CARES Act Student Grant Update

CARES ACT STUDENT GRANT UPDATE

December 31 , 2020 Update

Quarterly Report on CARES Act Grants Deployed to Help Husson Students with Costs Associated with COVID19 and Campus Closure.  This report covers the distribution of funds received by Husson based on the “Certification and Agreement” form signed and returned to the Department of Education(ED) on April13, 2020, and represents our final report as all funds have been distributed.

We are pleased to report on Husson University’s use of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.  This legislation required Husson to distribute no less than 50% of its grant, or $1,337,308, to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants directly to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19. These expenses included food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare.

On April 13, 2020, Husson signed and returned to the United States Department of Education (ED) our “Certification and Agreement” form. This form included the University’s assurance that we intended to provide $1,337,308 in grants directly to students. Our government allocation for this purpose was received from ED on April 25, 2020.

Under the U.S. Department of Education rules for the program, these funds could be awarded to Husson undergraduate or graduate students pursuing degrees and matriculated at Husson. The interim final rule effective June 17 issued from ED required distributions to be limited to those individuals eligible for assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. We identified 3024 eligible students, based on their filing of a 2019/20 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

International students, undocumented students and non-matriculated students were not eligible to receive CARES Act distributions. Students enrolled exclusively in online programs prior to the pandemic were also ineligible. To ensure students with the greatest financial need receive support, the University decided that employees attending Husson as part of the tuition-waiver benefit would not qualify for a CARES Act grant, but dependents of employees were considered eligible if met all the criteria. The remaining students who had a current FAFSA on file with the University qualified to receive funding.  We made initial grants available to 2636 students.

Guidance from the federal government also encouraged colleges and universities to give special consideration to Pell eligible students. As a result, Husson developed a distribution matrix that considered a student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) based on information from each student’s FAFSA. Whether a student carried a full- or part-time academic load for the Spring 2020 semester was also taken into consideration.  

All students attending classes at Husson in the spring of 2020 incurred costs due to the disruption of campus operations. What those costs were depended on each student’s personal circumstances. Some students incurred additional food and housing costs, while those who relied on campus technology or supplies incurred costs to purchase equipment and/or internet access. Students who lived on campus incurred the additional costs of making an extra trip to campus to collect their belongings. Lack of easy access to campus health services impacted students who were forced to pay for care that was previously covered through our campus health services.

We also recognized that a great number of our students faced financial hardship prior to the pandemic. This can be seen by the fact that 1760 of our students have an EFC of under $10,000—about a third of our estimated cost of attendance. So while we have made awards to all students that qualified based on the above criteria, we  chose to award those with the greatest need—as demonstrated by their EFC—a larger grant. The grants ranged from $100.00 - $630.43.

Every student received a letter via their Husson email on May 6, 2020. Follow up emails alerting students that funds were available were sent on May 12, 2020, May 20, 2020, and June 8, 2020. Students were instructed to view their student portal for information specific to their situation and to accept the funds if a grant had been awarded. In addition, we employed social media, text messaging, student newsletters and faculty communications to further reach students and encourage them to visit their student portal and accept their grants. A copy of the letter emailed to students can be found by following this link.

After this initial round of funding, $227,140.36 of Husson’s initial $1,337,308 remained unclaimed.  Recognizing that many of our students had COVID related expenses in excess of the initial grants, an application was developed and administered through Husson’s Office of Student Life.  Students were notified by email on July 6, 2020, and encouraged to submit an application explaining and certifying that they had expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19 above and beyond any grant previously received during the first round of funding. Applications received by July 16, 2020, were evaluated and considered for funding.

We received 454 applications, requesting approximately $1.2 million. Each was reviewed by a three person committee that read each application independently and then met collectively to award funds. The following criteria was used to determine eligibility and award amounts:

• Students must be eligible for assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as proven by submission of a FAFSA.
• Students meet enrollment requirements under the CARES Act.
• In order to be eligible, costs must have been incurred because of the disruption of campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the spring 2020 semester.
• The University refunded partial costs of on-campus housing and/or dining, which was to be used to cover expenses caused by the closure of residence halls and dining facilities. Thus, refunded amounts for food were calculated against the requested amount for food, and refunded amounts for housing were calculated against the requested amount for housing when determining approved amounts.
• Students are only eligible to receive a total amount equal to, or below, the stated eligible costs.
• Applications must have been submitted prior to the announced deadline.
• As outlined on the application itself, incomplete applications were not considered.
• Students must have completed an attestation to the accuracy of the costs reported.

Through this process, Husson identified 257 applicants who received $149,477 in funding. These grants ranged in size from $50 to $2,890. The remaining 197 applicants were denied either because they didn’t meet the requirements to receive funds as outlined above, they didn’t supply enough information upon which to evaluate their request, the application was incomplete, or their request did not exceed the amount received in the initial rounds of funding.  Each of the 454 students were notified of the decisions and were encouraged to contact the Office of Student Life with questions and concerns. At the end of this round of funding, $77,863.36 remained undistributed.

On October 3, 2020, another email was sent to Husson students identified as eligible for CARES funding, alerting them that additional funding remained available and once again sought applications from students who had incurred costs due to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID19.  Applications received by Wednesday, October 14, 2020, were evaluated and considered for funding with the remaining $77,863.36 using the same method and criteria in the first round of application-based funding.

There were 224 applications for supplementary funds requesting a total of $664,660.43.  Of these, 155 applications were approved to receive supplementary funds in amounts ranging from $2,171.00 to $41.75.  In total $77,905.50 was approved for disbursement via this round of funding, which is $838.49 over the amount allotted by the CARES Act.  This overage of $838.49 will be absorbed by the University.  In addition, 25 students were identified in this final round as having food insecurity issues, not directly attributable to COVID19.  The University awarded these individuals private, philanthropic funds that had been donated by alumni, friends and community members to address emergency and food insecurity issues.

As of this date, we have distributed the entire $1,337,308 in Emergency Financial Aid through 2548 grants to eligible students. No funds remain to be distributed. Questions regarding distributions already made should be directed to either Husson’s Financial Aid office at 207-941-7156, or the Student Accounts office at 207-941-7150.  Questions pertaining specifically to the application process as well as to request a copy of the application or notices sent to students should contact the Office of Student Life at 207-941-7107.

CARES ACT STUDENT GRANT UPDATE

A 45-day Report on CARES Act Grants Deployed to Help Husson Students with Costs Associated with COVID19 and Campus Closure

September 30, 2020 Update

We are pleased to report on Husson University’s use of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.  This legislation requires Husson to distribute no less than 50% of its grant, or $1,337,308, to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants directly to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19. These expenses include food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare.

On April 13, 2020, Husson signed and returned to the United States Department of Education (ED) our “Certification and Agreement” form. This form included the University’s assurance that we intended to provide $1,337,308 in grants directly to students. Our government allocation for this purpose was received from ED on April 25, 2020.

Under the U.S. Department of Education rules for the program, these funds can be awarded to Husson undergraduate or graduate students who are pursuing degrees and matriculated at Husson. The interim final rule effective June 17 issued from ED requires distributions to be limited to those individuals eligible for assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. We identified 3024 students that are eligible, based on their filing of a 2019/20 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

As a result, international students, undocumented students and non-matriculated students are not eligible to receive CARES Act distributions. Students enrolled exclusively in online programs prior to the pandemic are also ineligible. To ensure students with the greatest financial need receive support, the University has also decided that employees attending Husson as part of the tuition-waiver benefit will not qualify for a CARES Act grant, but dependents of employees are considered eligible if they have met all the criteria. The remaining students who have a current FAFSA on file with the University qualify to receive this funding.  We made initial grants available to 2636 students.

Guidance from the federal government also encouraged colleges and universities to give special consideration to Pell eligible students. As a result, Husson has developed a distribution matrix that takes a student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) into account which is determined based on information from each student’s FAFSA. Whether a student was carrying a full- or part-time academic load for the Spring 2020 semester was another factor taken into consideration.  

All students who were attending classes at Husson this spring have incurred costs due to the disruption of campus operations. What those costs might be depends on each student’s personal circumstances. Some students have incurred additional food and housing costs, while those who relied on campus technology or supplies have incurred costs to purchase equipment and/or internet access. Students who lived on campus incurred the additional costs of making an extra trip to campus to collect their belongings. Lack of easy access to campus health services has impacted students who have been forced to pay for care that was previously covered through our campus health services.

We also recognize that a great number of our students faced financial hardship prior to the pandemic. This can be seen by the fact that 1760 of our students have an EFC of under $10,000—about a third of our estimated cost of attendance. So while we have made awards to all students that qualify based on the above criteria, we have chosen to award those who have the greatest need—as demonstrated by their EFC—a larger grant. The grants range from $100.00 - $630.43.

Every student received a letter via their Husson email on May 6, 2020. Follow up emails alerting students that funds were available were sent on May 12, 2020, May 20, 2020, and June 8, 2020. Students were instructed to view their student portal for information specific to their situation and to accept the funds if a grant had been awarded. In addition, we employed social media, text messaging, student newsletters and faculty communications to further reach students and encourage them to visit their student portal and accept their grants. A copy of the letter emailed to students can be found by following this link.

After this initial round of funding, $227,140.36 of Husson’s initial $1,337,308 remained unclaimed.  Recognizing that many of our students had COVID related expenses in excess of the initial grants, an application was developed and administered through Husson’s Office of Student Life.  Students were asked to explain and certify that they had expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19 above and beyond any grant they have previously received during the first round of funding.  Students submitting applications had to be eligible for Title IV assistance as specified in the U.S. Department of Education’s interim final rule. 

In this subsequent review, we received 454 applications, requesting approximately $1.2 million.  Each was reviewed by a three person committee that read each application independently and then met collectively to award funds.  Through this process, Husson identified 257 applicants who received $149,477 in funding. These grants ranged in size from $50 to $2,890. The remaining 197 applicants were denied either because they didn’t meet the requirements to receive funds as outlined above, they didn’t supply enough information upon which to evaluate their request, the application was incomplete, or their request did not exceed the amount received in the initial rounds of funding.

Each of the 454 students were notified of the decisions and were encouraged to contact the Office of Student Life with questions and concerns.

Please contact the Office of Student Life at the number below for a copy of the application or notifications.

As of this date, we have distributed $1,259,444.64 in Emergency Financial Aid grants directly to 2,393 students. There remains $77,863.36 left for distributions. On October 5, 2020, an email was sent to Husson students identified as eligible for this funding seeking applications from students who have incurred costs due to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID19.  Applications received by Wednesday, October 14, 2020, will be evaluated and considered for funding with the remaining $77,863.36.

Questions regarding distributions already made should be directed to either Husson’s Financial Aid office at 207-941-7156, or the Student Accounts office at 207-941-7150.  Questions pertaining specifically to the application process should contact the Office of Student Life at 207-941-7107.

CARES ACT STUDENT GRANT UPDATE

A 45-day Report on CARES Act Grants Deployed to Help Husson Students with Costs Associated with COVID19 and Campus Closure

August 16, 2020

We are pleased to report on Husson University’s use of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.  This legislation requires Husson to distribute no less than 50% of its grant, or $1,337,308, to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants directly to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19. These expenses include food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare.

On April 13, 2020, Husson signed and returned to the United States Department of Education (ED) our “Certification and Agreement” form. This form included the University’s assurance that we intended to provide $1,337,308 in grants directly to students. Our government allocation for this purpose was received from ED on April 25, 2020.

Under the U.S. Department of Education rules for the program, these funds can be awarded to Husson undergraduate or graduate students who are pursuing degrees and matriculated at Husson. The interim final rule effective June 17 issued from ED requires distributions to be limited to those individuals eligible for assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. We identified 3024 students that are eligible, based on their filing of a 2019/20 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

As a result, international students, undocumented students and non-matriculated students are not eligible to receive CARES Act distributions. Students enrolled exclusively in online programs prior to the pandemic are also ineligible. To ensure students with the greatest financial need receive support, the University has also decided that employees attending Husson as part of the tuition-waiver benefit will not qualify for a CARES Act grant, but dependents of employees are considered eligible if they have met all the criteria. The remaining students who have a current FAFSA on file with the University qualify to receive this funding.  We made initial grants available to 2636 students.

Guidance from the federal government also encouraged colleges and universities to give special consideration to Pell eligible students. As a result, Husson has developed a distribution matrix that takes a student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) into account which is determined based on information from each student’s FAFSA. Whether a student was carrying a full- or part-time academic load for the Spring 2020 semester was another factor taken into consideration.  

All students who were attending classes at Husson this spring have incurred costs due to the disruption of campus operations. What those costs might be depends on each student’s personal circumstances. Some students have incurred additional food and housing costs, while those who relied on campus technology or supplies have incurred costs to purchase equipment and/or internet access. Students who lived on campus incurred the additional costs of making an extra trip to campus to collect their belongings. Lack of easy access to campus health services has impacted students who have been forced to pay for care that was previously covered through our campus health services.

We also recognize that a great number of our students faced financial hardship prior to the pandemic. This can be seen by the fact that 1760 of our students have an EFC of under $10,000—about a third of our estimated cost of attendance. So while we have made awards to all students that qualify based on the above criteria, we have chosen to award those who have the greatest need—as demonstrated by their EFC—a larger grant. The grants range from $100.00 - $630.43.

Every student received a letter via their Husson email on May 6, 2020. Follow up emails alerting students that funds were available were sent on May 12, 2020, May 20, 2020, and June 8, 2020. Students were instructed to view their student portal for information specific to their situation and to accept the funds if a grant had been awarded. In addition, we employed social media, text messaging, student newsletters and faculty communications to further reach students and encourage them to visit their student portal and accept their grants. A copy of the letter emailed to students can be found by following this link.

After this initial round of funding, $227,140.36 of Husson’s initial $1,337,308 remained unclaimed.  Recognizing that many of our students had COVID related expenses in excess of the initial grants, an application was developed and administered through Husson’s Office of Student Life.  Students were asked to explain and certify that they had expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19 above and beyond any grant they have previously received during the first round of funding.  Students submitting applications had to be eligible for Title IV assistance as specified in the U.S. Department of Education’s interim final rule. 

In this subsequent review, we received 454 applications, requesting approximately $1.2 million.  Each was reviewed by a three person committee that read each application independently and then met collectively to award funds.  Through this process, Husson identified 257 applicants who received $149,477 in funding. These grants ranged in size from $50 to $2,890. The remaining 197 applicants were denied either because they didn’t meet the requirements to receive funds as outlined above, they didn’t supply enough information upon which to evaluate their request, the application was incomplete, or their request did not exceed the amount received in the initial rounds of funding.

Each of the 454 students were notified of the decisions and were encouraged to contact the Office of Student Life with questions and concerns.

Please contact the Office of Student Life at the number below for a copy of the application or notifications.

As of this date, we have distributed $1,259,444.64 in Emergency Financial Aid grants directly to 2,393 students. There remains $77,863.36 left for distributions. The University is considering options for how to best distribute these remaining funds to meet the needs outlined by ED guidance.

Questions regarding distributions already made should be directed to either Husson’s Financial Aid office at 207-941-7156, or the Student Accounts office at 207-941-7150.  Questions pertaining specifically to the application process should contact the Office of Student Life at 207-941-7107.

A 45-day Report on CARES Act Grants Deployed to Help Husson Students with Costs Associated with COVID19 and Campus Closure

July 2, 2020

We are pleased to report on Husson University’s use of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.  This legislation requires Husson to distribute no less than 50% of its grant, or $1,337,308, to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants directly to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19. These expenses include food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare.

On April 13, 2020, Husson signed and returned to the United States Department of Education (ED) our “Certification and Agreement” form. This form included the University’s assurance that we intended to provide $1,337,308 in grants directly to students. Our government allocation for this purpose was received from ED on April 25, 2020.

Under the U.S. Department of Education rules for the program, these funds can be awarded to Husson undergraduate or graduate students who are pursuing degrees and matriculated at Husson. The interim final rule effective June 17 issued from ED requires distributions to be limited to those individuals eligible for assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. We identified 3024 students that are eligible, based on their filing of a 2019/20 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

As a result, international students, undocumented students and non-matriculated students are not eligible to receive CARES Act distributions. Students enrolled exclusively in online programs prior to the pandemic are also ineligible. To ensure students with the greatest financial need receive support, the University has also decided that employees attending Husson as part of the tuition-waiver benefit will not qualify for a CARES Act grant, but dependents of employees are considered eligible if they have met all the criteria. The remaining students who have a current FAFSA on file with the University qualify to receive this funding.  To date, we have made grants available to 2636 students.

Guidance from the federal government also encouraged colleges and universities to give special consideration to Pell eligible students. As a result, Husson has developed a distribution matrix that takes a student’s Expected Family Contribution(EFC) into account which is determined based on information from each student’s FAFSA. Whether a student was carrying a full- or part-time academic load for the Spring 2020 semester was another factor taken into consideration.  

All students who were attending classes at Husson this spring have incurred costs due to the disruption of campus operations. What those costs might be depends on each student’s personal circumstances. Some students have incurred additional food and housing costs, while those who relied on campus technology or supplies have incurred costs to purchase equipment and/or internet access. Students who lived on campus incurred the additional costs of making an extra trip to campus to collect their belongings. Lack of easy access to campus health services has impacted students who have been forced to pay for care that was previously covered through our campus health services.

We also recognize that a great number of our students faced financial hardship prior to the pandemic. This can be seen by the fact that 1760 of our students have an EFC of under $10,000—about a third of our estimated cost of attendance. So while we have made awards to all students that qualify based on the above criteria, we have chosen to award those who have the greatest need—as demonstrated by their EFC—a larger grant. The grants range from $100.00 - $630.43.

Every student received a letter via their Husson email on May 6, 2020. Follow up emails alerting students that funds were available were sent on May 12, 2020, May 20, 2020, and June 8, 2020. Students were instructed to view their student portal for information specific to their situation and to accept the funds if a grant had been awarded. In addition, we employed social media, text messaging, student newsletters and faculty communications to further reach students and encourage them to visit their student portal and accept their grants. A copy of the letter emailed to students can be found following this link.

As of this date, we have distributed $1,110,168 in Emergency Financial Aid grants directly to 2,137 students. We have had 109 students who have declined their grants for a total of $46,204.  The remaining students have not responded leaving a pool of funds of $226,544 to be distributed.

These remaining funds be disbursed on an application basis available and administered through the Office of Student Life.  Students will be asked to submit a brief application certifying that they had expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19 above and beyond any grant they have already received.  Students submitting applications must also be eligible for Title IV assistance as specified in the U.S. Department of Education’s interim final rule. 

Questions regarding distributions already made should be directed to either Husson’s Financial Aid office at 207-941-7156, or the Student Accounts office at 207-941-7150.  Questions regarding submitting an application for an additional grant should be directed to the Office of Student Life at 207-941-7107.

A 30-day Report on CARES Act Grants Deployed to Help Husson Students with Costs Associated with COVID19 and Campus Closure

May 18, 2020

We are pleased to report on Husson University’s use of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.  This legislation requires Husson to use 50% of its grant, or $1,337,308, to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants directly to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19 These expenses include food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare.

On April 13, 2020, Husson signed and returned to the United States Department of Education (ED) our “Certification and Agreement” form. This form included the University’s assurance that we intended to provide $1,337,308 in grants directly to students. Our government allocation for this purpose was received from ED on April 25, 2020.

Under the U.S. Department of Education rules for the program, these funds can be awarded to Husson undergraduate or graduate students who are pursuing degrees and matriculated at Husson. Guidance from ED requires that students must be eligible to participate in programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to be eligible for these grants. We identified 3024 students that are eligible, based on their filing of a 2019/20 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

As a result, international students, undocumented students and non-matriculated students are not eligible to receive CARES Act distributions. Students enrolled exclusively in online programs prior to the pandemic are also ineligible. To ensure students with the greatest financial need receive support, the University has also decided that employees attending Husson as part of the tuition-waiver benefit will not qualify for a CARES Act grant, but dependents of employees are considered eligible if they have met all the criteria. The remaining students who have a current FAFSA on file with the University qualify to receive this funding.  To date, we have made grants available to 2634 students.

Guidance from the federal government also encouraged colleges and universities to give special consideration to Pell eligible students. As a result, Husson has developed a distribution matrix that takes a student’s Expected Family Contribution(EFC) into account which is determined based on information from each student’s FAFSA. Whether a student was carrying a full- or part-time academic load for the Spring 2020 semester was another factor taken into consideration.  

All students who were attending classes at Husson this spring have incurred costs due to the disruption of campus operations. What those costs might be depends on each student’s personal circumstances. Some students have incurred additional food and housing costs, while those who relied on campus technology or supplies have incurred costs to purchase equipment and/or internet access. Students who lived on campus incurred the additional costs of making an extra trip to campus to collect their belongings. Lack of easy access to campus health services has impacted students who have been forced to pay for care that was previously covered through our campus health services.

We also recognize that a great number of our students faced financial hardship prior to the pandemic. This can be seen by the fact that 1760 of our students have an EFC of under $10,000—about a third of our estimated cost of attendance. So while we have made awards to all students that qualify based on the above criteria, we have chosen to award those who have the greatest need—as demonstrated by their EFC—a larger grant. The grants range from $100.00 - $630.43.

Every student received a letter via their Husson email on May 6, 2020.  They were instructed to view their student portal for information specific to their situation and to accept the funds if a grant had been awarded. In addition, we employed social media, text messaging, student newsletters and faculty communications to further reach students and encourage them to visit their student portal and accept their grants. A copy of the letter emailed to students can be found following this link.

As of this date, we have distributed $956,775.68 in Emergency Financial Aid grants directly to 1813 students. There are still students who haven’t yet contacted the University about receiving a grant. We encourage all qualifying students to contact us about receiving their allocation by visiting their student portal.

Questions regarding distributions should be directed to either Husson’s Financial Aid office at 207-941-7156 or the Student Accounts office at 207-941-7150.