CARES ACT Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund

Student and Institutional Quarterly Reports

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) ACT was passed on March 27, 2020, to address unmet financial and health needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among its provisions, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) awarded funds to institutions of higher education to address costs and financial needs arising from the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus. Each institution must use no less than 50 percent of funds received under Sections 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) of the CARES Act to provide direct, emergency financial aid grants to students.

Section 18004(e) of the CARES ACT directs institutions receiving funds to submit a report to the Secretary 30 days from the date of the institution’s Certification and Agreement and updated every 45 days thereafter. The fund report must be posted on the institution’s website in a location that is easily accessible to the public. Institutions posting a 45-day report on or after August 31, 2020 have been instructed to post a report every calendar quarter, with the next calendar quarter report due by October 10, 2020 and covering the period from after their last 45-day or 30-day report through the end of the calendar quarter on September 30, 2020.

Standard College determined the number of eligible students based on the number of students for whom the institution received an Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR). Only students who are or could be eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 have received emergency financial aid grants. If a student filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the student could demonstrate eligibility to receive HEERF funds. Standard College does not make assumptions about potential eligibility of students for whom the institution has not received an ISIR or an alternative application.