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CARES Act Fund: Final Report #5

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CARES Act Fund: Final Report #5 (December 16, 2020)

Santa Clara University (SCU), in compliance with:

  1. Section 18004(e) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which first required that each institution applying for funding from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) submit an initial report to the Secretary of Education within 30 days, and update the report every 45 days thereafter;
  2. guidance for compliance with the reporting requirement provided by ED on May 6, 2020; 
  3. communications sent from ED’s Program Officer on May 13, 2020; and
  4. reporting updates sent from ED’s Program Officer on September 23, 2020;

is posting its fifth and final report in a format and location easily accessible to the public on December 16, 2020 for the period ending December 31, 2020.  SCU’s fourth report was posted on October 10, 2020.  The third report was posted on August 23, 2020.   The second report was posted on July 9, 2020.  The first report was posted on May 25, 2020.  May 25, 2020 is the date 30 days after SCU received its allocation under 18004(a)(1).  

  1. On April 15, 2020, SCU signed and returned to ED the Certification and Agreement (for) Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  In doing so, SCU provided ED the assurance that SCU intends to 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.
  2. On April 25, 2020, SCU received $1,771,339.00 from ED pursuant to SCU’s Certification and Agreement (for) Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
  3.  As of December 16, 2020, SCU has distributed $1,771,339.00 of the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.  SCU provides students with notice of award status in advance and expedites the distribution of funds immediately thereafter.  
  4. The estimated total number of SCU students 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 is approximately 7,334.
  5. As of December 16, 2020, the total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act is 1,748.
  6. The method(s) used by SCU to determine which students could receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they could receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act are as follows:
    1.  In accordance with ED’s direction, SCU prioritized the distribution of funds to eligible students demonstrating the greatest need.  SCU students requesting funds were required to submit a request form on the SCU website certifying eligibility and describing claimed unforeseen expenses related to their costs of attendance (e.g. food, housing, course materials, technology, healthcare, childcare, and transportation) due to COVID-19-related campus operations disruptions. Student requests were limited to $1,500 in order to distribute the funds as widely as possible.  
    2.  Requests were reviewed individually: to confirm a student’s eligibility per requirements set forth by ED; to establish a student’s level of need; and to evaluate the claimed expenses.  A student’s level of need was determined using information available to the SCU Office of Financial Aid, including, but not limited to: Pell eligibility, previously awarded emergency aid, expected family contribution, and student account credits.  Claimed expenses must have been reasonable, related to a student’s cost of attendance as enumerated in the list provided by ED, due to COVID-19-related campus operations disruptions, and must not have been duplicated in other requests for aid reviewed by the SCU Office of Financial Aid.
  7. Instructions and FAQs concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants were provided to students on the SCU website.  All students received email notifications about the program on May 1, May 8, May 15, May 22, and May 29.  (See notifications #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21 at  https://www.scu.edu/covid-19/campus-messages/)   Separate email messages were sent to all students on May 7, and July 14 specific to the CARES Act Relief Fund.  Another message sent to students on August 5 (Fall 2020 Academics, Housing, Student Life and Community Expectations) included CARES Act information. Any questions students had about the program could be submitted to OneStop@scu.edu.