CARES Act Reporting
1. Minnesota West has signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the College has used or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
2. Minnesota West was awarded $1,072,094, half of this amount is dedicated to Student CARES grant funds. We requested $536,047 through the initial grant proposal for our student awards.
3. The original amount available for the Student Grant portion of the funds was $536,047.
Four different methods were used to award funds to students with hopes to assist as many students as possible. Disbursements began on May 6, 2020.
Awards were sent to all eligible students:
Base Award – $275
Supplemental Award – $275
Emergency Grant Awards – $200
Additional Supplemental Award – $215
Total CARES Funds Awarded - $539,060 - 2/12/2021
4. Minnesota West has identified 1,429 students who were eligible to be awarded based on the criteria set forth by the US Department of Education and the Minnesota State College and University System.
5. Total Number of students Awarded who received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act:
05/06/2020
Base Award - 1388
Supplemental Award - 443
9/15/2020 - 45 Day Report
Emergency Grant Award - 101
Additional Supplemental Award - 69
6. The college identified the following as eligible for aid:
The CARES Act provides money to cover student expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19. Eligible expenses include those considered as the student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and childcare. Students were required to be enrolled in a for-credit course as of March 13, 2020.
Out of the list of eligible students, the CARES Act does exclude the following students from receiving awards:
- PSEO students (Online College in the High School, concurrent enrollment, regular PSEO)
- Exclusively online students
- Incarcerated students
- Students paying the senior citizen rate/noncredit courses
- DACA and Dream Act Students
- International students with Educational Visas
7. Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to student concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.
An informational meeting was held over Zoom for faculty, staff and students explaining the CARES Act and funding model. Students were provided information with eligibility criteria, as well as how the funds would be distributed.
An informational email was sent to students on 5/6/2020 explaining the CARES Act and eligibility criteria. The same information was posted to the college website.
Students received emails regarding their specific CARES Act funds on 5/12/2020. Within this email it was explained to students how the funds were awarded. The initially funds were awarded to all credit bearing on campus students who had their courses transitioned to an online environment on or after Marth 13, 2020. Students were also given instructions on how to apply for additional Emergency Grant funds via an application process found on our website.
The additional Emergency grant applications was reviewed by the financial aid department on an individual basis and funds will be awarded as available and necessary.