The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund-IHE/Student Aid, which was passed by Congress in March 2020, provides funding to institutions to provide emergency financial aid grants to students whose lives have been disrupted from the COVID-19 crisis.
On April 10, 2020, CalArts signed and returned the Certification and Agreements, Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students and Institutional Portion of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, to the Department of Education. Of these funds, 50% will be used to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
CalArts has received $507,443 for emergency financial aid grants to students and will award these CARES funds to students through two methods:
- Students may apply for a COVID-19 Emergency Grant through the Office of Student Experience. Title IV eligible students who demonstrate expenses incurred as a direct result of the shift to remote learning will be awarded out of the CARES funding as long as these funds are available. Students submitting an application will be reviewed by the Office of Student Experience to ascertain qualifying expenses, and will be reviewed by the Office of Financial Aid to confirm eligibility.
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Students may automatically qualify for a CARES Act Grant based on EFC. Title IV eligible students will be awarded using the following criteria:
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$1,200 CARES Act Grant: Undergraduate students with an EFC less than or equal to $5,576 (the Pell Grant maximum EFC threshold);
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$750 CARES Act Grant: Graduate students with an EFC less than or equal to $5,576;
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$600 CARES Act Grant: Undergraduate students with an EFC between $5,577 and $11,152 (twice the Pell Grant maximum EFC threshold)
As of July 8, 2020, $440,000 has been awarded to 462 students from CARES Act funding, out of approximately 1,000 students potentially eligible to participate in Title IV programs.
Students were sent several communications regarding eligibility for both the COVID-19 Emergency Grant and the CARES Act grant. Links to these communications are available below. CalArts has also included details regarding these awards on the Financial Resources for Students website.
Related communications