On April 9, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law. The CARES Act provides several different methods for distributing roughly $14 billion in funds to institutions of higher education.
The most significant portion of that funding allocation provides that $12.56 billion will be distributed to institutions using a formula based on student enrollment. Of the amount allocated to each institution under this formula, at least 50 percent must be reserved to provide students with emergency financial aid grants to help cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.
Students cannot apply for assistance directly from the U.S. Department of Education, but should contact their institutions for further information and guidance. Institutions have the responsibility of determining how grants will be distributed to students, how the amount of each student grant is calculated, and the development of any instructions or directions that are provided to students about the grant.
Capital Region BOCES, specifically the Adult Education LPN Program, signed and returned the Certification and Agreement to the Department of Education acknowledging that no less than 50% of the funding received is intended to be used to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students, Section 18004(a)(1).
Our program was allocated $208,498 to provide to our students as an Emergency Financial Aid Grant. There were 178 eligible students and each student receive their equal share from that amount. Each student was required to fill out a questionnaire regarding the impact COVID has had on their financial situation, and what the Emergency Financial Aid Grant would do to help the student during this time.
Students with questions or in need of more information about the Emergency Financial Aid Grant should email jenna.priore@neric.org.
View Capital Region BOCES’ CARES Act Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Report (October 2020)
Click to access studentfaqs515.pdf