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ARES ACT (CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT)

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund I (HEERF I) is authorized by the CARES Act . (also known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act)

HEERF I provides financial support to higher education institutions. A portion of each institution’s allocation must be awarded to students in the form of emergency financial aid grants for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the COVID-19 crisis. Information pertaining to the Student Emergency Grants can be located below.

STUDENT EMERGENCY GRANT

North Central Missouri College signed and returned to the U.S. Department of Education the Certification and Agreement on April 22, 2020 to receive $892,038 from the Department, provided under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act. Of that amount, at least $446,019 was required to be used for emergency student aid.

In distributing these funds, North Central Missouri College has followed, and will follow, the instructions and guidance provided by the CARES Act, the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, and the Certification and Agreement completed by the College. That guidance provides institutions with discretion to develop their own systems and processes for determining how to allocate these funds, subject to certain limitations on student eligibility and expense eligibility.

DISTRIBUTION

North Central Missouri College distributed HEERF I emergency grants as direct payments* in multiple rounds with an application process that began on May 14, 2020. The application required each applicant to attest that they had incurred eligible expenses. Eligible expenses, per the CARES Act, included “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, healthcare, and child-care expenses).” Individual grant amounts were determined based on the expenses that the students self-reported they incurred via the NCMC CARES Grant application. Applications were processed in the order in which they were received. The student eligibility requirements for each round are outlined below.

ELIGIBILITY: ROUND ONE

Spring 2020 (Application deadline – August 1, 2020)

To be eligible to receive emergency aid, students must have met all of the qualifications below:

  • Be eligible for Title IV Federal Student Aid determined by submitting the 2019-20 FAFSA
  • Be enrolled at least half-time (6+ credit hours) at the start of the Spring 2020 term as a degree seeking student in an on-campus/in-person degree program
  • Not be enrolled in an exclusively in distance education or all online courses prior to March 13th **
  • Be a U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident, or an eligible noncitizen
  • Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate, or have completed homeschooling

Expense categories included food, out-of-pocket medical, technology, travel, housing, childcare, resource, and course materials. Students who met all student and expense eligibility requirements received grants up to $925.

ELIGIBILITY: ROUND TWO

Summer 2020 (Application deadline – July 17, 2020)

To be eligible to receive emergency aid, students must have met all of the qualifications below:

  • Be eligible for Title IV Federal Student Aid determined by submitting the 2019-20 FAFSA
  • Not be enrolled in an exclusively in distance education or all online courses prior to March 13th **
  • Be a U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident, or an eligible noncitizen
  • Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate, or have completed homeschooling

Expense categories included technology, travel, and childcare. Students who met all student and expense eligibility requirements received grants up to $400.

ELIGIBILITY: ROUND THREE

Fall 2020 (Application deadline – November 20, 2020)

To be eligible to receive emergency aid, students must have met all of the qualifications below:

  • Be eligible for Title IV Federal Student Aid determined by submitting the 2020-21 FAFSA
  • Be enrolled at least half-time (6+ credit hours) at the start of the Fall 2020 term as a degree seeking student in an on-campus/in-person degree program
  • Not be enrolled in an exclusively in distance education or all online courses prior to March 13th **
  • Be a U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident, or an eligible noncitizen
  • Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate, or have completed homeschooling

Expense categories included technology related to connectivity and technology related to hardware and/or upgrades. Students who met all student and expense eligibility requirements received grants up to $500.

ELIGIBILITY: ROUND FOUR

SPRING 2021 (APPLICATION DEADLINE – DEPLETION OF HEERF I FUNDS)

To be eligible to receive emergency aid, students must have met all of the qualifications below:

  • Be eligible for Title IV Federal Student Aid determined by submitting the 2020-21 FAFSA
  • Be enrolled at least half-time (6+ credit hours) at the start of the Spring 2021 term as a degree seeking student in an on-campus/in-person degree program
  • Not be enrolled in an exclusively in distance education or all online courses prior to March 13th **
  • Be a U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident, or an eligible noncitizen
  • Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate, or have completed homeschooling

Expense categories included technology related to connectivity and technology related to hardware and/or upgrades. Students who met all student and expense eligibility requirements received grants up to $200.

* Direct payments are sent to your preferred location for student refunds, which include either a check in the mail or direct deposit.

** On March 13, 2020, by Proclamation 9994, the President declared a national emergency concerning the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In the Spring 2020 semester, NCMC made the decision to move all ground-based courses to online as of March 13, 2020.