The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released guidance related to CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding (HEERF) funding to higher education institutions to assist students with unmet expenses as a result of COVID-19. Funds must be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as:
- course materials
- technology
- food
- housing
- health care
- childcare
- or other cost of attendance related item
Furthermore, USDOE guidelines require emergency grants only be distributed to students who are eligible to participate in federal Title IV aid programs. In accordance with the HEERF Certification and Agreement signed and returned to the USDOE, the institution will 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.
Payment Methodology
Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following Secretary of Education DeVos’s guidance, Pell eligible students received priority funding. However, based on our institution’s determined criteria, certain non-Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding. Criteria for eligibility include:
- An individual must have been a student as of March 13, 2020.
- Students cannot have been enrolled solely in an online format as of March 13, 2020.
- Students paid must be eligible to participate in Title IV financial aid programs.
- Student must be degree-seeking, enrolled full- or part-time for the Spring 2020 semester.
- High school dual-enrollment students and employees in special-industry training programs do not qualify for the CARES Act emergency grant aid.
Much of the funding is automatically disbursed to eligible students, but eligibility for students who did not file FAFSAs cannot yet be verified. We anticipate USDOE will release an option for these students to self-certify eligibility. However, affected students may elect to complete a 2019-2020 FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov so eligibility can be determined.
Disbursement Process
Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to students by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on the method the student has setup with the college. A payment is not necessarily a reflection of a student’s current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.
Chattanooga State began making HEERF payments to eligible students mid-June 2020.
Students determined eligible for HEERF payments will receive a confirmation email from the institution. A copy of the email template may be reviewed here. Please direct all disbursement questions to bursar@chattanoogastate.edu. For questions related to eligibility for CARES funds, please contact caresact@chattanoogastate.edu.
HEERF 1 Payment Allocation Information
|
Number of Title IV eligible students who may qualify for HEERF payments: |
5,163 |
|
Total amount of HEERF 1 aid available for payments to students: |
$0 |
|
Total amount of HEERF 1 aid paid to eligible students: |
$2,641,741.00 |
|
Total number of eligible students paid: |
5,132 |
The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released guidance related to CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding (HEERF) funding to higher education institutions to assist students with unmet expenses as a result of COVID-19. Funds must be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as:
- course materials
- technology
- food
- housing
- health care
- childcare
- or other cost of attendance related item
In accordance with the HEERF Certification and Agreement signed and returned to the USDOE, the institution will use no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 314(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
Payment Methodology
Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following U.S. Department of Education guidance, Pell eligible students received priority funding. However, based on our institution’s determined criteria, certain non-Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding. Criteria for eligibility include:
- An individual must have been a student as of March 22, 2021.
- Students must be U.S. Citizens or eligible non-citizens
- Student must be degree-seeking, enrolled full- or part-time for the Spring 2021 semester.
- High school dual-enrollment students and employees in special-industry training programs do not qualify for the HEERF 2 emergency grant aid.
Funding will automatically be disbursed to eligible students.
Disbursement Process
Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to students by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on the method the student has setup with the college. A payment is not necessarily a reflection of a student’s current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.
Chattanooga State began making HEERF 2 payments to eligible students March, 2021.
Students determined eligible for HEERF 2 payments will receive a confirmation email from the institution. A copy of the email template may be reviewed here. Please direct all disbursement questions to bursar@chattanoogastate.edu. For questions related to eligibility for CARES funds, please contact caresact@chattanoogastate.edu.
HEERF 2 Payment Allocation Information
|
Number of Title IV eligible students who may qualify for HEERF payments: |
4,111 |
|
Total amount of HEERF 2 aid available for payments to students: |
$0 |
|
Total amount of HEERF 2 aid paid to eligible students: |
$2,641,741.00 |
|
Total number of eligible students paid: |
4,999 |
The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released guidance related to CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding (HEERF) funding to higher education institutions to assist students with unmet expenses as a result of COVID-19. Funds must be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as:
- course materials
- technology
- food
- housing
- health care
- childcare
- or other cost of attendance related item
In accordance with the HEERF Certification and Agreement signed and returned to the USDOE, the institution will use no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 314(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students. These emergency grants can also be applied toward an existing balance at the institution, with written authorization from the students.
Payment Methodology
Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following U.S. Department of Education guidance, Pell eligible students received priority funding. However, based on our institution’s determined criteria, certain non-Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding. Criteria for eligibility include:
- Student must be enrolled full- or part-time for the semester in which payment is received
- Students must document a financial need directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, obtained by the institution through an online survey or via an online application process
- The online survey/application process will also be used to obtain written authorization from students to apply emergency grant funds toward an existing account balance
Funding will automatically be disbursed to eligible students.
Disbursement Process
Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to students by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on the method the student has setup with the college. A payment is not necessarily a reflection of a student’s current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.
Chattanooga State began making HEERF 3 payments to eligible students August, 2021. Please direct all disbursement questions to bursar@chattanoogastate.edu. For questions related to eligibility for CARES funds, please contact caresact@chattanoogastate.edu.
HEERF 3 Payment Allocation Information
|
Number of Title IV eligible students who may qualify for HEERF payments: |
12,468 |
|
Total amount of HEERF 3 aid available for payments to students: |
$0.00 |
|
Total amount of HEERF 3 aid paid to eligible students: |
$10,165,404 |
|
Total number of eligible students paid: |
11,890 |