CARES Act Funding 05/18/20
CARES Act Funding for Students
Posted 05/18/2020
Southwestern College has received funds from the Department of Education, through the CARES Act. The college will use 50% of the funds, or $245,000, to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students whose need, as determined by the federal government, is greatest. The remaining 50% of the funds, another $245,000, will be used to help provide refunds and credits of unused room and board fees to students. While only a limited number of students will receive the Emergency Financial Aid Grant through the CARES Act, the College will make sure that all students receive credits to their student accounts for any unused room and board fees during the spring semester.
The Emergency Financial Aid Grants will be disbursed to all students who are Pell-eligible, as determined by the federal government. That is approximately 260 Southwestern students. In identifying which students receive these grants, we worked within federal guidelines and identified financial needs as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
To date, those grants have been issued, but we anticipate that they be processed and checks mailed out by June 1, 2020. These financial grants are one-time grants and Pell-eligible student recipients will be receiving a letter with more information, along with a check in the amount of $725 ($1,150 for those students who have a $0 Expected Family Contribution according to the 2019-2020 FAFSA).
12/17/2020 Update
Southwestern College received funds from the Department of Education through the CARES Act. The college used 50% of the funds to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students whose need, as determined by the federal government, was greatest. The remaining 50% of the funds were used to help provide credits of unused room and board fees to students.
The Emergency Financial Aid Grants were disbursed to students who were Pell Grant eligible as determined by the federal government (approximately 260 students) using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). These checks were written and mailed directly to students in the summer of 2020. At the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester, $9,506 of the original amount remained unspent. This money was distributed to any original recipient who returned to Southwestern College for the Fall term and who had a $0 EFC on the 2020-2021 FAFSA. Qualified recipients (68 individuals) received a letter with a check for $139.79. With this final distribution, the original amount received for grants to students through the CARES Act has been fully disbursed.
For further updates concerning funds released by Congress via the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund to be used for emergency grants to students, please visit our Consumer Information page.
If you have additional questions, please contact Brenda Hicks in The Office of Student Financial Aid.
