Quarterly Report on CARES Act Student Emergency Assistance Grants - Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund for the College of the Holy Cross (College).
This data is valid through March 31, 2021.
On April 14, 2020, the College signed and returned to the Department of Education (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 under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students. The amount awarded to the College on April 24, 2020 from the Department pursuant to the College’s Certification and Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students totaled $959,873.
As of March 31, 2021, the College distributed a total amount of $961,400 in Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act. Grants were offered on May 14, 2020 with additional grants offered on March 4, 2021. An estimated total of 1,711 students at the College were 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.
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As of |
Activity since |
Total |
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|---|---|---|---|
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Grant award date |
May 14, 2020 |
March 4, 2021 |
|
|
Estimated eligible students |
1,709( |
41 (1) |
|
|
Total amount of awards offered |
$962,000 |
$87,100 (2) |
$1,049,100 |
|
Total number of students offered an Emergency Financial Aid Grant |
1,145 |
41 (1) |
|
|
Total amount of awards accepted and distributed |
$874,300 |
$87,100 (2) |
$961,400 |
|
Total number of students who accepted and were paid an Emergency Financial Aid Grant |
1,032 |
41 (1) |
|
|
The method(s) used by the College to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive |
The College offered a one-time grant to full time students who meet the Department of Education’s eligibility requirements, based on the student’s expected family contribution (EFC) reported on the 2019-2020 FAFSA. Students with an EFC of $30,000or will receive a grant between $500 and $1,000: those with the lowest EFC will generally receive the larger grant. |
Remaining funds available from the CARES Act were combined with resources available through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) (3) and the College offered a one-time grant to full-time students who meet the Department of Education’s eligibility requirements. The amount of the grant was determined by considering Pell eligibility, federal expected family contribution (EFC), work study award for the spring, any appeals for financial aid made for the award year 2021 as of February 12, 2021 and other financial resources available to the student. Students with a Pell award will generally receive a sum equal to 50% of the 2021 spring Pell award amount. Students with an EFC of $37,500 or less will receive a grant between $350 and $500; those with the lowest EFC will generally receive the larger grant. Students with an EFC less than $37,500 who made an appeal of their financial aid award were also reviewed and considered for an additional grant. Each criteria was applied separately and summed to arrive at the total award for each of these students. Other students with an EFC greater than $37,500 and who were offered spring College Work Study received a one-time grant of $300. |
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Instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the College to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants |
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(1) 27 of these students also received an award on May 14, 2020.
(2) $1,827 of this award was funded using the College’s Institutional Portion under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
(3) Reporting requirements for CRRSAA awards will be specified in forthcoming announcements from the Department of Education.
May 14, 2020
All students receiving CARES funding accept this statement: “By accepting this grant you certify that you (1) are a student meeting the eligibility criteria outlined on the Cares Act information page; (2) incurred or will incur expenses arising out of the disruption of campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic (such as housing, food, course materials, technology, healthcare, or childcare) in an amount equal to or exceeding the amount of your award; (3) will use the federal CARES Act grant for those expenses, and (4) will assist and cooperate with the College with regard to any audit or regulatory review of the federal CARES Act grant provided to you.”
All students receiving CARES funding received the following notice: “The College is pleased to offer a grant award to you from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Funding is available to students who are currently enrolled in the spring 2020 semester and who meet the eligibility criteria outlined on the COVID information page under CARES Act. The offer you are receiving is a grant; it will not affect your financial aid offer for the academic years 2020 or 2021. It is not a loan and does not need to be repaid. The grant is not taxable. To view the acceptance agreement and the amount of your offer please login into STAR and select the Billing link.
Please read the CARES Act Grant Award Acceptance Certification to understand the terms of your grant award. After reading the certification choose “Skip” to view the amount of the grant award offered. The amount of the grant award offered will be presented in your most recent billing statement. The system will retain a record of your election when you choose to “Accept” or “Decline” the grant award. When you choose to “Skip” making an election you will be offered an opportunity on your next login to indicate your election. The system will continue to prompt you at login until you make an election or the offer is cancelled.
The offer will remain available until June 19, 2020. Awards not accepted by the deadline will be canceled.
By accepting the offer, each student is confirming they have incurred “expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses.” Students who have not incurred such expenses must decline the grant award.
If you believe that the amount of the grant awarded is greater than the expenses you have incurred as outlined above, please email the Bursar to indicate the lower level of support that is needed so we may adjust the offer.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at (508) 793-2521 or via email at financialaid@holycross.edu.
March 4, 2021
The College is pleased to offer a grant award to you through the Federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund as authorized by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). Funding is available to students who are currently enrolled in the spring 2021 semester and who meet the eligibility criteria outlined on the COVID information page under CRRSAA Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. The offer you are receiving is a grant; it will not affect your financial aid offer for the academic years 2021 or 2022. It is not a loan and does not need to be repaid. The grant, to the best of our knowledge, is not taxable.
To view the acceptance agreement and the amount of your offer please login into STAR and select the TouchNet Billing+Payment link. Please read the CRRSAA Grant Award and Acceptance Certification to understand the terms of your grant award. After reading the certification choose “Skip” to view the amount of the grant award offered. The amount of the grant award offered will be presented in your most recent billing statement. The system will retain a record of your election when you choose to “Accept” or “Decline” the grant award. When you choose to “Skip” making an election you will be offered an opportunity on your next login to indicate your election. The system will continue to prompt you at login until you make an election or the offer is cancelled. The offer will remain available until April 18th. Awards not accepted by the deadline will be canceled.
Please review your refund setup in TouchNet. Electronic refunds are the default method. However, these are federal funds that are made available for the student’s use. Thus, funds need to be refunded to the student. Be sure to change the name of the refund account to reflect the name of the account holder. Be sure that the refund flag is set to “Y” if you want this award refunded electronically.
By accepting this grant you certify that you (1) are a student meeting the eligibility criteria outlined on the CRRSAA Higher Education Emergency Relief information page; (2) acknowledging that the award will be used for any component of your cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to the coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care including mental health; (3) will use the federal CRRSAA grant for those expenses, and (4) will assist and cooperate with the College with regard to any audit or regulatory review of the federal CRRSAA grant provided to you.
If you believe that the amount of the grant awarded is greater than the expenses you have incurred as outlined above, please email the Bursar at bursar@holycross.edu to indicate the lower level of support that is needed so we may adjust the offer. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at (508) 793-2521 or via email at financialaid@holycross.edu.