CARES Certification & Agreement

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF)-Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security Act of the CARES Act

The Sauk Valley Community College CARES Grant was made possible by the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Federal CARES Act provides economic relief to students who were educationally disrupted, financially impacted, and had expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus

SVCC is committed to serving our students during this time, providing quality education, and allowing our students to move forward with their education via remote learning and student services. This is new for all of us - but rest assured we are here for our community.

This webpage provides information regarding CARES and the required disclosures as outlined by the Department of Education.

CARES ALLOCATION

• SVCC signed the CARES Certification and Agreement on April 12, 2020 and received its HEERF I allocation on April 22, 2020.
• The CARES Agreement provided SVCC $926,412.
• 50% of the funds received under this agreement, or $463,206 will be used to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
• HEERF grants to students (HEERF Student Share) are intended to go DIRECTLY TO STUDENTS for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronaviruses, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses.

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

Guidance from DOE requires institutions to limit awards to students who qualified under the 484 of the Higher Education Act. In order to qualify for the funds, students must:

• Be enrolled in classes on March 20, 2020 for Spring 2020; June 8, 2020 for Summer 2020; August 31, 2020 for Fall 2020.
• Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a degree, certificate or other recognized educational credential program;
• Not be enrolled in elementary or secondary school;
• Have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent;
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP);
• Not owe an overpayment (refund) on Title IV grants;
• Not be in default on a Title IV loan;
• Be a U.S citizen or national, a permanent resident, or an eligible non-citizen;
• Have returned any fraudulently obtained Title IV funds, if convicted of, or pled guilty/no contest to charges;
• Not have fraudulently received Title IV loans in excess of annual or aggregate limits;
• Have repaid any Title IV loan overpayment amounts in excess of annual or aggregate limits, if obtained inadvertently;
• If you are male, have registered for Selective Service; and
• Not have a federal or state conviction for drug possession or sale, with certain time limitations.

International students studying in the U.S. with an F-1 Student Visa, students enrolled in non-credit coursework, and dual enrolled high school students are not eligible for CARES Act funding.

AWARD AMOUNTS

SVCC has chosen to use an application process to disburse CARES funds. Students use a web application to submit their request certifying the amount of expenses listed are related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course material, technology, health care, and child-care expenses.  A maximum permissible amount was established within each category of expenses based on SVCC's cost of attendance. A committee reviews CARES request on a weekly basis to ensure students meet eligibly requirements and that requests do not exceed maximum thresholds. Applications will be processed on a first-come first-serve basis until funding is exhausted. Students were notified of the availability of the CARES application through email and text alert.

STUDENTS/ SVCC DISTRIBUTIONS

Number of Enrolled Students Who Filed the FAFSA and qualified for potential CARES award: 736

PAYMENT PROCESS

• Awards were processed as a business office refund called Federal ED CARES STUDENT.
• Students are paid via check.
• These funds are paid to the student DIRECTLY, as required by the Department of Education.
• Students with outstanding balances to the college received the entire disbursement. Any balance due to the college should be paid using the normal billing procedures.

USE OF FUNDS

The purpose of these funds, as outlined under the HEERF Student Share, is for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course material, technology, health care, and child-care expenses. In the federal guidelines provided to SVCC, tuition is not considered an eligible expense.

CARES EXPENSES AND AWARD LIMITATIONS

SVCC allowed anticipated costs for Shelter at Home and remote learning as follows: While all students will not experience all of these costs, this represents the maximum calculated costs that a student could experience due to the pandemic.

The cost outlined here establish the budget within which CARES Funds can be allocated. The total amount of CARES funds to an individual student cannot exceed these thresholds.

By initialing the emergency request form and by cashing the check, students acknowledge they experienced expense related to the disruption of campus operations.

Additional CARES Allocations

SVCC made G5 draws to formally accept the HEERF II awards on 4/8/2021 and HEERF III on 7/21/2021.

The student portion of HEERF II award provided $463,206 and HEERF III provided $1,876.549.

HEERF grants to students (HEERF Student Share) are intended to go DIRECTLY TO STUDENTS for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronaviruses, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses unless otherwise indicated. Students can elect to authorize institutions to apply HEERF II and III grants to student account charges, even in cases where the charges were posted prior to Dec. 27, 2020.

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

ED has clarified that non-degree seeking, non-credit, and continuing education students are all eligible to receive HEERF II and HEERF III student grants as well as unspent CARES Act HEERF I student grants. In order to qualify for the funds, students must:

• Be enrolled in classes on January 25, 2021 for Spring 2021; June 14, 2021 for Summer 2021; August 30, 2021 for Fall 2021 and January 31, 2022 for Spring 2022.
• Complete a FAFSA application.
• Have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent

AWARD AMOUNTS

SVCC has chosen to continue to use an application process to disburse CARES funds. Students use a web application to submit their request certifying they incurred expenses related to a component of your cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to the coronavirus such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or childcare incurred since March 13, 2020. Students retain the option to receive a credit to their student account to cover tuition and fees or as a direct payment of the grant to assist with food, housing, health care, or childcare. Applications will be processed on a first-come first-serve basis until funding is exhausted. Students were notified of the availability of the CARES application through email and text alert.

Award amount were based on the Estimated Financial Contribution (EFC) determined by the FAFSA as follows:

Spring 2021, Summer 2021 and Fall 2021:

• EFC of 0= $1000
• EFC of 1-5846= $750
• EFC of 5847 and above= $500

Spring 2022 award amounts:

• EFC of 0= $2000
• EFC of 1-5846= $1500
• EFC of 5847 and above= $1000
  
  

STUDENTS/ SVCC DISTRIBUTIONS

Number of Students Who Filed the FAFSA and qualified for potential CARES award: 1834

PAYMENT PROCESS

Awards were processed as a business office refund called STUDENT EMERGENCY CHECK, STUDENT EMERGENCY CREDIT or Tuition Forgiveness.

Awards are paid via check.

These funds are paid to the student DIRECTLY, as required by the Department of Education unless otherwise indicated by the student.

Students with outstanding balances to the college received the entire disbursement unless otherwise indicated. Any balance due to the college should be paid using the normal billing procedures.

USE OF FUNDS

The purpose of these funds, as outlined under the HEERF Student Share, is for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course material, technology, health care, and child-care expenses. In the federal guidelines provided to SVCC, tuition is not considered an eligible expense.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CARES FUNDS:

• DO NOT report this as income when filing a FAFSA.
• This is not considered financial aid when calculating financial aid and award eligibility.
• This is NOT considered taxable income.
• All awards must adhere to federal statutory and regulatory requirements.

HEERF Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting

HEERF Quarterly Reporting - Quarter 1

HEERF Quarterly Reporting - Quarter 2

HEERF Quarterly Reporting - Quarter 3

HEERF Quarterly Reporting - Quarter 4

ARP/HEERF Quarterly Reporting - FY21 Q4 - revised 9/29/2021

ARP/HEERF Quarterly Reporting - FY21 Q4 - revised 1/10/2022

00175200_HEERF_Q32021_100821

00175200_HEERF_Q42021_011022

00175200_HEERF_Q42021_040522 - revised

00175200_HEERF_Q12022_040522

00175200_HEERF_Q22022_071122 - revised (111122)

00175200_HEERF_Q32022_101022

00175200_HEERF_Q42022_01102023

OTHER FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

We appreciate congress making this money available for our students and we realize this does not solve all the financial hardships students may face. The following may be available to help students during this time:

• Chris Byar Student Emergency Fund
• Foundation Scholarships