President's Update - June 5, 2020

Dear Chattanooga State Community,

Today’s daily communication provides an update related to CARES Act fund disbursements.

Trust us when we say that we are as frustrated as you are. 

We had hoped to share good news with you today; however, we have encountered yet another delay related to disbursement of CARES Act funding. We are doing everything we can to get the CARES Act funding to you. We too are frustrated that there continue to be delays in getting these funds to you. We know you are anxious to receive these funds, and we are anxious to get them to you. 

It’s a bit complicated but the scripts that run the programming to identify eligible students and calculate payments isn’t working properly. One of the initial challenges with the scripts is that Chattanooga State is unique among all TBR institutions in that our TCAT is fully embedded (not a separate entity). The script provided to us earlier this week excluded our TCAT students in error. The revised script included TCAT students but failed to accurately identify all eligible students. We are continuing to work with TBR on the script and doing everything we can to ensure the calculations are correct. 

Please know that we are not withholding funds or sitting on the funds. The CARES Act federal money is not dispersed to the College until it is dispersed to students. These federal dollars are granted on a reimbursement basis.

If you are in need of assistance now, please let us know. We are here to help you.

  • The Tiger Cupboard provides supplemental food and other necessities for students in need. Although the campus is closed, we will fulfill requests for food from the Cupboard. Visit https://www.chattanoogastate.edu/tiger-cupboard for more information. 
  • The Helping Hands Fund provides emergency aid for students in need. Submit a Helping Hands Request here.
  • Chattanooga State is dedicated to delivering support services and resources to assist our students. Learn more about the services available through our Student Support Center here.

You will get through this. We will get through this.

Sincerely,
Rebecca Ashford, Ed.D.
President