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CARES Act Emergency Assistance for Students - HEERF I - Email Communications

Sent Emails

  1. Monday, May 18, 2020
  2. Tuesday, May 19, 2020
  3. Wednesday, June 3, 2020 - Email 1
  4. Wednesday, June 3, 2020 - Email 2

 

Date: Monday, May 18, 2020
From: Whaley, Chris
Subject: *IMPORTANT* - CARES Act disbursements to begin soon

Roane State Students,

We hope you are doing well as we wind down from spring semester and gear up for summer term. If you’ve been keeping up with our weekly video updates via email and social media, you’ve heard us mention the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Thanks to the hard work of our financial aid office, business office and many others, we now have more specific information to share with you.

Roane State is preparing to disburse approximately $1.6 million in emergency student aid that has been provided to us through the CARES Act. 90 percent of those funds are designated for eligible students and the remaining 10 percent will be distributed through special payments to students with additional need. An application process for the additional aid will be provided soon. We know you have questions about this so we’ve done our best to answer some of them below.

IF I’M ELIGIBLE, HOW MUCH WILL I RECEIVE?

The total allocation of funds received will be distributed to our student population per guidelines of the Tennessee Board of Regents and in accordance to the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). Based on current calculations and depending on eligibility and enrollment status, the range of funds expected to be distributed to each eligible student is estimated to be between $500 and $650. Total funds were allocated to Federal Pell eligible and non-Federal Pell eligible students with the allocation for Federal Pell eligible students reflecting a 5% higher funding level applied to the overall population. Awards will be distributed equally among students identified for each category.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

USDOE guidelines require emergency grants only be distributed to students who are eligible to participate in federal Title IV aid programs as outlined in Section 484 of title IV of the Higher Education Act. Eligible students must also have been enrolled in at least one on-ground course as of March 13, 2020.

WHEN AND HOW WILL THE FUNDS BE DISTRIBUTED?

Roane State’s business office expects to begin the disbursement process this week. Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on if you have an e-refund profile setup with the college.

DO I NEED TO DO ANYTHING TO GET THE FUNDS?

No action is required by eligible students as long as we have your current address and/or direct deposit bank information on file. Aid will be sent automatically if you qualify. Recipients will be notified by RSCC email.

WHAT ARE THESE DISBURSEMENTS FOR?

For students who qualify (based on institutional criteria and being affected by the transition to online learning due to COVID-19), USDOE regulations require funds be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus. This includes eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care. Therefore, any emergency grant funds disbursed must be used for such qualifying expenses.

A student’s acceptance of the funding is considered confirmation that they have a qualifying expense. If you wish to return the funds, you must contact Roane State’s business office by emailing businessoffice@roanestate.edu.

WILL MY FINANCIAL AID BE REDUCED NEXT SEMESTER?

CARES Act payments will not affect your regular financial aid.

I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS… WHAT CAN I DO?

Our staff are available and willing to assist you with any additional questions you may have at this time or as you think about re-enrolling for the summer and/or fall terms. Visit roanestate.edu/CARESAct to review more detailed information. You can submit questions about the CARES Act through your RaiderNet account. Just click on the alert you’ll receive and follow the instructions for submitting your questions. Please be advised that if you send an email related to the CARES Act to a mailbox outside of RaiderNet, you may not receive a response or your response may be significantly delayed.

Stay safe!

Sincerely,

Chris W.

 

Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2020
From: Whaley, Chris
Subject: CARES Student Payment

Students,

The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released guidance related to CARES Act emergency grant funding to higher education institutions. USDOE guidelines require emergency grants only be distributed to students who are eligible to participate in fe deral Title IV aid programs as outlined in Section 484 of Title IV of the Higher Education Act. Students exclusively enrolled in online courses prior to March 13, 2020 are not eligible.

Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following Secretary of Education DeVos's guidance, Federal Pell eligible students received priority funding. However, based on our institution's determined criteria, certain non-Federal Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding.  Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to you by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on the me thod you have setup with the college.  A payment is not necessarily a reflection of your current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.

Although you are considered qualifying based on institutional criteria and affected by the transition to online learning due to COVID-19, USDOE regulations require funds be used to cover 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, health care, and child care). Therefore, any emergency grant funds disbursed to you must be used for such qualifying expenses.  Your acceptance of the funding is considered confirmation you have a qualifying expense.  If you wish to return funds to the institution, you must contact the Business Office at businessoffice@roanestate.edu.

Our staff are available and willing to assist you with any questions you may have at this time as you think about re-enrolling for the summer and/or fall terms. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your Success Coach or the One Stop (if you do not have an assigned Success Coach) at onestop@roanestate.edu.

Stay safe!

Dr. Christopher Whaley
President, Roane State Community College
cares@roanestate.edu

 

Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2020
From: Whaley, Chris
Subject: Important update about additional CARES Act disbursements

Roane State students,

During the week of May 18, Roane State initiated disbursement of CARES Act funds to qualifying students. Later that same week, updated guidance from the U.S. Department of Education allowed for additional payments to a new population of students who were not eligible for the initial emergency aid payment.

Our CARES Act team has been working to identify these newly eligible students and begin the payment disbursement process. That process began today so students who are now eligible under the expanded guidelines will receive payment soon either by direct deposit (if an e-refund profile is set up) or by paper check through the mail.

If you now qualify for a payment using CARES Act funds, you will receive another email notifying you of your eligibility. You can also check your statement in RaiderNet to confirm receipt of the funds. This will be the final disbursement as all funds are now allocated.

As we’ve mentioned before, all questions about CARES Act disbursements should be submitted to us directly by clicking on the alert in your RaiderNet account and filling out the secure form provided. Emails sent to any other account may not be returned or will be delayed in receiving a response.

Thank you all for your continued patience and understanding as our team works to disburse these payments to qualifying students as quickly as possible. Additional information and updates will be posted at roanestate.edu/caresact.

Chris W.

 

Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2020
From: Whaley, Chris
Subject: 2ND Disbursement email

Students,

During the week of May 18, Roane State initiated disbursement of CARES Act funds to qualifying students. Later that same week, updated guidance from the U.S. Department of Education allowed for additional payments to a new population of students who were not eligible for the initial emergency aid payment. Students exclusively enrolled in online courses prior to March 13, 2020 are not eligible.

Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following Secretary of Education DeVos's guidance, Federal Pell eligible students received priority funding. However, based on our institution's determined criteria, certain non-Federal Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding. Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to you by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on the method you have setup with the college. A payment is not necessarily a reflection of your current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.

Although you are considered qualifying based on institutional criteria and affected by the transition to online learning due to COVID-19, USDOE regulations require funds be used to cover 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, health care, and child care). Therefore, any emergency grant funds disbursed to you must be used for such qualifying expenses. Your acceptance of the funding is considered confirmation you have a qualifying expense. If you wish to return funds to the institution, you must contact the Business Office at businessoffice@roanestate.edu.

Our staff are available and willing to assist you with any questions you may have at this time as you think about re-enrolling for the summer and/or fall terms. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your Success Coach or the One Stop (if you do not have an assigned Success Coach) at onestop@roanestate.edu.

Stay safe!

Dr. Christopher Whaley

President, Roane State Community College

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