October 10, 2020
On March 27, 2020, the federal government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act includes a Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (“HEERF”). A portion of HEERF funds must go directly to eligible students in the form of emergency financial aid grants for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the COVID-19 crisis.
On April 25, 2020, Antioch University (AU) received the Grant Award Notification from the U.S. Department of Education as a result of our signing of the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the University 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.
Pursuant to the Certification and Agreement, the University is eligible to receive up to $553,606 in HEERF Grant Funds. AU started drawing these funds on May 26, 2020.
As of October 10, 2020, AU has distributed 655 HEERF Grant Funds for a total of $553,606. We finalized a procedure regarding the HEERF on April 30, 2020, and developed an online application process for students to request these grants. We began distributing funds on May 29, 2020.
AU estimates that approximately 2,000 students may be eligible for the HEERF Grant Funds. As of July 3, 2020, 655 students have applied for and been deemed eligible to receive funding. The funds were fully disbursed to students by August 14, 2020.
The University has decided to prioritize students with the greatest need, but at the same time establish a maximum funding threshold for each student to ensure that these funds are distributed as widely as possible. The maximum award is estimated to be $1,145 but maybe lower based on the actual number of applications received and the discretion of their respective Provost’s review of the application.
Click here to view the announcement made to students regarding the availability of the HEERF Grant Funds.
This quarterly report posting is the final report that covers all remaining HEERF fund expenditures for Section 18004(a)(1) Student Portion funds.