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HEERF I (CARES) Student Emergency Grant

As the result of the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act, SUNY Canton will receive federal funding to distribute as emergency grants to students impacted by COVID-19.

These emergency grants will help students manage expenses resulting from the disruption of campus operations caused by the pandemic. Eligible expenses include the cost of food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare.

Emergency grants will be limited in number and amount due to funding constraints.

Facts

• SUNY Canton has completed the Certification and Agreement and intends to use no less than 50% of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide emergency financial aid grants to students.
• The college has been awarded $1,255,465 designated for emergency grants to go directly to students (this amount represents 50 percent of SUNY Canton’s total CARES Act allocation).
• The college has identified students who could be eligible. These students will receive an email with information about the CARES Act, eligibility and a link to the application.

CARES Act funding distributed by SUNY Canton to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act

Date	Reporting Requirement	Update
5/22/2020	30 Day	SUNY Canton received the Grant Award Notice on April 22, 2020. As of May 22, 2020 SUNY Canton has not yet distributed Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
9/30/2020	Quarterly	Since April 22, 2020: 700 Students have received a total of $491.465.47.
12/31/2020	Quarterly	During quarter ending 12/31/20 SUNY Canton awarded 1,413 additional Awards for $642,786.40.
3/31/2021	Quarterly	During quarter ending 3/31/2021 SUNY Canton expended the remaining $1,713.38 for two additional awards of HEERF I funding.

Eligibility

Determination of an “impacted student” is a crucial part of ensuring that the emergency funds are delivered appropriately. Only students who are eligible for Title IV financial aid may receive this emergency funding.

You may be eligible to receive funding if you:

• are a matriculated undergraduate or graduate student; and
• are enrolled in any program (including those moved online temporarily due to COVID-19) that is not 100% distance education; and
• have completed the 2019-2020 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and are deemed eligible to receive Title IV aid; and
• are among those with the greatest need, as determined by the FAFSA.

If you have not completed a FAFSA for this current award year (2019-2020), please do so prior to June 30, 2020 so that we may assess your eligibility for funding.

Note also that emergency grants will be limited in number and amount due to funding constraints.

How to Apply

Students identified as eligible to apply will receive an email from the Financial Aid office with grant details and a link to the application.

The grant application will ask you to identify the ways in which you have been impacted by COVID-19, as well as your current living situation. Once your application is reviewed, you will receive an email indicating whether you will receive emergency funding.

The priority deadline has been extended to June 30, 2020.

As of November 18, 2020 students who qualified were automatically given Awards and did not need to directly apply and the determination of awards was as follows:

Once a student has been determined eligible for CARES emergency grant funds they will be awarded in the following priority order by your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculated on the FAFSA.

• Tier 1 EFC 0 – 2500
• Tier 2 EFC 2501 – 5576
• Tier 3 EFC 5577 – 7500
• Tier 4 EFC 7500+

Students in Tiers 1 & 2 will be reviewed first. Tiers 3 & 4 will be reviewed after the application deadline to ensure higher need students have priority per SUNY guidelines. All students will be notified of eligibility by SUNY Canton email.

You are required to use the emergency grant funds toward the expenses for which they were approved.

Allowable Expenses

CARES Act emergency grants will allow students to manage expenses resulting from the disruption of campus operations caused by the pandemic. Funding received may only be used for eligible expenses, which include the cost of:

• Food
• Housing
• Course materials
• Technology
• Health care
• Childcare

Repayment

CARES Act emergency grants will not need to be repaid.

Impact on Financial Aid

CARES Act emergency grants will not impact your financial aid.

Determination of Award Amounts

SUNY Canton CARES is a two-phase approach that allows us to deliver initial awards to students quickly. The plan focuses on spring semester students identified as eligible that have expenses related to the disruption on campus due to COVID-19.

Distribution of Funds

SUNY canton will apply and disburse funds directly to students, bypassing Financial Aid processing completely. The entire CARES emergency aid amount will be refunded, regardless of the account balance. Distinct Banner detail codes will be used to easily track these payments. Funds will be issued according to the student’s chosen method through our delivery partner, BankMobile: ACH. Funds will either be deposited directly into the student's checking account or sent via paper check to the student’s address.