CARES Act Fund Reports

Published May 28, 2020

Section 18004(e) if the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act” of the “Act”), Pub. L. No. 116-136 Stat. 281 (March 27, 2020), direct institutions receiving funds under Section 18004 of the Act to submit (in a time and manner required by the Secretary) a report to the Secretary describing the use of funds distributed from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (“HEERF”). Section 18004(c) of the CARES Act requires institutions to use no less than 50 percent of the funds received from Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care).

The Certification and Agreement directs each institution applying for HEERF funds to comply with Section 18004(e) of the CARES Act and submit an initial report (the “30-day Fund Report”) to the Secretary thirty (30) days from the date of the institution’s Certification and Agreement to the Department.

1. An acknowledgement that the institution signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
   WSC signed and returned the Certification and Agreement to the U.S. Department of Education and intends to use no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
2. The total amount of funds that the institution will receive or has received from the Department pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement [for] Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
   WSC will receive $1,260,780 from the U.S. Department of Education pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
3. The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of the date of submission (i.e., as of the 30-day Report and every 45 days thereafter).
   As of May 26, 2020, the total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to WSC students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act is $1,205,204.50.
4. The estimated total number of students at the institution eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
   There are approximately 2,139 students at WSC who are eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in the Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
5. The total number of students who have received Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
   As of May 26, 2020, 975 WSC students have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
6. The method(s) used by the institution to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
   WSC chose a two-pronged approach to identify eligible recipients and determine Financial Aid Grant amounts among the recipients. The first prong involved a brief survey to eligible students to determine the financial impact to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus. The second prong involved a matrix of preexisting financial data from FAFSA filers. Amounts of the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students were determined using defined parameters based on student need and survey responses.
7. Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.
   In an attempt to honor the Department of Education guidance to promptly make available emergency financial aid grants directly to students, WSC focused on keeping the survey short and easy to use to facilitate both high participation rates and rapid turn-around times.
   
   Both the survey and the e-mail announcing the survey were vetted with a group of 50 students prior to release to ensure readability and clarity. Feedback from those students who responded was integrated into the final version. The survey was released at 4:30PM on April 24, 2020. Multiple communication channels were used to notify the 2,139 eligible students of both the opportunity to take the survey and the deadline for completing the survey (May 1, 2020 at 12:00AM). The communication channels included: an email message from President Rames with an explanation of and link to the survey, Rave text message, pop-up message on the myWSC campus portal, and a message in WildcatsOnline (student dashboard).