CARES ACT funding has been exhausted
Belmont Abbey College has received funding through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Funding will be used to provide direct emergency checks/direct deposit grants to college students whose lives and educations have been disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak. A Committee has been established and has determined that relief funding will be provided to every eligible student, currently enrolled in the spring 2020 semester. The College will then open an application process to provide grants until all funds are spent. As part of the CARES ACT, colleges and universities are required to spend their share of the CARES Act funds in one calendar year. Belmont Abbey College, however, will disburse its funds beginning Monday, May 4th and anticipates all funds being disbursed by Friday, May 15th.
More details about the CARE ACT
- Enrollment in a degree-seeking program
- Eligible as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- U.S. citizenship or *eligible noncitizen
- A valid Social Security number
- Registration with Selective Service (if the student is male)
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress in their course of study, and
- Do not owe a refund on grants previously received or in default on any federal student loans.
- Additional eligibility requirements are listed in the Q&A’s below.
Additionally, students must have been enrolled in at least one face-to-face or hybrid class. This funding may not be provided for students enrolled in online only classes on March 13, 2020.
If you already filed a FAFSA and received Title IV aid, you may be eligible for CARES Act funds. If you have not filed a FAFSA, please apply at studentaid.gov/FAFSA in order to be considered.
Even if your family chose to not file a FAFSA because of your income, you should file a FAFSA now to be considered for the CARES Act Grant.
Belmont Abbey’s CARES Act funds for students will be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus. This includes, but is not limited to, eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care expenses.
Grant funds may be used to help with expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus. This includes, but is not limited to, eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance as determined by the Financial Aid Office, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and childcare.
- Food Expenses
- May include unexpected grocery expenses for a resident student who was depending on their meal plan to eat for the semester, or increased grocery expenses for a student supporting dependent children now home due to their school or childcare closure
- Course Materials
- May include, but not limited to, general use supplies such as writing utensils and notebooks; course specific supplies such as calculators, and other materials unexpectedly required to be purchased due to campus disruption of regular operations
- Technology Expenses
- May include computer equipment, internet access expenses, printer supplies, etc. required for student success when transitioning to an online format from the traditional in-person class structure
- Healthcare Expenses
- May include the cost of unanticipated or unusual medical expenses due to coronavirus or its effects
- Child Care/Dependent Care Expenses
- May include the cost of unanticipated or unusual care expenses for a student’s child or other dependents in the independent (based on FAFSA) student’s household
- Transportation Expenses
- May include the cost of unanticipated or unusual travel expenses related to the disruption of campus operations. This may include additional trips to the College to retrieve personal belongings or difficulty in making car payments due to income loss from this economic disruption
- Housing Expenses
- May include unanticipated expenses in securing housing and/or rent for residential students after the transition to remote delivery of courses. This may also include difficulty in making rent or mortgage payments due to income loss from this economic disruption.
UPDATE
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As of August 19th, the college has awarded the remaining $14,746.16 to 11 students. These awards were made based on additional student requests. To date, we have awarded all of our $703,750 student portion of our CARES ACT funding to 1021 students.
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As of June 8th, an additional $89,007 was awarded to 58 students. These students submitted a CARES Act application for additional assistance. To date, we have awarded a total of $689,003.84 in CARES Act funding to 1020 students. The remaining $14,746.16 will be awarded as additional applications are submitted.
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Belmont Abbey College has received $1,407,500 in CARES Act funding from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. The college has signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement. The college will award the required 50 percent, $703,750, of the funds received to students as Emergency Financial Aid Grants.
As of May 8th, we had 1019 Title IV eligible students, all 1019 have been awarded in total $599,996.84. These students were notified via their college email that they were awarded Emergency Financial Aid Grants as part of the CARES Act. The remaining $103,753.16 will be awarded as additional requests for funding are made. Students who need additional funding may complete the Belmont Abbey College CARES Act Application.
All Title IV eligible students, attending classes on campus prior to March 13th, were awarded in tiers. The tiers were constructed based on student population and enrollment status. All of which, we believe have expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.
On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced that an additional $21.2 billion is now available to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to serve students and ensure learning continues during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding is allocated to the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II) by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA), which was signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on Dec. 27, 2020.
