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What You Need To Know About Your Stimulus Checks

UPDATE MAY 11, 2020:  As indicated in previous communications, Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) has begun posting payments to your accounts that was provided by the Federal Cares Act that was recently passed by Congress and signed by the President. These funds are intended to offset students' cost of education, particularly in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. Initially, we were going to provide funding for only undergraduates, which would have provided a bit higher amounts than you may have received. However, we made an adjustment so that we could also include graduate students in the payments which resulted in an adjusted payment of $783.00 for full-time students (both graduate and undergraduate) and $392.00 for part-time students. We are very pleased to be able to provide these payments to our students and we hope this money will benefit you educationally.  If you have not completed the application, please click on the link to submit at: https://www.suno.edu/form/emergency-financial-assistance.

CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF)

 

The CARES Act, which establishes and funds the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), directs institutions of higher education to use no less than 50 percent of funds received under Sections 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) of the CARES Act to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19.

 

Below are some Frequently Asked Questions:

 

What students are eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants from the HEERF?

Only students who are or could be eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended, may receive emergency financial aid grants. If a student has filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), then the student has demonstrated eligibility to participate in programs under Section 484 of the HEA. If you have not filed a FAFSA, please do so immediately.  Individuals with no FAFSA will be treated on a case-by-case basis to determine if they are Title IV eligible.

Those students who were enrolled exclusively in an online program on March 13, 2020, the date of the President’s Proclamation, “Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak,” Federal Register Vol. 85, No. 53 at 15337-38, are not eligible for emergency financial aid grants. The formula provided by Congress for calculating the distribution of funds to institutions excludes students who were exclusively enrolled in distance education courses.

 

How must institutions pay the emergency financial aid grants to students?

Institutions may provide emergency financial aid grants to students using checks, electronic transfer payments, debit cards, and payment apps that adhere to the Department’s requirements for paying credit balances to students.

 

Has SUNO determined each student’s allocation?

The University has developed a draft methodology for the allocation of funds. However, until the final distribution is received, and the guidance becomes stabilized, we have not made final calculations.

 

When will funds be disbursed?

The University is scheduled to distributed funds 3-5 business days upon receipt of the allocation from the federal government.

 

Is an application required to receive funds?

The University has developed a web-based application to be immediately placed on the University’s website, www.suno.edu upon receipt of the funds.

 

What data will the Department require institutions to report after disbursement of emergency financial aid grants to students?

As explained in the Funding Certification and Agreement for the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students, each institution will report to the Secretary the following: how grants were distributed to students, how the amount of each grant was calculated, and any instructions or directions that the institution gave to students about the grant. Institutions must also comply with the reporting requirements under Section 15011 of the CARES Act. The Department will publish a notice in the Federal Register to provide instructions to institutions on these reporting requirements.

 

NOTE:  The webpage will be updated as information is known from the Department of Education and the SUNO Leadership Team.