CARES Act Funding

2022

Indiana University Kokomo signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and will use the applicable amount of funds designated under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) program to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.

The total amount of funds authorized from the Department pursuant to the institution's Certification and Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the CRRSAA (a)(1) and ARP (a)(1) programs is $5,105,967.

$1,943,629 in Emergency Financial Aid Grants were distributed to students under the CRRSAA (a)(1) and ARP (a)(1) programs between January 1, 2022 and March 31, 2022.

The estimated total number of students at the institution that are eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the CRRSAA (a)(1) and ARP (a)(1) programs is 6,330.

Between January 1, 2022 and March 31, 2022, 2,421 students received funds. As of March 31, 2022, a total of 3,358 students have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under the CRRSAA (a)(1) program and/or ARP (a)(1) program.

The methods used by the institution to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive under the CRRSAA (a)(1) program:

  • Awards ranging from $200 to $1825 were automatically awarded to undergraduate and graduate students based on EFC, dependency status, and level of enrollment. Selected students did not have to have a FAFSA on file to demonstrate eligibility. Students were all degree seeking.
  • Eligible students who needed additional assistance or were not awarded through the automated process were encouraged to apply for emergency aid through the IU Kokomo CARES emergency aid application. Awards ranging from $300 to $1625 were awarded per applicant.

Instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants include:

One email correspondences were sent out to students based on distribution group:

  • Automatic award group: An email explanation was sent to each student to provide guidance on what the CRRSAA program was and their eligibility for emergency financial aid grants sent directly to students who are degree-seeking in accordance with guidance from the US Department of Education. Funds may be used for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations because of the coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare. Indiana University Kokomo has decided the award amount based on your expected family contribution from your FAFSA, whether or not you are claimed as an independent or dependent student on the FAFSA, Pell eligibility, and spring 2022 enrollment status. All students did not meet the above criteria, therefore any student that was degree seeking was eligible for awarding.
  • While some students self-identified as needing additional assistance and were provided a link to the application. Included in the email sent to those receiving the automatic award was communication on the process for application awarding. While funding was determined based on criteria set forth from the guidance of the US Department of Education as well as the amount of applications we received and students being enrolled in spring 2022, we also encouraged students to complete an application. Applications were reviewed by committee members on campus. Students may use funds for any component of their costs/tuition or for emergency costs that arose due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or childcare, dating back to the declaration of a national emergency.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress and signed into law to provide economic relief from COVID-19. Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act established the Higher Education Emergency Relief fund and sent money to schools to use as emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the pandemic.

Indiana University Kokomo acknowledged, signed, and returned to the U.S. Department of Education the Certification and Agreement on May 11, 2020, and gives the assurance that IU Kokomo intends to use no less than 50% of the funds received under section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide emergency financial aid grants to students. Indiana University Kokomo received $1,252,810, to provide emergency grants to students.

As of June 11, the total amount of emergency financial aid grants distributed to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act at IU Kokomo is $ 1,252,810.

The estimated number of IU Kokomo students eligible to participate in programs under section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, who were enrolled in in-person Spring 2020 classes prior to all classes going online March 23, and eligible to receive grants under the CARES Act is 1,938. We first reported on June 11, 2020 per Department of Education guidelines we awarded 1,942. Per our guidelines to report quarterly in October 2020 and January 2021 our reporting stayed consistent with 1,942 students being awarded. Our final reporting as of March 25, 2021, 1,938 students have received awards and there are no remaining HEERF fund expenditures from CARES ACT HEERF I of Student Portion funds.

Grants were distributed using two methods:

  • Grants ranging from $337 to $1200 were automatically awarded to undergraduate and graduate students based on EFC, dependency status and level of enrollment. All selected students had a FAFSA on file to demonstrate eligibility for federal aid.
  • Eligible students who needed additional assistance were encouraged to apply for emergency aid through the IU Kokomo CARES emergency aid application. Award amounts for grants by application were consistent with automated award amounts.

Instructions, directions and guidance were provided to grant recipients via IU email sent from the Office of the Dean of Students.