Mid-America Christian University returned to the Department of Education the executed “Funding Certification and Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Student under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, Economy Security (CARES) Act” on April 22, 2020. The University received notice on April 27, 2020 that we had received an award of $358,376.00. This amount represents the fifty percent of the total refunds to be received by the University until Section 18004(a)(1) and will be used by the University to provide emergency financial aid to student for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus.
The Department of Education has stipulated that the following criteria must be met for eligibility.
An eligible student must:
- currently be enrolled undergraduate or graduate student at MACU
- be a U.S. Citizen or an Eligible Non-Citizen who is eligible for Title IV funding
- have a valid Social Security Number (SSN)
- have submitted a FAFSA for the 2019-2020 school year and determined to be eligible to received Title IV funds
- not have been enrolled in all-online courses only on March 13, 2020
- not have defaulted on a student loan
- not owe grant refunds
- be maintaining satisfactory academic progress as required for Title IV funds
- not be concurrently enrolled in elementary or secondary (high school)
The University determined all of the students that were eligible as under the HEERF guidelines would receive a portion of the student grant. The distribution amounts were determined based on the disruption of campus operations due to the corona virus. This included courses no longer being offered on campus, inability to live on campus, inability to continue to participate in campus meal plan. Additionally a change in access to course materials, technology, healthcare, and child care was considered when determining the student possible expenses related to the disruption of campus operations.
The University communicated with those students who were eligible to receive these funds. Student were given an opportunity to update their address and/or provide direct deposit information to ensure the funds could be provided to the student as quickly as possible. Emergency grant funds were disbursed directly to students during the dates of May 13-20, 2020.
Below are the details of the usage of the HEERF funds as of 5/20/20:
- Total Amount of Funds Allocated to MACU: $358,376.00
- Total Amount of Funds Distributed to students as of 5/20/2020: $365,250.00
- Estimated number of students to whom funds were distributed: 390
- Estimated number of students who were eligible for the HEERF student grant: 390
- This data complies with Section 18004(e) of the CARES Act “30-day Fund Report.”