COVID-19 (Coronavirus) INFORMATION

DISTRIBUTION PLAN

Cayuga intends to distribute these grant funds as quickly as is practicable via check or electronic funds transfer to allow students to manage expenses resulting from the disruption of campus operations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cayuga Community College will hold emergency funds in a separate account within our General Ledger account. We realize these funds are available to distribute to impacted students for up to one year.

According to the SUNY Administration, the College has been directed to award CRRSAA HEERF II Funds directly to students within a SUNY provided template that awards funds based on a student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) obtained through the completion of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the student’s Spring 2021 census date enrollment status.

Students will be sent an email to their college email and/or private email indicating their eligibility for HEERF II funds and the amount they are to receive. All students will receive the following SUNY suggested communication with their award email:

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, funds have been made available through the CRRSAA Act to award emergency grants to students for expenses related to the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to the coronavirus. Eligible expenses include tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), or childcare. The Campus has deemed you eligible to receive an emergency grant based on the guidance provided by the SUNY Administration. This is not a loan and will not need to be paid back and will not affect your financial aid award amounts for the academic year 2021-2022. Students must understand it is their responsibility to notify the Financial Services Office within 10 days if they will not incur expenses that meet or exceed the amount of their emergency grant.

YOUR HEERF II CARES ACT GRANT IS $ ________.

The HEERF II student aid funds are not Title IV funds. Therefore, rules for awarding and handling of Title IV programs are not all applicable. HEERF II student aid funds are not considered estimated financial assistance and are not included in the student’s financial aid package.

DISTRIBUTION METHODOLOGY

Cayuga Community College is committed to providing students with these grant funds as quickly as possible. These funds will be used to cover expenses related to the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to the coronavirus. The College will distribute these funds according to the following recommendations by SUNY.

An eligible student satisfies all of the following criteria:

• At the time of the HEERF II Grant notification and distribution, the student must have been matriculated and registered in coursework leading to a degree program.
• The student must have been in attendance after the Pell Grant census date. The census date is the date that the student assumes full tuition liability. The Pell Census date for Spring 2021 was February 9, 2021. The student’s enrollment status will be determined as of their census date.
• At the time of notification and disbursement, the student must have an EFC below the Pell threshold (EFC < 5,711 for the 2020-2021) as determined by a FAFSA on file for the award term of the Federal Stimulus Grant.
• Students selected for verification by the Federal Government must have satisfied all verification requirements.
• Eligible students do not need to satisfy all criteria for being eligible for Title IV financial aid. However, they must satisfy all Title IV financial aid eligibility criteria that are required to generate an EFC from a valid FAFSA (i.e., non-rejected FAFSA). Students must be eligible citizens or eligible non-citizens to be considered for the grants.
• Unlike HEERF I funds, students who are registered for all online courses are eligible.

HEERF II CRRSAA funds will be distributed in two methodologies:

• Priority 1: Spring 2021 block CRRSAA Grants based on a SUNY template to all eligible Title IV students as described above.
• Priority 2: Any declined funds, uncashed disbursements, or remaining funds will be distributed to students who have a balance on their account for the Spring 2021 or who have expressed a financial need to the Financial Services or Student Engagement Office and was not eligible for HEERF II funds in Priority 1.
• (Amended June 2021 – Any unused funds will be rolled over to the 2021-2022 year and awarded along with HEERF III funds in an application process).

SUNY MATRIX FOR THE AWARDING OF CRRSAA HEERF II FUNDS

Table 1: EFC Range and Number of Students

Table 1: EFC Range and Number of Students

EFC Award Range	# of Students	Full-Time	Part-Time
0-1500	491	353	138
1501-2900	63	46	17
2901-4300	51	41	10
4301-5711	44	20	24
Total	649	460	189

Table 2: Award Amount Per EFC Range and FT/PT Status

Table 2: Award Amount Per EFC Range and FT/PT Status

	100%	75%	50%	25%
	EFC 0-1500	EFC 1501-2900	EFC 2901-4300	EFC 4301-5711
Full-Time	$1,320	$1,155	$990	$825
Part-Time	$990	$825	$660	$495

TOTAL CRRSAA HEERF II EMERGENCY GRANTS = $748,802

• 99.5% of Emergency Grants awarded to Priority 1:   $745,305
• 0.5% of Emergency Grants awarded to Priority 2:   $3,497

CAYUGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

• # of students registered for Spring 2021:   2,712
• # of students who completed a FAFSA for Spring 2021:   1,014
• # of students who received a Federal Pell Grant:   649
• # of students who were deemed eligible for Title IV aid, including above Pell recipients:   976
• # of students registered who are matriculated:   1,223

• % of student body that filed a FAFSA for Spring 2021:   37% (1,014/2,712)
• % of the student body awarded HEERF II funds:   24% (649/2,712)
• % of the student body eligible for Title IV funds, including Pell Grants:   36% (976/2,712)
• % of the student body that are matriculated students:   45% (1,223/2,712)