James Madison University
CARES Act Emergency Aid Fund Reporting
The Department of Education requires institutions to report on the receipt and usage of their allocation from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). This includes reporting of both distributions received by JMU:
- Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students
- Institutional Portion
The report must be posted on the institution’s primary website, and contain the most current information from the date the institution received its allocation.
CARES Act institutional Portion Reporting
Original Report Date: 10/5/20
Updated Report Date: 10/5/20 (Final)
View the Institutional Portion report.
CARES Act Student Emergency Aid Fund Reporting
Original Report Date: 5/21/20
Updated Report Date: 6/12/20
(Final Report – The 6/12/20 report is the final report that covers all remaining HEERF fund expenditures for Section 18004(a)(1) Student Portion funds)
Report Timing:
JMU received the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund – Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students (HEERF) on April 22, 2020.
The initial report should be posted within 30 days after the allocation is received, and updated every 45 days thereafter.
Required Report Items
JMU acknowledges this has taken place.
JMU has been allocated, and received, $6,040,329 in Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund – Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students (HEERF).
As of 6/4/20 – $6,040,329 has been disbursed to students from this program.
As of 6/4/20 – 11,654 students meet the Title IV/Section 484 eligibility criteria.
As of 6/4/20 – 6,099 students have received a grant from this program.
a) Group 1: Spring 2020 enrolled students who are in a degree program, enrolled at least half-time, have a 2019-20 FAFSA on file with JMU, meet the Section 484 criteria, and have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the FAFSA less than 21,500. These students will be offered a $1,000 award.
b) Group 2: Title IV eligible students meeting Section 484 of the Higher Education Act who have qualifying expenses and did not receive the $1,000 offer, may submit an individual appeal for up to that amount.
Rationale for $1,000 Award Offer and Cap:Due to funding limitations, we limited the amount each student can receive to $1,000 in order to try and assist as many students as possible. Based on the figures used in the Cost of Attendance, and what we were seeing with individual appeals, it’s very reasonable to expect expenses to be larger than $1,000 for many students.
2019-20 Undergraduate Cost of Attendance Per Month Breakdown
- Undergraduate Room = $603
- Undergraduate Meals = $564
- Undergraduate Total = $1,167
2019-20 Graduate/Doctoral Cost of Attendance Per Month Breakdown
- Graduate Room = $766
- Graduate Meals = $564
- Graduate Total = $1,329
Undergraduate & Graduate Books & Supplies = $528 - $1,056
Undergraduate & Graduate Healthcare = $40
Many individual requests we are receiving (outside of the CARES Act Appeal form) qualified expenses that exceed $1,000.
Students have the option to accept less if their expenses were less, so this is not a flat award that was given to all students, but merely the cap of what was offered and/or available.
a) Group 1 students were sent an offer notice that stated the following:
Notice:
As a result of Congress passing the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, JMU has been allocated emergency student aid funds to assist eligible students who incurred “expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses.”
You meet the Title IV financial aid eligibility, as outlined in guidance provided by the Department of Education (ED), to be considered for assistance with these funds. As such, you can log into the 2019-20 financial aid section of your MyMadison Account and see an award offer for $1,000.
Your next steps are:
• You have the opportunity to accept or decline the award in MyMadison.
• You are expected to decline the award in MyMadison if you do not have qualifying expenses, as those funds can be used for other eligible students.
• You have the opportunity in MyMadison to accept less than the full award offered if your qualifying expenses are not at that level. Reducing the award will make funds available to other students who otherwise might not receive assistance due to funding limitations.
• The offer will remain available for to you accept in MyMadison for seven calendar days after the day it was awarded.
• Awards not accepted by the deadline will be canceled.
By accepting this award, you are acknowledging that you have incurred “expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses.” To provide more detail, school related technology and course materials include items such as internet, tutoring, school supplies, and computer issues. Additionally, healthcare needs include items such as medication, counseling, and other healthcare expenses associated with the campus disruption due to COVID-19.
Students accepting these funds will receive their disbursement through the refund process established in the University Business Office. If you have questions about setting up the refund process, please review the website at www.jmu.edu/ubo. These funds will not be held and applied to any JMU charges. Once received, students may use the funds to assist with the designated expenses. These are grant awards, with no expectation of being repaid.
For additional information about this award and CARES Act funding, please visit the JMU Cares Act Student Emergency Aid website.
b) Group 2 students completed an appeal form that contained the following language:
Appeal Information Reviewed Before Access the Appeal Form
This appeal can be submitted when qualifying students have incurred expenses due to disruptions in JMU campus operations as a result of COVID-19. Appeals will be accepted as long as funds remain available.
Who is eligible to submit an appeal?
Students must have a 2019-20 FAFSA on file in order to apply for assistance from these funds. Per the Department of Education, students must meet the eligibility criteria is Section 484 of the Title IV Higher Education Act. This includes, but is not limited to, the demonstration of the following: U.S. citizenship or eligible noncitizen; a valid Social Security number; registration with Selective Service (if the student is male); a high school diploma, GED, or completion of high school in an approved homeschool setting. While the CARES Act does not specify students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the only way to determine if a student meets the Section 484 requirements is for a FAFSA to be filed.
Award amounts
Qualifying students with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the FAFSA less than 21,500 will be offered a $1,000 award through the CARES Act. Students will be able to accept or decline these awards in the financial aid section of their MyMadision account.
Title IV (FAFSA) eligible students who did not receive the $1,000 offer in MyMadison may submit an appeal.
Due to the limited funding we received and the desire to assist as many students as possible, the maximum amount any student can receive is $1,000. Please check your MyMadison account before submitting an appeal.
Receiving funds
If the appeal is approved, students will receive these funds through the refund process established in the University Business Office. If you have questions about setting up the refund process, please review the website at www.jmu.edu/ubo. These funds will not be held and applied to your JMU charges. Once received, students may use the funds to assist with the designated expenses. If you wish to use some of these funds to pay your JMU charges, then you may do so after receiving the refund. These are grant awards, with no expectation of being repaid.
Appeals for non-CARES Act assistance
If you would also like to submit an Professional Judgment request for your FAFSA to be reviewed based on changes to income in your household, then please follow the instructions in the Financial Aid Appeals (Professional Judgment) section of our website, as that is a separate process from this CARES Act Emergency Aid request. At this point of the year it is too late to submit a Professional Judgment appeal for 2019-20, but appeals can be submitted for the 2020-21 award year. Unlike funds from the CARES Act, financial aid based on the FAFSA will be applied to the student’s JMU account and applicable charges.
Appeal Form
-
Student Name: __________________
-
Student ID: ____________________
-
Student JMU E-mail Address: ___________________
-
Have you already received an emergency aid award from CARES Act funds?
o Yes
o No
If “Yes” was selected, please stop here as you are not eligible to submit an appeal as you have already received funds. -
Have you completed a 2019-20 FAFSA, as this is required to be considered for these funds?
o Yes
o No
If “No” was selected, please stop here as you are not eligible to submit this appeal at this time. You can go to www.studentaid.gov and complete the 2019-20 FAFSA. It must be done before June 30, 2020 to be valid. Once the FAFSA is received by JMU you may submit an appeal. -
Academic Standing (Select one):
o Freshmen
o Sophomore
o Junior
o Senior
o Graduate Student
o Doctoral Student -
I am requesting funding from the CARES Act to help cover the following expenses that were created as a result of a disruption to JMU campus operations (Check applicable boxes):
o Housing/rent
o Food
o Utilities
o School related technology and/or supplies (e.g., internet, tutoring, computer issues, etc.)
o Healthcare needs (e.g., medication, counseling, etc.)
o Other (list reason): ________________________ -
Narrative:
• Explain how this request is related to JMU campus disruptions from COVID-19, and provide any other explanation you feel is warranted for review.
• CARES Act funds CANNOT be awarded based on lost income, so please do not submit an appeal based on this reason.
• CARES Act funds CANNOT be awarded to pay JMU tuition or repay loan debt, so please do not submit an appeal based on these reasons.
• The appeal can only be submitted for expenses incurred as a result of the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses. -
Requested Amount:
-
Requested Amount Detail:
• Requests that do not provide a specific dollar amount will not be considered.
• Requests must explain how the dollar amount was calculated, or they will not be considered.
• The maximum amount that can be requested is $1,000.
By submitting this appeal, I understand and agree to the following:
• The information reported on this form is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge.
• These funds do not need to be repaid.
• The submission of this request does not guarantee that I will receive funding.
• A limited amount of funding exists and the full amount requested may not be awarded.
• These funds will not be held and applied to your JMU charges.
• If the appeal is approved, students will receive these funds through the refund process established in the University Business Office.
If you have questions about setting up the refund process, please review the website at www.jmu.edu/ubo.
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