19,006,958.00	$9,503,479.00	$9,503,479.00
    CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice	00269300	$15,320,009.00	$7,660,005.00	$7,660,004.00
    CUNY LaGuardia Community College	01005100	$12,917,232.00	$6,458,616.00	$6,458,616.00
    CUNY Lehman College	00702200	$13,293,096.00	$6,646,548.00	$6,646,548.00
    CUNY Medgar Evers College	01009700	$7,109,437.00	$3,554,719.00	$3,554,718.00
    CUNY Queens College	00269000	$16,736,798.00	$8,368,399.00	$8,368,399.00
    CUNY School of Law ‘(The)’	03191300	$141,995.00	$70,998.00	$70,997.00
    CUNY York College	00475900	$7,205,414.00	$3,602,707.00	$3,602,707.00
    CUNY Hostos Community College	00861100	$7,267,430.00	$3,633,715.00	$3,633,715.00
    Kingsborough Community College	00269400	$10,156,521.00	$5,078,261.00	$5,078,260.00
    Queensborough Community College	00269700	$11,321,080.00	$5,660,540.00	$5,660,540.00
    Stella And Charles Guttman Community College	04210100	$1,228,352.00	$614,176.00	$614,176.00
    New York City Technical College	00269600	$16,209,328.00	$8,104,664.00	$8,104,664.00
    Total	$236,955,656.00	$118,477,830.00	$118,477,826.00

    CARES Act Student Grant Awarding Structure — CUNY Community and Senior Colleges
    CUNY’s total allocation from the CARES Act HEERF Student Emergency Grant is $118 million. About 190,000 undergraduate and graduate students are potentially eligible to receive grants.

    Base Rate
    There is a fixed dollar amount that every student enrolled in spring 2020 gets. This includes all full-time and part-time students in credit-bearing programs. Part-time students will receive half of the base rate allocated to full-time students.

    The Pell amount the student is eligible for, based on their Estimated Family Contribution (EFC), is compared to the maximum Pell Grant term award amount for 19-20 ($3,097.50) to determine the percentage of Pell ranges, and which category the student falls into for the award amount calculation. This amount is then modified if the student is less than full-time and/or has dependents.

    To determine eligibility, CUNY took count of students awarded as of May 8th, 2020 with the Pell maximum award amount in Spring 2020, then counts of students whose award amounts are between 75-99% of the maximum award amount, counts of students whose award amounts are 50-74% of the maximum award amount, etc. Non-Pell eligible students who submitted a FAFSA (primarily graduate students) were slotted into the appropriate brackets based on their EFCs. Students with incomes that are high enough that they would not qualify for a Pell grant will get the base rate but would not get a supplement based on the EFC.

    Initial Selection Criteria

    • Pell Grant award amount based on EFC (or potentially eligible)
    • Dependency status
    • Dependents claimed by student
    • Financial aid load (enrollment status)
    • Institution attended

    Additional Financial Aid Criteria Following USDE Awarding Guidance

    • Filed a FAFSA for 2019-2020
    • Have an official EFC
    • Registered for spring 2020 in a Title IV eligible degree granting program
    • No pending flags with citizenship, drug use, federal aid default, federal aid overpayment, veteran status or Selective Service
    • Making Satisfactory Academic Progress

    Term data

    • Students disbursed $0 – $774.37 were counted in ‘0.1 – 24%’
    • Students disbursed $774.37 – $1,548.75 were counted in ’25 – 49%’
    • Students disbursed $1,548.75 – $2,323.13 were counted in ’50 – 74%’
    • Students disbursed $2,323.13 – $3,097.50 were counted in ’75 – 99%’
    • Students disbursed $3,097.50 were counted in ‘100%’

    EFC Brackets
    Above the base rate, there are income brackets based on the estimated family contribution amounts determined by financial aid. Students in each successive bracket will receive an additional sum equal to 25% of their base rate. The EFC brackets are as follows:

    • EFC would qualify the student for 0.1-24% of the Pell Max: Base Rate + 25%
    • EFC would qualify the student for 25-49% of the Pell Max: Base Rate + 50%
    • EFC would qualify the student for 50-74% of the Pell Max: Base Rate + 75%
    • EFC would qualify the student for 75-99% of the Pell Max: Base Rate + 100%
    • EFC would qualify the student for the Pell Max: Base Rate + 125%

    Financially Independent Students with Dependents: Independent students with dependents get an additional amount equal to 25% of the base rate. Therefore, a student whose EFC puts them in the 0.1-24% Pell bracket would get the Base Rate + 50% (i.e. they would move up to the next bracket).

    Non-Title IV eligible Students: Due to the Federal law and as instructed by USDE, non-Title IV eligible students would not receive any portion of this allocation. However, they could still apply for emergency grants that are available from private sources.

    Campuses will be allocated a total of about 97% of their CARES Act funds allocation based on the grant structure described above. Disbursements will take place via the Financial Aid module in CUNYfirst using item type # 981000000200. About 87% of the 97% allocation will be issued between May 22nd, 2020 and May 29th, 2020, to students enrolled in the spring 2020 semester who met the eligibility criteria as of May 8th, 2020. About 10% of the 97% will be distributed to students enrolled in the spring 2020 semester, on a rolling-basis, as we receive/received ISIRs from students who may meet the eligibility criteria in section 484 of Higher Education Act since May 8th, 2020. Because not all students may file the FAFSA or be eligible, any remaining funds will be used to recalculate the amount each of these newly eligible spring 2020 students will receive, based on the EFC that comes back from the USDE, and/or be added to the 3% discretionary money given to each campus. This re-evaluation will take place in early July. Summer 2020 and fall 2020 eligible students will be considered for this grant if funds remain and following the college’s methodology.

    Students that are degree-seeking, matriculated, enrolled in spring 2020 term, not in fully-online programs that are permanent residents, citizens or eligible non-citizens, who have not filed the FAFSA, will be encouraged to file a FAFSA by June 15, 2020. These students received a communication requesting to file the FAFSA to assess their eligibility.

    The remaining 3% will be allocated at the discretion of campus Presidents pursuant to the local needs of their students and in observance of CARES Act and US Department of Education guidelines. When awarding the remaining 3%, colleges must follow the financial aid criteria established above, document method(s) used by the institution to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive, and use the Financial Aid module in CUNYfirst with item type # 981000000220 (click here for the CUNY colleges Discretionary CARES Act methodology). Because each college received different per student allocations based on the overall economic need of their student bodies, the base rates at each institution will vary, as shown in this Chart (numbers presented are subject to change if eligibility changes). Click here for the latest disbursement information.

    The Graduate Center and all its campus branches, and The Law School received their funds allocations separate from this structure and must follow USDE guidelines to award eligible students. The chart for the Graduate Center’s funds allocation and its methodology can be found here and the chart for The Law School’s funds allocation and its methodology can be found here. These two colleges should use the CARES Act Discretionary IT # 981000000220 to award their students. Brooklyn College used HEERF CARES Institutional Portion funds to issue payments directly to students. Click here to see details of that disbursement occurrence.

    Student Communications
    Awarded students with the CARES Act HEERF Student Emergency Grant will receive the following communication, and the award will display in Self Service in CUNYfirst under Item Type 981000000200.

    OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR

    As your Chancellor, I want you to know that CUNY has been working hard to provide assistance to students who face serious financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. I am pleased to inform you that you will be receiving a grant through the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, & Economic Security (CARES) Act. I hope that these funds are helpful in these trying times.

    CUNY received these funds from the U.S. Department of Education to provide emergency grants for graduate and undergraduate students currently eligible for federal financial aid benefits, or Title IV funds. The grants are to support students experiencing “unexpected expenses and unmet financial need” due to the coronavirus emergency. The funds may be used for “expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, or childcare).” By accepting these funds, you acknowledge that you understand that these funds may be used only for the purposes described in this letter.

    The amount of your grant will vary depending on several factors that we used in determining how the funds will be distributed. These factors center on financial need based on the family-income information you provided on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form; whether you are enrolled as a full-time or part-time student; and whether you reported dependents on your FAFSA. Because the federal government determined the total allocation for each CUNY college, the base amount of your grant will also vary depending on which college you attend.

    You do not need to do anything to receive your Emergency CARES Act grant. To see the amount of your grant, please go to your CUNYfirst Student Center and click on “View Financial Aid.” If you have direct deposit in CUNYfirst, the funds will be deposited in your bank account from May 22 to 29. If you do not have direct deposit, a check will be mailed to the address in your CUNYfirst account. Please be on the lookout for it.

    To verify if you are set up for direct deposit, go to Manage My Direct Deposit. To confirm your bank account information, visit Manage My Account. If you would like to sign up for a direct deposit account, visit www.cuny.edu/studentrefunds. To verify your mailing address, visit Addresses.

    For questions about the CARES Act grant program, please refer first to our Frequently Asked Questions. If you still have questions, please contact your campus Financial Aid Office. A list of the offices and the contact information for each is available here. To continue to keep abreast of financial aid developments visit CUNY’s Coronavirus Crisis Student Continuity page.

    On behalf of CUNY, I wish you and your family good health and safety in these increasingly challenging times.

    Matriculated, degree-seeking students, enrolled in the spring 2020 term who are citizens/permanent residents/eligible non-citizens, will receive the following communication encouraging them to apply for the FAFSA to determine Section 484 of the Higher Education Act eligibility criteria:

    As your Chancellor, I want you to know that CUNY has been working hard to provide assistance to students who face serious financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. I am pleased to inform you that our records indicate that you may be eligible to receive an emergency financial aid grant from the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. But before we can make a final determination, the CARES Act provisions require that you file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2019-2020 award year to ensure that you meet all the eligibility criteria.

    CUNY received these funds from the U.S. Department of Education to address the pressing financial need of students due to the coronavirus and provide emergency grants for graduate and undergraduate students currently eligible for federal financial aid benefits, or Title IV funds. The funds may be used for “expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, or childcare).”

    If you complete your FAFSA application no later than June 15, we will be able to assess whether you qualify to receive the grant base amount established for your college. The FAFSA takes about an hour to complete and once you submit it we would get back to you with a final determination within two weeks. Please visit FAFSA.ed.gov to file the application. Once you submit it, you may check your CUNYfirst Student Center and review your To Do List for any pending items. To find out the status of your application and the amount of your grant if you are approved, click on “View Financial Aid.”

    If you are deemed eligible and have direct deposit in CUNYfirst, the funds will be deposited in your bank account. To sign up for direct deposit, visit www.cuny.edu/studentrefunds. If you do not have direct deposit, a check would be mailed to the address in your CUNYfirst account. If you would like to verify your mailing address, visit Addresses.

    For questions about the CARES Act grant program, please refer first to our list of Frequently Asked Questions. If you still have questions, please contact your campus Financial Aid Office. A list of the offices and the contact information for each is available here. To continue to keep abreast of financial aid developments, visit CUNY’s Coronavirus Crisis Student Continuity page.

    On behalf of CUNY, I wish you and your family good health and safety in these increasingly challenging times.

    Please visit our FAQ page for a list of most current questions and answers on the CARES Act HEERF Student Emergency Grant.

    CARES Act Minority Serving Institutions Student Emergency Grant

    Minority Serving Institutions are those considered eligible to participate in the following programs: Predominantly Black Institutions, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions, Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program, and Promoting Post-baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Section 18004(a)(2) and Section 18004(a)(3) of the CARES Act, respectively granted eligible institutions with emergency funds allowing them to use any portion of these funds for financial aid grants to students for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental healthcare), or childcare. Institutions in receipt of these funds were encouraged to prioritize grants to students with exceptional need, such as students who receive Pell Grants, and were urged to make financial aid grants to students to the greatest extent possible. Click here for specifics on the methodology designed by the eligible CUNY colleges for the CARES Act MSI Student Emergency Grant. Click here for latest disbursement information. To view CARES MSI Quarterly Reports, please click here.

    Published 5/27/2020