CARES Act And CRRSAA - March 31, 2021
CARES ACT and CRRSAA
Catawba Valley Community College’s Report on Funds Received under Section 18004(a)(1) and Section 18004(a)(2) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) to Provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students and Institutional Costs Related to the Pandemic
(updated March 31, 2021)
The CARES Act, passed by the United States Congress March 27, 2020, set up the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF I) to benefit students and colleges all of whom have been hit with expenses related to the coronavirus pandemic. Allocations were made to colleges based on the size of the student body. Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) was allocated a total of $2,684,824 for HEERF I. In addition The Higher Education Relief Fund II (HEERF II), CRRSAA, signed into law on December 27, 2020 allocated another $5,420,817 for a total of $8,105,641.
Under the federal legislation, a minimum of $2,557,958 must be used to provide students emergency financial aid to help with expenses related to the disruption of pursuing an education due to the coronavirus. The remaining funds can be used to respond to the coronavirus threat and keeping staff and students safe while preserving the learning environment.
In order to be transparent to the public, CVCC will be making quarterly reports here about expenditures of these funds. Check back for up to date information.
CVCC is required to provide regular reporting to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on the use of funds authorized by the CARES and CRRSAA Act. The information noted below is intended to not only meet the reporting requirements but also provide information to our community regarding CVCC’s use of these funds.
The total amount of funds that the institution will receive or has received from the Department pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement [for] Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
CVCC has received $2,557,958 for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students and $5,547,683 for Institutional Costs related to the response to the pandemic.
The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students and utilized for Institutional costs.
Emergency Student Financial Aid distributed to date: $1,278,979
Institutional Costs Related to the Pandemic for the quarter ending March 31, 2021: $716,330 has been spent to purchase personal protective equipment, computers, wi-fi access points, temperature screening staff, supplies and equipment to continue the transition to virtual classrooms, and to replace lost revenue due to reduced enrollment.
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.
877 Title IV Eligible CVCC Students
The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
877 students have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant
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.
CVCC created a list of eligible students. The qualifications were:
- Students who filed the 2019-20 FAFSA (automatically eliminates Career & College Promise and special credit).
- Of those students who filed the 2019-20 FAFSA, students had to be eligible to receive Pell funds (US Citizen or permanent resident, Social Security number in Colleague, met the Selective Service requirement if male, program was not classified as an on-line program or a certificate not eligible for Pell funds).
- Of those students in #2, the students who actually received Pell funds.
- Of the students in #3, those who were enrolled for Spring 2020 in either seated face-to- face or hybrid classes on March 13, 2020 (the day of the national emergency declaration).
- There are 877 students who fit the requirements #1-4.
- Students are awarded the amount of their tuition for the hours that were transitioned to on-line plus a grant award based on the number of credit hours that were transitioned to online.
Three disbursement have been made as of March 31, 2021.
Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3 are the letters sent to eligible students included in each disbursement.
The table below shows the itemized grant awards.
Number of Students | Number of Credit Hours | Grant Reimbursed Tuition | Additional Grant Award | Grant Amount per student | Total Grant Amount per Category |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
17 | 1 | 76 | 600 | $676 | $11492 |
15 | 2 | 152 | 600 | $752 | $11280 |
136 | 3 | 228 | 600 | $828 | $112608 |
93 | 4 | 304 | 700 | $1004 | $93372 |
72 | 5 | 380 | 700 | $1080 | $77760 |
107 | 6 | 456 | 700 | $1156 | $123692 |
83 | 7 | 532 | 800 | $1332 | $110556 |
68 | 8 | 608 | 800 | $1408 | $95744 |
69 | 9 | 684 | 800 | $1484 | $102396 |
65 | 10 | 760 | 900 | $1660 | $107900 |
41 | 11 | 836 | 900 | $1736 | $71176 |
50 | 12 | 912 | 900 | $1812 | $90600 |
27 | 13 | 988 | 1000 | $1988 | $53676 |
9 | 14 | 1064 | 1000 | $2064 | $18576 |
13 | 15 | 1140 | 1000 | $2140 | $27820 |
12 | 16+ | 1216 | 1200 | $2416 | $28992 |
877 Total | $1137640 Total |
Disbursement one in the amount of $1,137,640 paid the week of May 21, 2020. Disbursement two in the amount of $120,284 was paid the week of November 23, 2020. Disbursement three in the amount of $21,055 was paid the week of March 22, 2021. No funds are remaining under the CARES Act (HEERF I).
CARES & CRRSAA Grant (HEERF I & HEERF II) - Institutional and Strengthening Institutions Portion Federal Allocation: $5,547,683
Institutional Costs Related to the Pandemic: $716,329.91 has been spent for the quarter ending 03/31/21. Click here for the detailed report of expenditures as required by the U.S. Department of Education.
Exhibit 1
Dear CVCC Red Hawk,
You are eligible to receive a one-time student aid grant from Catawba Valley Community College through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF).
CVCC will begin distributing the student aid portion of the HEERF in its entirety ($1,278,979.00 in aggregate) to all 878 eligible students on or before May 21, 2020. These grant funds will be direct payments to you for financial hardship expenses (such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care) related to the disruption of on-campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds do not impact your current financial aid awards or any financial aid awarded to you in the future.
You are not required to take any action to receive these grants. You will receive this grant through the option that you chose previously to receive any financial aid awards.
CVCC is grateful to our partners at the U.S. Department of Education for making these grants available to you. HEERF, which was authorized by Congress as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, was signed by the President into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act created two separate formula-based grants for colleges and universities: one portion for the direct aid to students and the other focused on supporting institutional costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional details on both programs can be found in Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) of the CARES Act.
Student eligibility for the CARES Act HEERF-student aid funding was determined by Catawba Valley Community College based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Education's CARES HEERF Certification and Agreement, HEERF Student FAQs, Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) of the CARES Act, and Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HES) of 1965, as amended. The maximum grant amount is based on the average dollar amount of expenses (such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare) associated with the disruption of on-campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Student eligibility for the CARES Act student aid funding was determined by the following:
- 2019-20 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) submitted and eligibility for financial aid approved and Pell financial aid funding previously awarded
- Membership in eligible program that was not classified as totally on-line
- Membership in fully seated face-to-face or hybrid classes that were ungraded on March 12, 2020 (the date of the national emergency declaration)
In addition to the financial support provided by the CARES Act, CVCC took several steps to help students during the pandemic.
- Students were provided updates on the CVCC web site in a section titled "Coronavirus Preparations & Updates" and students could call the CVCC-COVID 19 Hotline or email the CVCC-COVID 19 Virtual Hotline with questions and requests.
- Technology in the form of laptops, tablets, hot spots, and software was provided to many students upon request.
- Faculty began to contact students during the week of March 16, 2020, to provide additional support to complete classes.
- Beginning on March 8, all 2976 curriculum students (except CCP students who had other communication) were called beginning on March 8 to check on how they were doing; we were able to connect with 71% of students. Email was sent to those students who we were unable to contact by phone.
- A grade of WE (Withdraw Emergency) was implemented to allow students who could not complete coursework due to the campus disruption caused by COVID-19 to withdraw through the last day of the semester with no academic or financial aid penalty.
- A grade of IE (Incomplete Emergency) was implemented to allow students additional time to complete hands-on lab classes.
- A Portal announcement was posted on April 27, 2020, to inform students about withdrawal opportunities.
Catawba Valley Community College is committed to assisting you now and in the future. More information will be provided as additional funding becomes available in the future.
Please let us know if you have additional questions by contacting the CVCC COVID-19 Hotline available on the CVCC website.
Carolyn D. Brandon
Director of Scholarships and Financial Aid
Exhibit 2
You are eligible to receive an additional student aid grant from Catawba Valley Community College through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF).
CVCC distributed $1,278,979 to 878 eligible students in March 2020, holding $141,339 in a contingency fund. It has now been determined that the remaining funds in the contingency account can be distributed to eligible students during the week of November 23, 2020. These grant funds will be direct payments to you for financial hardship expenses (such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care) related to the disruption of on-campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds do not impact your current financial aid awards or any financial aid awarded to you in the future.
You are not required to take any action to receive these funds. You will receive this grant through the option that you chose previously to receive any financial aid awards.
CVCC is grateful to our partners at the U.S. Department of Education for making these grants available to you. HEERF, which was authorized by Congress as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, was signed by the President into law on March
27, 2020. The CARES Act created two separate formula-based grants for colleges and universities: one portion for the direct aid to students and the other focused on supporting institutional costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional details on both programs can be found in Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) of the CARES Act.
Student eligibility for the CARES Act HEERF-student aid funding was determined by Catawba Valley Community College based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Education's CARES HEERF Certification and Agreement, HEERF Student FAQs, Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) of the CARES Act, and Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HES) of 1965, as amended.
Those students who were determined eligible to receive the HEERF funding in Spring 2020 and who are currently enrolled as curriculum students as of November 4, 2020, are eligible to receive this final HEERF (CARES Act) funding. Please visit https://www.cvcc.edu/Campus-Resources/CARES-ACT/index.cfm for more information.
Catawba Valley Community College is committed to assisting you now and in the future.
Carolyn D. Brandon
CVCC Director of Scholarships and Financial Aid
Exhibit 3
Dear CVCC Red Hawk,
You are eligible to receive an additional student aid grant from Catawba Valley Community College through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF).
CVCC had $21,055 of residual funds remaining after the March 2020 and the November 2020 disbursement to eligible students. This funding is being distributed to eligible students during the week of March 22, 2021. This last distribution will conclude the disbursement of the CARES Act funding. These grant funds will be direct payments to you for financial hardship expenses (such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care) related to the disruption of on-campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds do not impact your current financial aid awards or any financial aid awarded to you in the future.
You are not required to take any action to receive these funds. You will receive this grant through the option that you chose previously to receive any financial aid awards.
CVCC is grateful to our partners at the U.S. Department of Education for making these grants available to you. HEERF, which was authorized by Congress as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, was signed by the President into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act created two separate formula-based grants for colleges and universities: one portion for the direct aid to students and the other focused on supporting institutional costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional details on both programs can be found in Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) of the CARES Act.
Student eligibility for the CARES Act HEERF-student aid funding was determined by Catawba Valley Community College based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Education's CARES HEERF Certification and Agreement, HEERF Student FAQs, Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) of the CARES Act, and Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HES) of 1965, as amended.
Those students who were determined eligible to receive the HEERF funding in Spring 2020 and who are currently enrolled as curriculum students as of March 8, 2021, are eligible to receive this final HEERF (CARES Act) funding. Please visit https://www.cvcc.edu/Campus-Resources/CARES-ACT/index.cfm for more information.
Catawba Valley Community College is committed to assisting you now and in the future.
Carolyn D. Brandon
CVCC Director of Scholarships and Financial Aid