CARES Act Reporting

CARES Act emergency relief funds for students

July 8, 2020

In response to the current health crisis, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress this spring. Among other things, the CARES Act provides emergency relief funds for students. The only statutory requirement is that the 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 childcare).

MSMC has received a total of $904,943 in emergency grant funding to be awarded to students. ONLY students who are or could be eligible to participate in Title IV (federal financial aid) programs are eligible to receive these funds. We have currently awarded $853,500 to 1,310 eligible students, with 33 students having received funding outside of the initial criteria via appeals. The remaining $51,443 will be awarded to students on a case by case basis based on eligibility. We have identified another 348 students that have filed a FAFSA and those students have received an email informing them they can apply to be considered for funding:

In order to qualify for CARES Act funds, students must meet the following criteria:

• Enrollment at the Mount in Spring 2020
• Not exclusively enrolled in online classes on March 13, 2020
• Completed 2019-2020 FAFSA and received or was eligible to receive federal financial aid (Title IV) funds
• Expected Family Contribution(EFC) based on FAFSA must be less than $30,000 for students enrolled full-time (12 credits or more)
• Expected Family Contribution (EFC) based on FAFSA must be less than $10,000 for students enrolled at least half-time (6-8 credits)

Please note that the funds will initially appear as a credit on your student bill. The Mount will then issue you a refund check that is equivalent to the award amount, and not reduced by any current balance due. We anticipate that all refund checks will be processed in the next 30 days.

Any student that has not received funds and wishes to apply may complete an online application via this link: https://my.msmc.edu/secure/MSiteForms/Default.aspx?f=CARES.  Students will be notified within 2 weeks of receipt of application if they are approved to receive funding or do not qualify.

Students may find answers to frequently asked questions on our CARES FAQ page: CARES FAQ.

Any questions that are not addressed in the CARES FAQ page should be directed via email to SFS@msmc.edu.

Mount Saint Mary College has provided the U.S. Department of Education with a signed Certification and Agreement and assurance that we have used no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.