The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund provides funding to institutions for emergency financial aid grants to students whose lives have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Here is Ohio Wesleyan University’s fourth report on grants in May, June July and August 2020.
With regard to CARES Act Section 18004(a)(1), Ohio Wesleyan University acknowledges and assures that:
- A signed Certification and Agreement was returned to the U.S. Department of Education;
- At least $801,253 will be provided as Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students, which is no less than 50 percent of the funds received;
- As of August 27, 2020:
- $549,118.38 in Emergency Financial Aid Grants has been provided to students;
- The estimated total number of OWU 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 was 1,294; at the start of the 2020-21 academic year the estimated total number of OWU students eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid grants was 1140.
- The total number of payments to students who thus far have received Emergency Financial Aid Grants is 1,363, which includes multiple payments to some individuals.
- OWU formed a task force, chaired by Dwayne Todd, Ph.D., vice president for Student Engagement and Success, to determine which students were to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and the amount of such grants. Task force members determined that the purposes for the Emergency Financial Aid Grants, which were requested by application after the initial round of general grants related to COVID-19 disruptions, were:
- Specific grants to students who applied for funding based on individual circumstances that occurred during Spring and Summer 2020 terms
- Payment for lost wages to eligible students whose summer campus or local off-campus employment was disrupted by the pandemic. An average weekly earnings rate for each student was calculated, then multiplied by the number of expected weeks of summer employment
- OWU provided the following guidance via email to students, and then to parents, concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants prior to the first disbursement of funds:
- The purpose of the money
- Why they are receiving it
- When they should likely receive it
- How they’ll receive it (electronic funds transfer or paper check mailed to their permanent address on record)
- Expectation that the money is used for purposes awarded
- How to apply for next rounds as necessary (link to online application form and deadline)
- Whom to contact with questions
Per the IRS, these funds are not taxable.
