CARES Act Required Website Posting Information (UMM)

May 29, 2020 CARES Act, UMaine and UMM updates

University of Maine at Machias

CARES Act Funding Under Section 18004(a)(1) – Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund 50% for Student Aid

30-Day Report

Sponsor:  U.S. Department of Education

Award Number:  P425E203084

Award Amount:  $146,778

Report Period:  04/28/2020 thru 05/27/2020

Report Date: 05/27/2020

Source and Purpose of Funds

The University of Maine at Machias received the above award from the CARES Act passed by Congress on March 27, 2020 to provide emergency financial aid grants to eligible students for their expenses related to the disruption of our campus operations due to coronavirus.

On April 22, 2020, UMM submitted the required Certification and Agreement (please link signed C&A) to the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE) committing to use these funds to provide emergency aid directly to our eligible students.

Eligibility Requirements

Consistent with the guidance from the U.S. DOE, eligible students include all students who were enrolled at UMM on March 13, 2020 and are eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), with the following exceptions:

  • Non-degree seeking students
  • International or DACA students
  • Employees receiving UMS Employee Tuition benefits
  • Early College students
  • Students enrolled in exclusively online programs as of March 13, 2020.

Students who did not have a FAFSA on file with the university were able to complete a self-certification form, attesting under the penalty of perjury to meeting the requirements of Section 484 of the HEA.

Distribution Plan

Consistent with the other institutions within the University of Maine System, of which UMM is a part, and in acknowledgement that every one of our students experienced disruption when COVID-19 forced all courses to be transitioned to online delivery, UMM will automatically distribute approximately 80 percent of these funds to all eligible students. Award amounts will be tiered as follows based on the number of credit hours in which the student is enrolled as of March 13, 2020:

.1 – 5.99 Credit Hours: $200
6 – 11.99 Credit Hours: $300
12+ Credit Hours: $675

The remaining 20 percent (approximately) of the CARES student aid is being made available by application to eligible students who self-identify with additional need as a result of the disruption to campus operations caused by COVID-19. As we communicated to our students on May 6, 2020, eligible students were able to apply for those funds until May 22, 2020. Currently applications for these supplemental funds are being reviewed.  UMM anticipates disbursements of these funds to be sent to students the week of June 1, 2020.

In some cases, emergency funds may have been supplemented with a portion of CARES dollars intended for institutional relief.

All distributions to student will be made via direct deposit or check. Because the IRS considers the CARES student funds as a “qualified disaster relief payment,” they are not considered taxable income.

Disbursements To-Date

Distribution Type

 

 Number of Eligible Students Number of Students To Whom Aid Has Been Distributed Total Amount of Aid That Has Been Distributed Amount of Funds Remaining for Disbursement
Automatic 351 330 $117,650 $0
Application 351 0 $0 $29,128
Total       $117,650** $29,128**

*Student counts reflect the utilization of both the original $146,778 CARES Act award and the additional awards discussed below at ‘**.

**UMM received two additional awards from the CARES Act (SIP and FIPSE) of which it is using $110,411 to supplement the original $146,778 award.  Of the additional funds:

  • $77,175 has been spent on the automatic awards and $8,975 remains to be disbursed
  • $24,261 remains for disbursement on an application basis.

Communications to Students

Below are all communications from the University of Maine System or UMM to students concerning the emergency financial aid grants provided through the CARES Act. (Please link directly to each pertinent communication.)

https://www.maine.edu/health-advisory/community-guidance/students/

https://machias.edu/scholarships-aid/resource/cares-act-certification-and-agreement-umm/

https://machias.edu/scholarships-aid/resource/cares-act-funding-communications-umm/