Under this act, the federal government established the Higher
Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), which will allow Alfred State to
provide emergency grants to students with expenses resulting from the
disruption of campus operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
college has determined that 2,751 of its students are potentially eligible to
receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants under the CARES Act.
Julie Rose, senior director of Student Records and Financial
Services, said, “I am thrilled our students can now apply for emergency grant
funding. It is my hope that these funds
help to alleviate the financial hardship that so many of our students are
experiencing due to the unexpected disruption this spring.”
To be eligible for this type of aid, students must have been
enrolled in credit-bearing courses for the spring 2020 semester, filed a
2019-2020 Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), been deemed eligible for
Title IV aid, and cannot have been enrolled in a fully online program prior to
March 13, 2020.
Alfred State will use the funds to meet the emergency needs
of students who have been impacted by COVID-19 with consideration of the
following priorities:
• Priority 1 –
High-need students with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) below the annual
Pell threshold.
• Priority 2 – All
other students meeting the eligibility guidelines.
ASC plans to award CARES Emergency Grants according to two
methods. The first method awards a Base Grant to all eligible students with
allowable expenses up to or less than the Base Grant award, with a higher award
amount for those who are Priority 1 students. The maximum Base Grant amounts
are $1,000 for Priority 1 students and $300 for Priority 2 students.
The second method allows eligible students to apply for an
Enhanced Grant for expenses already incurred, or anticipated to incur, that are
in excess of the Base Grant amount. The maximum amount of the aggregate sum of
the Base and Enhanced Grant for any student is $6,195.
Eligible students are encouraged to log into Banner through
my.AlfredState.edu and complete the application for funds before the July 31
deadline.
In addition to providing aid through the CARES Act, Alfred
State is also collecting donations to assist students through its Support Our
Students (SOS) Emergency Fund, which has a goal of $50,000. Once that goal is
met, SUNY will match the donations to bring the total to $100,000. More
information regarding that assistance will be announced.
For more information on CARES relief, visit
www.AlfredState.edu/CARES-Act. Those with questions related to the CARES Act
Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund should contact the Student Records and
Financial Services Office at 1-800-4-ALFRED, 607-587-4253, or sfs@alfredstate.edu.
