CARES Act Reporting — May 22

As required by the Department of Education, ECU is providing the following information to our campus community and will update this content every 45 days. Updates: June 30 CARES Act Reporting | Aug. 15 CARES Act Reporting / Oct. 10 CARES Act Reporting | Dec. 31 CARES Act Reporting

1. An acknowledgement that the institution signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of the funds received to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students:

East Carolina University acknowledges that the institution signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of the funds received to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.

2. Total amount of funds the institution will receive from the Department of Education: $19,358,758

Funds for use in assisting student directly: $9,679,379

3. Funds disbursed to students, under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES ACT, as of May 22, 2020:

Below is the current amount of funding and number of students assisted, as well as the specific category of need.

Additionally, we are able to share the university support for students who were not CARES Act eligible and applied for support.

4. The estimated number of students eligible to participate in program under Section 848 in Title IV of the Higher Education Assistance Act of 1965 (generally, the student eligibility provisions as certified by successfully completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA):

16,926 students enrolled in spring 2020 term and successfully filed the FAFSA, meeting criteria for CARES Act eligibility.

5. The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

We have (to date) received 3,613 applications and awarded 2,012. There are 1,601 remaining to be reviewed (filed since May 18, 2020).

We also have a roster of students who have not previously been awarded CARES, who have filed the FAFSA, who are not Distance Education and who are Pell eligible.

These students, totaling 5,239, will receive an automatic distribution of CARES Act funding based on their history of need and financial information.

6. The method used by the institution to determine which students receive emergency financial aid grants and how much they would receive under SECTION 18004(a)(1) of the CARES ACT:

East Carolina University began collecting individual student appeals at the on-set of the pandemic via paper applications on March 15, 2020. On April 17, 2020, the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs sent a mass email to all students enrolled advising them of the opportunity to appeal for assistance via an application on-line in the data collection website, FormStack, which utilizes single sign-on to verify student identity. Students were then able to select categories of need based on housing/food, books/supplies/technology, and lost employment/wages (our personal expenses category). Individuals were asked to provide information about the impact of COVID-19 on these areas, request an amount needed for funding, and share applicable documentation when available.

Once submitted, the applications were reviewed by a team of university individuals who check financial aid information, program of study and other details, then compile the data into a spread sheet for processing by the financial aid office. That team is comprised of staff from Financial Aid, University Scholarships and Student Affairs and they review each application and make recommendations for the award and source of funding. Depending on the student’s information, these funds could include CARES Act money, Student Emergency Funds/Student Treasure Chest Funds, or other available grants. Financial Aid staff review and approve the awards, then push these individual awards to our cashiers’ office for disbursement.

An additional email was sent out on May 18, 2020, from the ECU Interim Chancellor, including another link to the application, information about the CARES funding requirements, a webpage with Frequently Asked Questions, and details about the upcoming automatic disbursement process for students who are Pell-eligible and also meet the CARES funding requirements.

7. Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the emergency financial aid grants:

All 24,574 enrolled students were sent emails on April 17, 2020, and May 18, 2020, with a link to the application and information about applying. At the same time, news coverage through The East Carolinian and ECU News Services provided additional details. The application is available on the ECU Coronavirus website, Financial Aid website, as well as the Students’ Treasure Chest website.

Students are able to email covid19grants@ecu.edu at any time for questions about status of their application, changes in their requests and other needs during the process. Staff members from the Dean of Students Office and Office of University Scholarships are managing the email account and replying within 24 business hours once received.