CARES Act Emergency Grant

UPDATE (October 27, 2020): The deadline to submit the CARES Act Emergency Grant Application is Friday, November 6, 2020. You must have a valid 2020-2021 FAFSA on file prior to that date to be considered for the grant. No consideration for the CARES Act will be reviewed after November 6.

UPDATE (August 24, 2020): The CARES Act Emergency Grant Application has been reopened for Fall. Students who received the one-time emergency grant for Spring are not eligible to reapply. To be eligible, in addition to the application, students must have submitted a 2020-2021 FAFSA, be Title IV aid eligible, and not be enrolled in an exclusively online program. Please see below for additional information.

UPDATE: (MAY 19, 2020) The deadline for students to apply for the CARES Act Emergency Grant for Spring is Wednesday, May 27. This is also the deadline for students who have not submitted a 2019-2020 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to do so in order to be considered for the CARES Act Emergency Grant.

Students who fail to submit a CARES Act Grant application by the deadline will have a chance to apply for the grant in the Fall.

Concord University has received $2,057,014 in emergency grants from the U.S. Department of Education via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). These funds were received in two equal installments.

After signing the required Certification and Agreement on April 10, 2020 and submitting it to the U.S. Department of Education on April 13, 2020, the first installment of $1,028,507 was received on April 22, 2020, which was intended to help students with financial need stemming from COVID-19 related disruption of campus operations, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, child care, medical and travel expense. The full amount of the first installment will be distributed to eligible students who complete an application and have experienced a COVID-19 related expense.

To be eligible for the CARES Act Grant, a student must complete an application and must be eligible for Title IV aid. To determine Title IV eligibility, students must have submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2019-2020 academic year. If you have not submitted a 2019-2020 FAFSA, you may still do so on the Federal Student Aid website. We will provide assistance quickly to those meeting the criteria. Students enrolled in exclusively online programs as of March 13th are not eligible.

For priority consideration, you must complete the CARES Act Emergency Grant Application by Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Applications received after that date will be awarded if funds are still available. An acknowledgement email will be sent to your MyConcordU email account with additional information.

Students who meet the eligibility requirements provided by the U.S. Department of Education may be awarded a one-time emergency grant that range from $500 to $1000 depending on the student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the 2019-2020 FAFSA. An estimated 1,215 students will be eligible to apply for the emergency grant. Students are encouraged to apply regardless of household income.

Emergency grants will be distributed to students electronically via BankMobile. In anticipation of an award, please visit www.cumountainlioncard.com and verify your preferred refund method selection. Failure to make a selection could delay the receipt of any award by up to 14 days from the date of disbursement.

After signing and submitting the second Certification and Agreement to the U.S. Department of Education on April 21, 2020, the second installment was received on May 6, 2020, which was intended to be used to cover any institutional costs associated with significant changes related to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus.

This information is based on the latest guidance from the U.S. Department of Education and is subject to change if new guidance becomes available.

Concord University is required to report to the U.S. Department of Education the number of students awarded 30 days from the day of signing the first Certification and Agreement and then every calendar quarter thereafter until the funds are depleted.

Number of CARES Act Grants awarded per reporting date

Total number of students awarded Total amount awarded Reporting Date
292 $265,750 May 10, 2020
735 $648,250 June 24, 2020
735 $648,250 August 8, 2020
854 $755,750 September 30, 2020
989 $1,028,718 December 31, 2020

PLEASE NOTE: In addition to the CARES Act Grant application, if you have experienced a significant reduction in household income due to a job loss/furlough, you may request a Professional Judgment from the Financial Aid Office. The Professional Judgment form can be found on the Financial Aid forms and resources page. You must submit the completed form and supporting documentation to the Financial Aid Office. If your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is already $0, a Professional Judgment will not benefit you.