The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress has allocated to AACC, $4,315,346 of which 50% or $2,157,673 can only be used for emergency student aid to assist eligible students who incurred “expenses related to the disruption of college operations due to coronavirus.” Once the CARES Act was passed into law, the U.S. Department of Education provided guidance to the college on how to implement the CARES Act, and to whom funds may be provided.
In accordance with the CARES Act and the written guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Education the college is required to provide the following information to the public under Section 18004(a)(1) of the Act updated every 45 days.
1. On April 15, 2020, AACC signed and returned to the Department of Education the required Certification and Agreement with assurances that the college has used, or intends to use, no less than 50% of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to eligible students.
2. On May 14, 2020 AACC received access to $2,157,673 in funds that can only be used for emergency student aid to assist eligible students who incurred “expenses related to the disruption of college operations due to coronavirus”.
3. The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students under the CARES Act as of July 1, 2020: $1,559,840.
4. The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act: 1,853 as of July 1, 2020.
5. The estimated total number of students at the institution eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act: 3,162 as of July 1, 2020.
6. The following method(s) will be used by AACC to determine which students are entitled to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
a. The student’s completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form with the information contained therein will be used to determine if a student satisfies the eligibility criteria in Section 484 of Title IV Higher Education Act.
b. Upon a determination of eligibility described above, an award of an Emergency Financial Aid Grant will be conditioned on a student fulfilling the following criteria:
c. Posting of CARES award of grants can be viewed in MyAACC (Menu > Self Services > Credit Students > Financial Aid). When the college issues an award to an eligible student an e-mail will be sent to the student’s AACC email account directing the student to MyAACC. A check for the amount of the award(s) will be mailed directly to student’s address of record on May 21, 2020.
d. Students who do not receive an initial grant who have qualifying expenses related to the disruption of college operations due to coronavirus are encouraged to submit an individual appeal for their qualifying expenses. A student should first check the 2019-20 financial aid section of his/her MyAACC account to see whether an award has been made before submitting an appeal. Appeals may be submitted by a currently enrolled student for qualifying expenses incurred after March 13, 2020.
Applications will be accepted after initial awards are disbursed.
Awards resulting from an appeal will be funded on a first come first serve basis until the remaining student emergency aid funds are exhausted.