CARES Act

CARES ACT FUNDING UPDATE

Motlow State Community College disbursed the first disbursement for emergency student assistance provided by the Coronavirus Act, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act the week of May 18, 2020. Updated guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) allowed additional payments to a new population of students who were not eligible for the initial emergency aid payment. Motlow sent the second and final disbursement on June 5, 2020. Motlow distributed all allocated funds.

Eligible Students

Students must have been enrolled by March 13, 2020, for the spring 2020 semester attending at least one traditional on-ground class with the non-eligible students described below.

Non-Eligible Students

Funding does not include the following:

Students initially enrolled exclusively in online courses as of March 13, 2020
Students who are transient, dual-enrolled, non-degree seeking, or in industry training programs are not eligible. Transient students are those students enrolled at one college and taking one or more courses at another institution.

CARES Act Emergency Assistance for Students

The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF) funding to higher education institutions provides disbursements to students with unmet expenses as a result of COVID-19. Funds must be used to cover costs related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as:

course materials
technology
food
housing
health care
childcare
or other costs of attendance related item

Payment Method

Our institution allocated funds to the largest number of students possible due to the impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following the initial guidance from Secretary of Education DeVos, Pell-eligible students received priority funding in the first disbursement. The institution then received additional advice that certain non-Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding, which was included in the second disbursement. Criteria for eligibility include:

An individual must have been a student as of March 13, 2020
Students cannot have been enrolled solely in an online format as of March 13, 2020

Disbursement Process

Any disbursed emergency grant funds were released to students by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on the student's method set up with the college. Payment is not necessarily a reflection of a student’s current student account balance. These funds are disbursed directly to a student, no matter if a current balance is owed.

The College began disbursing HEERF payments to eligible students the week of May 18, 2020.

Students determined eligible for HEERF payments received a confirmation email from the Motlow.

Email Communications

First Email to Students

Dear <Student_Name>,

Motlow State has initiated a CARES Act disbursement for you. As this process is underway, please be aware that qualifying students will see payments applied to their MyMotlow account statements and then refunds (when the actual payment is issued to the student) once the process is complete. This is all part of the multi-step process to issue these emergency aid payments. Please be patient as this will take some time – payments will not be immediate. If you are set up for direct deposit, your funds should be in your bank account on Friday, May 22 but may take until Monday, May 25 depending upon your bank. If you are not set up for direct deposit, a check will be mailed on Friday, May 22 to the address that appears immediately when you log into your MyMotlow account.

The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released guidance related to CARES Act emergency grant funding to higher education institutions. USDOE guidelines require emergency grants only be distributed to students who are eligible to participate in federal Title IV aid programs as outlined in Section 484 of title IV of the Higher Education Act. Students exclusively enrolled in online courses prior to March 13, 2020 are not eligible.

Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following Secretary of Education DeVos’s guidance, Pell eligible students received priority funding. However, based on our institution’s determined criteria, certain non-Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding. Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to you by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on the method you have setup with the college. A payment is not necessarily a reflection of your current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.

Although you are considered qualifying based on institutional criteria and affected by the transition to online learning due to COVID-19, USDOE regulations require funds be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care). Therefore, any emergency grant funds disbursed to you must be used for such qualifying expenses. Your acceptance of the funding is considered confirmation you have a qualifying expense. If you wish to return the funds to the institution, you must contact [email protected].

Our staff are available and willing to assist you with any additional questions you may have at this time or as you think about re-enrolling for the summer and/or fall terms. Please do not hesitate to reach out to them at: [email protected].

Stay safe!
Sincerely,
Michael Torrence
President
Motlow State Community College

Second Email to Students

Dear <Student_Name>,

The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund-IHE/Student Aid provides funding to institutions to provide emergency financial aid grants to students whose lives have been disrupted, many of whom are facing financial challenges and struggling to make ends meet.
Motlow State has initiated a CARES Act disbursement for you. As this process is underway, please be aware that qualifying students will see payments applied to their MyMotlow account statements and then refunds (when the actual payment is issued to the student) once the process is complete. This is all part of the multi-step process to issue these emergency aid payments. Please be patient as this will take some time - payments will not be immediate. If you are set up for direct deposit, your funds should be in your bank account on Tuesday, June 9 depending upon your bank. If you are not set up for direct deposit, a check will be mailed on Tuesday, June 9 to the address that appears immediately when you log into your MyMotlow account.

Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. A payment is not necessarily a reflection of your current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.

Although you are considered qualifying based on institutional criteria and affected by the transition to online learning due to COVID-19, USDOE regulations require funds be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student's cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care). Therefore, any emergency grant funds disbursed to you must be used for such qualifying expenses. Your acceptance of the funding is considered confirmation you have a qualifying expense. If you wish to return the funds to the institution, you must contact [email protected].

Stay safe!
Sincerely,
Michael Torrence
President
Motlow State Community College

Please direct all questions to [email protected].

HEERF Payment Allocation Information

Category	Number
Number of Title IV eligible students who may qualify for HEERF payments:	2,335
Total amount of HEERF aid available for payments to students:	$1,589,392
Total amount of HEERF aid paid to eligible students (including added funds under updated USDOE guidance):	$1,745,626.14
Total number of eligible students paid:	3,438

Table is initially published no later than 30 days after the institution received HEERF funds and is updated every 45 days after. The table below provides these dates.

Event	Date
Date Institution Submitted HEERF Certification and Agreement to USDOE:	April 14, 2020
Date Information Originally Published Online:	May 14, 2020
Website Updated with new information from USDOE:	June 12, 2020
Website Updated (1st 45-day requirement):	May 28, 2020
Website Updated (2nd 45-day requirement):	July 9, 2020